Peter Brandt Shares Bearish Bitcoin Chart as BTC Price Stalls

The crypto market is back on the downside and so is the Dogecoin futures market as its open interest volume over the last day shows a notable decline, according to data from CoinGlass.

The data shows that Dogecoin has seen its futures open interest decline by 5.55% over the last day. This decline shows a massive slowdown as traders appear to be taking caution amid the negative market trend.

9,820,000,000 DOGE committed amid market slump

Following the plunge in the metric, the total number of active futures contracts involving Dogecoin that have not been settled has dropped significantly to 9.82 billion DOGE worth approximately $1.37 billion per DOGE’s current trading price.

Although the data shows Dogecoin’s derivatives trend over the last day, the DOGE open interest volume has remained significantly low since the past days compared to levels seen before the huge Oct. 10 market crash.

The negative trend shows that traders are becoming less willing to commit their holdings to its futures contract amid rising uncertainty spurred by the reoccurring market correction.

Nonetheless, what’s interesting is that the DOGE open interest volume saw a mild increase in the last hour, suggesting a decent shift in sentiment as interest might be returning to the Dogecoin derivatives market.

What's next for DOGE price?

It is important to note that the decline in Dogecoin’s open interest has coincided with the unexpected reversal witnessed in the price of Dogecoin.

The downtrend, which is witnessed across the broad crypto market, has seen prices of altcoins and meme tokens mirror the broader market downturn led by Bitcoin and Ethereum.

As such, Dogecoin has declined by 3.14% over the last day, and its price is trading at $0.1395 over the last day.

The decline in its futures activity coinciding with a decline in its trading price suggests that traders are increasingly exiting leveraged positions, providing no positive outlook for the asset in the near term.

The Bitcoin price has had a mixed performance over the past week, with both sides of the market divide struggling to establish dominance. In the latest battle between the bulls and bears, the premier cryptocurrency appears to be succumbing to pressure from the latter group.

As this weekend approached, the Bitcoin price retreated from its latest local high of around $94,000 to beneath the psychological $90,000 level. This latest correction has prompted questions in the crowd, with investors wondering whether it is just a brief obstacle or the end of the recovery.

Why $80,500 Could Be The Next Local Low For BTC

In a December 5 post on the social media platform X, Alphractal CEO and founder shared insight into the latest Bitcoin price decline below $90,000. The on-chain expert revealed that losing the $89,800 level is the more relevant occurrence in the latest price downturn.

In a previous post on X, Wedson evaluated the likely trajectory of the Bitcoin price should it lose the $89,800 level. The crypto pundit revealed that losing this price mark could lead to an accumulation pattern for the bulls or a redistribution phase for the bears.

While the accumulation period for the bulls would initially coincide with lower prices, it eventually leads to a Bitcoin price return to above the latest local high. Meanwhile, a redistribution phase could see the bears push the flagship cryptocurrency to around the $70,000 mark.

According to the Alphractal CEO, the price of BTC also failed to hold the key on-chain levels, strengthening the probability of a broader price sideways phase. “Sideways action is the cause — the big pumps or dumps are just the effect,” Wedson had earlier stated in his previous X post.

Furthermore, Wedson noted that the next level to watch is $86,500, which, if lost, opens the very high possibility for the formation of a new local low around $80,500. This local low could provide a perfect spot for investors to buy the dip and enter the market.

Bitcoin Price Overview 

As mentioned earlier, the past week has been one of highs and lows for the premier cryptocurrency, plummeting to as low as $84,600 on Monday, December 1. After a shaky start to the month, the Bitcoin price recovered strongly to around $94,000 on Thursday, December 4.

As of this writing, the market leader is valued at around $89,415, reflecting an over 3% price decline in the past 24 hours. According to data from CoinGecko, the price of Bitcoin has been down by nearly 10% in the past year.

This week’s Top crypto analysis reveals a shifting dynamic across XRP, Ethereum, and Dogecoin as ETF inflows and outflows reflect market-wide bearish sentiment. Although XRP ETF products continue to see positive momentum throughout the week, ETH and DOGE ETFs remain under pressure. Many are watching this data, having expectations that it will be reflected in price action, so let’s examine which ETF is stronger and how it influences the price movements of its respective assets.

ETF Inflows Show Divergence Across Leading Assets

In the latest ETF data, XRP stands out as the only asset among the three to register consistent inflows, even while the broader crypto market experiences sustained declines. Despite these positive movements into XRP ETF products, the XRP price chart continues to slide because the overall market trend remains firmly bearish. 

XRP ETF holdings represent only 0.71% of the total market cap, with net assets near $861 million and cumulative inflows of $897 million. Though they are strong numbers, but not yet large enough to influence XRP price USD in isolation.

Similarly, DOGE ETF inflows remain too small to generate meaningful impact. Total net assets account for just 0.02% of the Dogecoin market cap, amounting to roughly $5.51 million.

Although the week recorded inflows, but this contribution is minimal, keeping the DOGE price aligned with broader market direction rather than ETF-driven momentum.

Both XRP and DOGE are therefore moving with market sentiment, not against it highlighting that positive inflows alone are insufficient unless supported by deeper liquidity and stronger capital rotation.

Ethereum ETF Trends Reflect Strong Market Influence

In contrast, the ETH ETF landscape paints a very different picture. With nearly two years of history, Ethereum’s ETF ecosystem holds a much larger footprint, representing 5.19% of Ethereum’s market cap and totaling $18.94 billion in net assets. The cumulative total net inflow of $12.88 billion is significantly multifold times higher than XRP and DOGE combined, meaning movements in ETF flows materially influence the ETH price USD and overall altcoin market strength.

