Commodity and Crypto Markets Surge Amid Regulatory Progress and Volatile Trading Activity

Precious Metals Hit New Heights, Spot Gold Breaks All-Time Record

The precious metals market showed remarkable strength in recent trading sessions. Shanghai silver futures surged through the 16,000 yuan/kg threshold, establishing a fresh historical record. The benchmark contract witnessed an intraday rally exceeding 5%, with year-to-date gains accumulating to over 114%.

Paralleling this momentum, spot gold achieved a breakthrough performance, piercing the previous October high of $4,381.4 per ounce and establishing an all-time peak. This dual surge in precious metals underscores growing investor appetite for tangible assets amid macroeconomic uncertainty.

U.S. Congress Drafts Cryptocurrency Tax Framework with Stablecoin Safe Harbor

Legislative momentum accelerated on the digital asset front, with bipartisan Congressional members advancing a comprehensive cryptocurrency taxation framework. Representatives Max Miller (Ohio, Republican) and Steven Horsford (Nevada, Democratic) have collaborated on proposed legislation designed to harmonize digital asset taxation with traditional securities treatment.

The framework introduces critical provisions including tax-exempt status for regulated stablecoin transactions maintaining values between $0.99 and $1.01. Additionally, the proposal establishes protective rules for staking and mining rewards—transactions that validate blockchain networks. The legislation extends existing capital gains exemptions granted to foreign investors and securities lenders to encompass digital asset holders, creating a more equitable tax environment for the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

China’s Central Bank Implements Credit Repair Initiative

The People’s Bank of China unveiled a targeted credit restoration program supporting pandemic-affected individuals. Single overdue payments not exceeding 10,000 yuan, incurred between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2025, and subsequently repaid by March 31, 2026, will be purged from credit records. Implementation begins in phases starting 2026, with beneficiaries experiencing automatic processing—no formal application required. Separately, individuals can access two supplementary free annual credit inquiries beginning January-June 2026.

Large-Scale Token Liquidations and Whale Movements Reshape Market Dynamics

The cryptocurrency sector experienced significant volatility driven by major trader activities and market-wide liquidations. A major account divested 230,350 AAVE tokens within a three-hour window, obtaining 5,869.46 stETH (valued near $17.52 million) and 227.8 WBTC (approximately $20.07 million). This liquidation corresponded with AAVE experiencing roughly 10% yuan profit decline in market value, currently trading at $171.14.

Network-wide contract liquidations reached $30.04 million across a four-hour period, comprising $14.41 million in long position liquidations and $15.63 million in short closures. High-volatility tokens LIGHT and BEAT dominated liquidation rankings, with combined liquidation values of $11.6 million. LIGHT experienced a particularly severe market shock, plummeting approximately 80% from $4.6 to below $0.8, while BEAT also exhibited significant price turbulence during early trading hours.

Strategic Cryptocurrency Holdings and Leverage Positioning

Notable trader “Machi Brother” (Huang Licheng) maintained an elevated-leverage long position in ZEC at 10x multiplier, with total exposure valued near $390,000 and entry price of $439.24. Separately, he sustained a 25x leveraged Ethereum stake of 5,200 ETH carrying $266,000 unrealized gains and liquidation threshold approximately $2,789.

Subsequently, “Machi Brother” liquidated all Bitcoin and HYPE long positions fifteen minutes prior, crystallizing a weekly net loss of approximately $1.46 million—despite achieving an 80% win rate across 15 weekly trades (12 profitable, 3 losing transactions).

Token Unlock Schedule: Substantial Supply Dilution Anticipated

Multiple cryptocurrency projects face significant token vesting events, potentially introducing considerable yuan profit pressure on token valuations:

• Humanity (H): 105 million tokens unlock December 25, 8:00 AM Beijing time (4.79% circulating supply, ~$14.8 million notional value at $0.20)
• Plasma (XPL): 88.89 million tokens unlock December 25, 8:00 PM Beijing time (4.5% supply, ~$11.7 million at $0.14)
• SOON: 21.88 million tokens unlock December 23, 4:30 PM Beijing time (5.97% supply, ~$8 million at $0.35)
• MBG (Multibank Group): 15.84 million tokens unlock December 22, 8:00 PM Beijing time (8.42% supply, ~$8.1 million)
• UDS (Undeads Games): 2.15 million tokens unlock December 23, 8:00 AM Beijing time (1.46% supply, ~$5.2 million at $2.49)

Chainlink Accumulation and Large Whale Positioning Intensifies

Intelligence monitoring detected a newly created wallet extracting 104,503 LINK tokens from a major exchange roughly thirty minutes ago, valued at $1.32 million. This transaction aligns with emerging patterns of elevated LINK accumulation among major holders. Another prominent whale (address 0xf44) withdrew approximately 630,000 LINK in the preceding two-day window, representing nearly $8 million in value at current $13.72 pricing. Such concentrated accumulation may signal institutional confidence regarding LINK’s medium-term trajectory.

Ether Whale Executes Fourth Multi-Week Position Cycle

An experienced Ethereum trader—previously profitable by $1.506 million across three swing cycles spanning eleven months—initiated its fourth position rotation. The account withdrew 2,000 ETH approximately thirty minutes ago from a primary exchange, valued at $5.98 million at execution price of $2,991.65. The trader’s previous cycle concluded approximately one month prior during a sharp market decline, marking the sole instance where this address experienced net losses across its trading history.

Market Sentiment Remains Pressured Despite Regulatory Tailwinds

Weekly market analysis indicates that Bitcoin-related equities and cryptocurrency-focused publicly-traded companies underperformed amid sustained policy uncertainty and legislative implementation delays. Mining sector stocks faced particular headwinds, with multiple operators experiencing disappointing earnings performance or equity dilution concerns. Despite positive regulatory developments, recovery dynamics have yet to crystallize in publicly-traded crypto sector valuations.

Federal Reserve official commentary highlighted that neutral interest rate estimates may require upward revision, with November inflation potentially distorted by prior-period measurement challenges. Such structural interest rate considerations could impact broader risk asset demand, including digital currency valuations.