Here’s a quick recap of the crypto landscape for Monday (December 1) as of 9:00 a.m. UTC.
Get the latest insights on Bitcoin, Ether and altcoins, along with a round-up of key cryptocurrency market news.
Bitcoin and Ether price update
Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$86,828.87, down by 5.2 percent over 24 hours.
Bitcoin price performance, December 1, 2025.
Chart via TradingView
After a brief resurgence last week that saw prices break past the US$90,000 barrier, Bitcoin has come crashing back down post-Thanksgiving.
Bitcoin saw a 5 percent overall slide, which pushed prices near last month’s eight-month low of US$80,553.
The decline follows a difficult November, when Bitcoin shed more than US$18,000 and posted record outflows from U.S. bitcoin exchange-traded funds. CME futures pricing also reflected the shift in sentiment, with three-month Bitcoin contracts trading at their smallest premium to near-dated futures in at least a year.
Other major cryptocurrencies weakened as well. Ether fell nearly 6 percent to around US$2,840 after losing about 22 percent in November, its worst monthly performance since February’s 32 percent decline.
Since reaching a record market size of about US$4.3 trillion, the broader crypto sector has lost more than US$1 trillion in value,
After the recent steep decline, Ether (ETH) was currently priced at US$2,838.35, similarly down by 5.2 percent over 24 hours.
Altcoin price update
XRP (XRP) was priced at US$2.06, down by 7.1 percent over 24 hours.
Solana (SOL) was trading at US$127.65, down by 6.9 percent over 24 hours.
Today’s crypto news to know
Bitcoin’s weekend slide wipes out US$637M in leveraged positions
Bitcoin’s latest downturn over the weekend triggered a wave of liquidations that erased roughly US$637 million across futures markets.
The selloff pushed Bitcoin to an intraday low near US$85,700, extending its monthly decline past 21 percent and dragging Ethereum, XRP, and other majors sharply lower. The slump began as momentum-driven selling forced heavily leveraged longs to unwind, turning a routine correction into a fast, disorderly slide.
Comments from Strategy CEO Phong Le about potentially selling part of the company’s sizable Bitcoin holdings added to jitters, even though prediction markets continue to see a low probability of actual disposals this year.
“We can sell Bitcoin, and we would sell Bitcoin if needed to fund our dividend payments below 1x mNAV,” Le said in a podcast.
The company currently controls 649,870 BTC, which valued at about US$56.26 billion at current prices.
Further, China’s central bank reiterating its hard line against crypto activity further weighed on sentiment heading into the final month of the year.
Tether blasts S&P after fresh downgrade
Tether pushed back forcefully this week after S&P Global cut its assessment of USDT’s peg stability, assigning the stablecoin the lowest score on the agency’s scale.
S&P pointed to weaker reserve quality, shrinking cash-equivalent holdings, and rising exposure to secured loans and Bitcoin as reasons for the downgrade.
The report noted that Tether’s Bitcoin holdings now exceed the cushion meant to absorb volatility, increasing the risk that a sharp price drop could leave the token undercollateralized.
Tether’s leadership dismissed the rating as biased and politically motivated.
‘Some influencers are either bad at math or have the incentive to push our competitors,’ Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said in a recent post on X.
After the downgrade last week, Ardoino also maintained that ‘the traditional finance propaganda machine is growing worried when any company tries to defy the force of gravity of the broken financial system.’
The downgrade also comes as Tether’s mining affiliate winds down operations in Uruguay after months of unpaid power bills and stalled expansion plans.
Japan prepares 20 percent flat tax on crypto gains
Japan is moving toward a flat 20 percent tax on cryptocurrency gains, a change that would replace the current progressive regime that can push rates above 50 percent for active traders.
Nikkei Asia reported that under the proposal, crypto income would be placed into a separate category similar to equities, with the goal of reducing distortions that discourage trading or push users offshore.
Lawmakers backing the plan say aligning digital assets with other investment products could draw liquidity back to domestic exchanges and boost overall tax receipts.
The reform is expected to be finalized as part of the country’s 2026 tax framework, with revenue split between the national and local governments.
Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.