This week, however, the ETH ETF market reflected persistent bearish control. Most days recorded outflows, except December 3rd. This was the only session showing inflows tied to Ethereum’s Fusaka (Fulu-Osaka) upgrade aimed at improving scalability. This single green day stands out amid otherwise negative ETF activity, contributing to notable pressure on the Ethereum price chart and weakening the short-term ETH price prediction outlook.

The crypto market is very scared right now. The Fear and Greed Index is at 21, and it was even lower at 10 before. Fewer people are searching for Bitcoin on Google, and many investors have become careful after the big crash on October 10.

With interest dropping and ETF flows reversing, everyone is asking, is this just a correction or the start of a real bear market?

Crypto Market Index Hits Extreme Fear

According to recent market data, the October 10 crash was the main reason sentiment fell to record lows of 10, triggered by surprise U.S.–China tariff war news. 

Following the announced bitcoin price fall from $126,000 to $98,000, wiping out over $19 billion in leveraged trades. Meanwhile, the major altcoins like SOL, XRP, etc, fell more than 40% within hours.

Due to this crash, crypto order books became very thin. Market makers removed liquidity to avoid more losses, ETF inflows turned into outflows, and global demand for digital assets weakened. 

With most investors staying cautious, fear has dominated the market for several weeks.

Investors Show Declining Interest as Google Searches Drop

Though markets have stabilized somewhat as the crypto greed & fear index has climbed slightly to 21, but the market is still deep inside the fear zone.

Meanwhile, retail interest around crypto, tracked via global Google Trends for “crypto,” “Bitcoin,” and related searches, has dropped back to levels seen during previous mid-cycle corrections.

Western Union has unveiled plans to introduce a new “stable card” to protect users in high-inflation economies as part of its stablecoin strategy.

Speaking at the UBS Global Technology and AI conference, chief financial officer Matthew Cagwin said the initiative builds on the company’s investor-day reveal that it is moving beyond traditional cross-border payments and into a multi-pillar digital asset roadmap.

Cagwin pointed to Argentina, where annual inflation recently hit 250–300%, noting that remittances can lose nearly half their value in a month. “Imagine a world where your family in the US is sending you $500 home, but by the time you spend it in the next month, it's only worth $300,” he said.

“We can see a good utility for our stable card there, which is an increment to our prepaid card we have today here in the US,” he added.

Related: Crypto Biz: Corporate stablecoin race heats up with Citi, Western Union at the helm

Western Union to issue a coin

Cagwin also revealed Western Union’s intention to issue its own coin. He said the company believes its distribution footprint across 200 countries gives it a natural advantage, especially in emerging markets where remittances form a significant share of GDP.

“We think that we can make a market for our coin in those markets. And we wanted to be able to control the economics, control the compliance and control the overall distribution, and we think we can grow that beyond that,” he said.

Another major part of the company’s digital asset strategy is its Digital Asset Network, or DAN, which links Western Union to four on-ramp and off-ramp providers. The platform is expected to go live in the first half of 2025.

Related: Money giant Western Union to pilot stablecoin-powered transfers

Western Union picks Solana for its stablecoin

As Cointelegrpah reported, Western Union has confirmed that its upcoming stablecoin settlement system will be built on the Solana (SOL) blockchain. The system will center on the US Dollar Payment Token (USDPT) and a new Digital Asset Network developed with Anchorage Digital Bank. USDPT is slated to launch in the first half of 2026, with distribution through partner exchanges.

Western Union has also filed a trademark application for “WUUSD,” signaling plans for a suite of crypto services, including a wallet, trading features and stablecoin payment processing. The filing has been accepted but not yet assigned to an examiner.

Magazine: 2026 is the year of pragmatic privacy in crypto — Canton, Zcash and more

In a recent tweet, Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) CEO and Executive Director Denelle Dixon defines what "real opportunity" is in blockchain as a new financial future beckons.

The SDF CEO was reacting to a recent Bloomberg report on Bank of New York Mellon Corp (BNY), Nasdaq, S&P Global and iCapital participation in a new $50 million investment round by Digital Asset Holdings. This comes as some of Wall Street’s biggest names embrace the technology that underpins cryptocurrencies to handle traditional assets.

Reacting to this development, Stellar Foundation CEO Denelle Dixon stated that every blockchain investment is a bet on a different financial future. Dixon added that seeing banks explore blockchain technology validates what has been known over the years.

Real opportunity defined

While Wall Street’s biggest names betting on blockchain might be one of the most significant adoption milestones in the digital asset market, Dixon defines what real opportunity is and what it is not.

According to the SDF executive director, real opportunity is not replicating old systems on new rails but rather building open networks that fundamentally expand global finance participation.

"But the real opportunity isn’t replicating old systems on new rails—it’s building open networks that fundamentally expand who gets to participate in global finance. That’s the opportunity," Dixon tweeted.

At the Meridian 2025 event, Stellar outlined its long-term privacy strategy, committing to investing in critical privacy infrastructure and building foundational cryptographic capabilities.

Stellar eyes privacy upgrade

A new protocol upgrade is on the horizon for the Stellar network: X-Ray, which lays the groundwork for developers to build privacy applications on Stellar using zero-knowledge (ZK) cryptography.

The protocol timeline testnet vote is anticipated for Jan. 7, 2026, while the mainnet vote is expected for Jan. 22, 2026.