Federal Reserve Meeting Minutes: Participants Generally Expect Inflation to Remain at Elevated Levels in the Near Term

On December 20th, cryptocurrency-related U.S. stocks posted a broad advance, per market data, with the following notable gains: - Bitmine (BMNR): +9.94% - Bit Digital (BTBT): +9.65% - SharpLink Gaming (SBET): +7.98% - American Bitcoin (ABTC): +7.23% - MicroStrategy (MSTR): +4.08% This aligns with U.S. financial news style—concise, direct, and using common phrases like "posted a broad advance" (standard for market gains) and "per market data" (casual yet professional for quick updates). The bullet points and "+" for gains enhance readability, matching how U.S. media often presents stock movement snippets.

On December 20th, Sean Farrell—Fundstrat’s Director of Cryptocurrency Strategy (reporting to Tom Lee)—stated in the firm’s *2026 Cryptocurrency Outlook* report: “While Bitcoin and the broader crypto market still have strong long-term bullish drivers, liquidity-fueled support is expected to emerge in 2026, we may still need to price in several risks in Q1/Q2 2026, which could create more attractive entry points.” My baseline call: A more notable pullback will hit H1 2026. Bitcoin could drop to $60,000–$65,000, Ethereum to $1,800–$2,000, and SOL to $50–$75. These levels will offer better positioning opportunities ahead of year-end. If this call proves wrong, I still favor a defensive stance, waiting for confirmation signals of a strengthening trend. Year-end targets: ~$115,000 for Bitcoin, ~$4,500 for Ethereum. Within this framework, ETH will show more pronounced relative strength. This makes sense, as Ethereum has more favorable structural fund flow traits: no miner selling pres

Crypto analyst @alicharts noted Monday (Dec 20) that $2,772 is a key support level for Ethereum—if that level breaks, the next supports sit at $2,489 and $1,866, respectively.

CoinDesk reported on December 20th that Wall Street giant Citigroup has updated its digital asset equities report, lowering target prices for some crypto-related stocks amid the recent broad downturn in the crypto market—though it remains bullish on the sector. In a Friday note, analyst Peter Christiansen and his team stated: “Despite recent token volatility, we continue to have a favorable view on digital asset stocks.” Circle Financial (CRCL), issuer of the USDC stablecoin, remains Citigroup’s top pick, with the team reaffirming its $243 price target even as the stock has dropped sharply to $83.60 recently. Christiansen’s next top picks are Bullish (BLSH) and Coinbase (COIN). “We believe BLSH is well-positioned to benefit from growing participation from institutional investors (notably in the U.S.) and traditional finance (TradFi),” he noted. BLSH’s price target was cut from $77 to $67, though it still holds significant upside relative to its current $44 price. COIN’s target re

On December 20, Wintermute trading strategist Jasper De Maere noted Bitcoin could trade between $86k and $92k. For now, overinterpreting technical indicators isn’t wise—more profit-taking is likely over the next two weeks, fueled primarily by year-end portfolio rebalancing and tax-related moves. He anticipates Bitcoin will keep trading sideways until a new catalyst hits, with one potential trigger being the massive options expiration set for late December. De Maere added that while it’s still too early to call a market bottom, early signs of a bottom are starting to show. “In the short term, I’m confident we’re oversold.”

On December 20, spot silver broke through $67 an ounce, hitting a new all-time high with a 2.38% intraday gain. Comex silver in New York surged 3.00% intraday and was last trading at $67.18 an ounce. (FX168)