Gold Surges as Risk Aversion Impacts Bitcoin: Americas Crypto Daybook

The Crypto Daybook Americas is taking a temporary break starting Wednesday and will resume on January 5, bringing you the latest overnight developments and a lookahead to the day's events. Warmest wishes for a joyous holiday season. By Omkar Godbole (all times ET unless otherwise stated). The mood in the crypto market remains subdued as the US GDP data report is set to be released later today, expected to show the world's largest economy remained strong in the third quarter. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market value, dipped to $87,500 after failing to sustain gains above $90,000 on Monday. All 16 CoinDesk indexes are in the red over 24 hours, with the DeFi Select index down 4% and the metaverse index losing over 3%. HASH and RAIN are the only top-100 tokens by market cap to have seen gains of more than 6% over the past 24 hours. The overall weak tone is puzzling, given the dollar index's continued decline, which typically favors risk assets like cryptocurrencies. The DXY has fallen below 98.00 and is nearing its lowest level since early October. According to Alex Kuptsikevich, chief market analyst at FxPro, 'This occurrence, set against the backdrop of a significant rally in gold and other precious metals and the weakening dollar, underscores the shift in the underlying risk attitude, also reflected in the global bond sell-off.' He added, 'In the coming weeks, we anticipate a more pronounced decline in cryptocurrencies, alongside the spread of risk aversion to stocks and currencies of developing countries.' At 8:30 a.m., the US Bureau of Economic Analysis will release its preliminary estimate for the third-quarter gross domestic product, with most economists forecasting an annualized 3.2% growth rate, and some predicting as high as 3.5%. These figures indicate a slowdown from the second quarter's 3.8% pace but still comfortably exceed the 2.6% average since late 2021. A weaker-than-expected print could potentially reignite demand for BTC, though it will be interesting to see if it can sustainably push prices above $90,000, a level that has acted as a ceiling recently. In traditional markets, futures tied to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are largely unchanged, indicating a lack of clear direction at the opening bell. Historically, these indexes have performed well during the final days of the year. Gold's rally continues, approaching $4,500 per ounce, while the yen strengthened against the dollar on speculation that the Bank of Japan could intervene in FX markets to halt the currency's recent slide. For analysis of today's activity in altcoins and derivatives, see Crypto Markets Today. For a comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk's Crypto Week Ahead.