Bitcoin Plunges Below $102K Amid Weak U.S. Demand, Fed Divided on December Cut

Markets Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Bitcoin Plunges Below $102K Amid Weak U.S. Demand, Fed Divided on December Cut Bitcoin's Coinbase Premium, a popular gauge for U.S. demand, is having its longest negative streak since the April correction, coinciding with the Fed turning more hawkish. By Krisztian Sandor | Edited by Nikhilesh De Nov 12, 2025, 5:33 p.m. Bitcoin (BTC) price on November 12 (CoinDesk) What to know : Bitcoin dropped back below $102K as cryptos erased overnight gains during U.S. trading hours. ETH, XRP, SOL plunged around 5%. Crypto miners and equities slid, led by double-digit losses in AI-linked data center stocks. Fed's December rate cut odds dim as officials grow split over inflation versus labor risks. Overnight crypto gains once again evaporated by U.S. morning hours as bitcoin BTC $ 101,639.28 tumbled back below $102,000 on Wednesday. Briefly topping $105,000 earlier today, the largest crypto nosedived 3% in just a couple hours as U.S. traditional markets opened. It wasn't just bitcoin; ether ETH $ 3,402.31 fell almost 5% below $3,400 during the same period, while Solana SOL $ 153.61 , XRP $ 2.3427 and other altcoin majors suffered similar declines. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . Crypto-related U.S. stocks are also taking a beating in the early session. USDC stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) dropped 9.5% after its third quarter earnings, while crypto miners with data center ambitions including Bitfarms (BITF), Bitdeer (BTDR), Cipher Mining (CIFR), Hive Digital (HIVE), Hut 8 (HUT) and IREN continued selling off, down 5%-10%. Weak U.S. appetite for bitcoin Lackluster price action during U.S. trading hours has been a staple for the past few weeks now on crypto markets. Showcasing the weak American investor appetite is the so-called Coinbase Premium, a popular gauge for U.S. investor demand, which has been negative since late October. Bitcoin's Coinbase Premium Index is having its weakest streak since April correction. (CryptoQuant) The Coinbase Premium measures the price difference for spot BTC on Coinbase, widely used crypto exchange by U.S. customers and many institutional market participants, compared to prices on Binance, the leading exchange by trading volume that's popular among offshore retail users. That's the metric's longest negative streak since March-April, when BTC fell to $75,000 from above $100,000 in a market-wide correction. Fed divided on rate cuts The shift in U.S. sentiment coincides with growing uncertainty around the Federal Reserve’s next move since the central bank's October meeting. What had been widely assumed before the meeting to be a straightforward path to another rate cut in December, has now turned into an internal battle among policymakers. According to a recent Wall Street Journal report , the central bank is facing an internal divide, with policymakers split over whether the greater risk now is persistent inflation or a softening labor market. That division has left the path to a December rate cut far less clear than it appeared just weeks ago. The recent government shutdown, which temporarily froze key employment and inflation data releases, has only widened that divide by forcing policymakers to lean on private data and anecdotes, the report said. A December cut is now a "tossup," the report said, and even deciding on lowering rates could come with guidance of higher bar for further reductions. Since the Fed's October meeting, U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs saw more than $1.8 billion in net outflows , pointing to that uncertainty around the Fed's move, and the lack of clear positive catalysts, is keeping BTC on edge. Market Wrap market analysis Bitcoin Coinbase Premium CryptoQuant More For You OwlTing: Stablecoin Infrastructure for the Future By CoinDesk Research Oct 16, 2025 Commissioned by OwlTing Stablecoin payment volumes have grown to $19.4B year-to-date in 2025. OwlTing aims to capture this market by developing payment infrastructure that processes transactions in seconds for fractions of a cent. View Full Report More For You Stellar's XLM Trades in Tight Range as Traders Exhibit Uncertainty By CD Analytics , Oliver Knight 4 minutes ago XLM trades within tight $0.2810-$0.2950 corridor following volume surge that triggered key support breakdown earlier in session. What to know : XLM dropped from $0.2949 to $0.2944 across 24 hours in 5.0% trading range. Heavy selling at 11 November 20:00 smashed $0.2845 support on 36.08 million volume spike. Latest 60-minute data shows bullish reversal reclaiming $0.2950 resistance level. 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Chart Suggests So, Analysts Cite 3 Catalysts 8 hours ago Pooled Order Books in the Crosshairs as EU Regulators Look to Tighten MiCA Oversight 4 hours ago In this article BTC BTC $ 101,639.28 ◢ 1.65 % ETH ETH $ 3,402.31 ◢ 2.07 % SOL SOL $ 153.61 ◢ 3.76 %