Gate Research: BTC and ETH See Easing OTC Selling Pressure | OpenEden Introduces Yield-Bearing Assets to Solana

Crypto Market Overview

• BTC (-0.09% | Current price: 87,573 USDT): BTC remained in a range-bound and slightly weak consolidation over the past day, trading within the $87,500–88,000 range after pulling back. From a moving-average perspective, MA5 and MA10 have crossed below and converged toward MA30, limiting short-term rebound momentum and indicating persistent overhead technical resistance. The MACD remains below the zero line, with the histogram gradually contracting, suggesting easing bearish momentum; however, a clear bullish crossover has yet to form, and the rebound remains corrective in nature. If BTC can hold above the $87,500 level, sideways consolidation may continue in the short term; a break below this level would raise the risk of a retest of the $86,800–87,000 support zone.
• ETH (-0.29% | Current price: 2,964 USDT): ETH stabilized near the $2,900 level following the prior pullback and has rebounded into the $2,950–2,970 range. Short-term moving averages (MA5 and MA10) have started to turn upward, but price action remains capped by MA30, indicating a weak rebound structure. The MACD histogram continues to shrink, reflecting a clear slowdown in bearish momentum, and the signal and MACD lines are converging, suggesting the potential for a bullish crossover, though confirmation is still pending. If ETH can firmly hold above $2,950, a test of the $3,000 psychological level is possible; a renewed drop below $2,920 could delay the recovery process.
• Altcoins: The Fear & Greed Index remains at 24, within the “Extreme Fear” zone. Although sentiment has improved slightly from last week’s low, it remains historically depressed, indicating a lack of confidence in the short-term market outlook.
• Macro: On December 23, the S&P 500 rose 0.46% to 6,909.79, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.16% to 48,442.41, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.57% to 23,561.84. As of December 24 at 02:15 AM (UTC), spot gold was trading at $4,510 per ounce, up 0.57% over the past 24 hours.

Trending Tokens

CXT Covalent (+219.06%, Circulating Market Cap: $17.75M)

According to Gate market data, CXT is currently trading at $0.018496, up approximately 219.06% over the past 24 hours. CXT is the native token of the blockchain data infrastructure project Covalent, which is positioned as a multi-chain data indexing and verification layer, providing verifiable and structured on-chain data services for developers, applications, and institutions. Its core offerings include unified data APIs covering multiple major blockchains, as well as base data protocols focused on real-time availability and verifiability, with the goal of becoming a foundational layer for data availability and trust in a modular, multi-chain environment.

The sharp surge in CXT likely reflects a combination of rapid infrastructure progress disclosures and sentiment amplification driven by its low circulating market cap. On one hand, Covalent has recently announced several key developments, including SpeedRunApp’s official support for building Base Mini Apps, developer-focused build incentive programs, and the launch of the ARC module integrated with the GoldRush API—strengthening its value proposition around “real-time, verifiable data” and significantly improving market expectations for product adoption and developer penetration. On the other hand, as the Base ecosystem continues to gain traction and attention toward Mini Apps and application-layer tools increases, Covalent—as a core data and indexing infrastructure—has naturally been incorporated into the “ecosystem expansion beneficiary” trading narrative.

ICNT Impossible Cloud Network Token (+16.73%, Circulating Market Cap: $91.10M)

According to Gate market data, ICNT is currently priced at $0.48522, up 16.73% over the past 24 hours. ICNT is the native utility token of the cloud infrastructure project Impossible Cloud Network, serving as a core “utility key” within the ICN Protocol ecosystem to facilitate usage and settlement of decentralized storage, compute resources, and enterprise-grade cloud services. The project emphasizes being “built for real demand rather than speculation,” aiming to offer decentralized, scalable, and cost-efficient virtual data center solutions for enterprises amid the high concentration of traditional cloud services. Its technical approach aligns closely with the middleware layer required for Web2 enterprise infrastructure to transition toward Web3.

From a price-action perspective, ICNT’s recent strength appears to be driven by a combination of enterprise adoption milestones, a revival in infrastructure narratives, and sentiment amplification under a mid-range circulating market cap. Recent official updates include enterprise case studies in collaboration with NovoServe, demonstrating how ICN can transform Tier-III data centers into high-margin virtual data centers and reinforcing its “deployable and monetizable” business logic. At the same time, the project continues to stress ICNT’s necessity within the protocol—rather than positioning it purely as a governance or incentive token—which resonates in a market environment increasingly favoring infrastructure assets with potential cash-flow narratives. With the circulating market cap still at a manageable level, the convergence of fundamentals and short-term capital rotation has driven ICNT’s notable price appreciation.

PIPPIN Pippin (+28.85%, Circulating Market Cap: $467M)

According to Gate market data, PIPPIN is currently trading at $0.46686, up approximately 28.85% over the past 24 hours. PIPPIN is a Meme/AI narrative project built around the personal IP of an AI creator and generative AI culture. Its core character, Pippin, is an SVG unicorn generated using the latest ChatGPT-4o large language model capabilities and created by well-known AI creator and investor Yohei Nakajima.

In terms of upside drivers, PIPPIN’s recent rally is more consistent with a short-term, flow-driven technical trade dominated by speculative capital. On the daily chart, price broke out of a prolonged consolidation range on rising volume, rapidly moving above the MA30 and accelerating along the MA5 and MA10—forming a classic trend initiation structure. The MACD has expanded sharply and remains elevated, attracting momentum traders and breakout chasers. In the absence of new fundamental catalysts, the price advance appears largely driven by a combination of technical breakout signals, concentrated liquidity, and sentiment-driven speculation. As such, this move carries both high volatility and elevated drawdown risk, with future price action heavily dependent on volume continuity; a slowdown in volume or a break below key moving-average support could prompt a swift exit by short-term capital.

Alpha Insights

OTC Selling Pressure Eases, BTC and ETH Enter a Post–De-Risking Recovery Observation Phase

According to data from Wintermute, the OTC net flows of BTC and ETH remained persistently negative for most of the past year. After a brief shift into positive territory in early 2024 driven by event-related catalysts, professional capital quickly reverted to systematic deleveraging, with selling pressure peaking in the second half of 2024 through early 2025. This pattern suggests that institutions, amid price rebounds and rising uncertainty, preferred to execute large-scale risk reduction via OTC channels rather than chase trends in secondary markets.

Focusing on recent developments, while net OTC selling pressure has not fully disappeared, its lows have clearly risen, with flows gradually returning toward neutral and showing early signs of marginal positivity. This indicates a weakening in active selling by large holders and typically signals that prior phases of structural deleveraging and portfolio rebalancing are nearing completion. The market is transitioning from a phase of concentrated selling to one of observation and selective allocation—providing necessary, though not yet sufficient, conditions for price stabilization and a medium-term recovery.

Upexi Launches a Large-Scale Financing Plan, Putting the Solana Treasury Model to the Test

Upexi, a publicly listed Solana crypto treasury company, recently filed a shelf registration with the SEC for up to $1 billion, creating flexibility to raise capital through various securities offerings in the future. According to disclosures, Upexi currently holds approximately 2 million SOL tokens, valued at around $248 million, placing it among the largest SOL holders among listed companies. While the filing does not imply an immediate issuance, it provides institutional flexibility to strengthen capital resources when market conditions allow, with potential uses including working capital, R&D, and debt management.

From an operational and balance-sheet perspective, Upexi is headquartered in Tampa and operates across consumer brands and crypto asset allocation, including Cure Mushrooms pharmaceutical products and Lucky Tail pet care. Year to date, the company’s market capitalization has declined by roughly 50%, while Solana ecosystem asset prices have fallen about 34%, reflecting dual pressures. On one hand, risk appetite toward crypto treasury-style listed companies has cooled markedly; on the other, SOL price volatility directly impacts balance-sheet stability. In this context, the shelf registration appears more defensive in nature—helpful for maintaining financial flexibility amid uncertainty—while also underscoring the model’s sensitivity to market cycles. The pace and deployment of future financing will be key in assessing its long-term sustainability.

OpenEden Brings Treasury Yields to Solana, with cUSDO Establishing an On-Chain Risk-Free Rate Benchmark

The RWA platform OpenEden announced that cUSDO, a composable wrapped version of its yield-bearing stablecoin USDO, will soon launch on Solana. As a wrapper of USDO, cUSDO preserves the core feature of being fully backed by tokenized government bonds, while further enhancing composability and DeFi compatibility. Each cUSDO circulating on Solana corresponds to tokenized bond assets that can be verified on-chain and are held and managed by qualified custodians, providing institutional-grade transparency, security, and asset integrity.

At the application level, cUSDO will initially integrate into stablecoin swap pools, lending protocols, and yield markets, becoming a productive base asset that combines government bond yields with protocol-level incentives within the Solana ecosystem. This structure not only lowers the barrier for DeFi participants to access real-world risk-free returns, but also offers protocols a more stable and predictable base yield source. More importantly, the launch of cUSDO enables Solana, for the first time, to anchor an on-chain risk-free interest rate linked to regulated treasury yields—potentially improving rate discovery, risk benchmarks, and the rationalization of lending spreads, yield strategies, and capital allocation toward a more institutionalized framework.


References

• Gate, https://www.gate.com/trade/BTC_USDT
• Farside Investors, https://farside.co.uk/btc/
• Gate, https://www.gate.com/trade/ETH_USDT
• Farside Investors, https://farside.co.uk/eth/
• Gate, https://www.gate.com/crypto-market-data
• Investing, https://investing.com/indices/usa-indices
• Investing, https://investing.com/currencies/xau-usd
• OpenEden, https://openeden.com/news/openeden-launches-cusdo-yield-bearing-stablecoin-on-solana/
• CoinDesk, https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/12/23/solana-treasury-focused-upexi-files-for-up-to-usd1-billion-capital-raise
• X, https://x.com/wintermute_t/status/2003430814206263491

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Disclaimer
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