The Daily: Analysts say ‘Santa rally’ looks unlikely, Rushi Manche unveils new venture, Tom Lee calls ETH bottom, and more
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.Happy Thursday! Another spot XRP ETF hit the U.S. market this morning as 21Shares joined Canary, Bitwise, Grayscale, and Franklin Templeton in a fast-growing product class that's nearing $1 billion in inflows less than a month after launch.In today's newsletter, analysts say a "Santa rally" is now unlikely after the Fed's "hawkish cut," Rushi Manche unveils his new $100 million crypto venture, Gemini wins CFTC approval for prediction markets, and more.Meanwhile, Multicoin joins as lead investor in LI.FI's $29 million Series A extension round.P.S. Don't forget to check out The Funding, a biweekly rundown of crypto VC trends. It's a great read — and just like The Daily, it's free to subscribe!Santa rally now unlikely as bitcoin slips after Fed delivers 'hawkish cut': analystsBitcoin slipped back to around $90,000 on Thursday after the Federal Reserve delivered a widely expected 25-bps cut but paired it with cautious guidance that analysts said drained momentum from the pre-meeting rally.Chair Jerome Powell's messaging signaled a cautious stance — with only one cut projected for 2026 and the most FOMC dissents since 2018 — injecting fresh uncertainty into markets and muting risk appetite.Analysts said the Fed's $40 billion in T-bill purchases will add a liquidity tailwind, but that's not enough to spark a "Santa rally" or drive bitcoin to new all-time highs before Easter.ETF inflows remain strong — including $224 million into U.S. spot bitcoin products on Tuesday — yet also failed to lift prices as overall conviction stayed thin.Analysts noted that "smart money" wallets accumulated more than 42,000 BTC this month, but retail trimming and short-term holder selling continue to cap upside.Exchange balances also continue to fall, reinforcing structural scarcity, but analysts said bitcoin remains stuck in a tightening range until macro uncertainty clears.Rushi Manche unveils Nyx Group venture with $100 million plan to back token projectsRushi Manche, who left Movement Labs earlier this year following controversy over a MOVE token market-making arrangement, has resurfaced with a new venture called Nyx Group.The initiative plans to deploy up to $100 million into liquid markets to support vetted projects preparing token launches and to provide capital, expertise, and hands-on operational assistance to "trusted" blockchain founders navigating a challenging market.Nyx Group is funded by several other partners and family offices who "share a common set of investment principles and belief in this space," Manche said, without naming those involved.He added that the group expects to deploy the capital over the next few years and plans to share additional information on the specific backers "soon."Gemini wins CFTC approval for prediction market, may expand into crypto derivativesGemini won CFTC approval to operate a Designated Contract Market, clearing the way for its new prediction platform Gemini Titan, and opening the door to crypto futures, options, and perps.The exchange first applied for a DCM license in 2020, years before today's prediction market boom fueled by record growth at upstarts Kalshi and Polymarket.The approval comes as the CFTC under Acting Chair Caroline Pham adopts a more supportive stance toward the niche, a shift underscored by recent legal wins for the new entrants.The move marks a competitive push into a rapidly expanding sector already drawing interest from Crypto.com, Coinbase, and Robinhood.Coinbase taps Chainlink to expand wrapped assets like cbBTC and cbXRP to new chainsCoinbase selected Chainlink's CCIP interoperability protocol as the bridging solution for its $7 billion suite of wrapped assets, including cbBTC and cbXRP, to make them deployable across more blockchains.The integration uses Chainlink's audited token pool model rather than traditional wrapping bridges, aiming to create more secure cross-chain transfers for Coinbase-issued assets.CCIP has rapidly expanded across major ecosystems — from EVM chains to Aptos, Hedera, TON, and Monad — and was also adopted by Base for its new Solana bridge.Coinbase said Chainlink's oracle networks, which secure over 70% of global DeFi activity, provide the reliability and connectivity needed to scale wrapped asset offerings across blockchains.'Ethereum has already bottomed': Tom Lee's BitMine reportedly buys $112 million in ETHBitMine accelerated its accumulation strategy with another $112 million ETH purchase, according to onchain tracking from Arkham, but not yet confirmed by the company, as it pushes toward its goal of owning 5% of the total ether supply.Meanwhile, Chair Tom Lee doubled down on his bullish call, saying ETH has already bottomed and forecasting a sharp rally into early 2026 despite the Federal Reserve's hawkish tone.Lee argued that a leadership shift at the Fed and the ISM Index rising above 50 will fuel a broader crypto reversal next year, with the latter historically accompanying "super cycle" moves in ETH and BTC.In the next 24 hoursUK GDP figures are due at 2 a.m. ET on Friday.Wormhole is among the crypto projects set for token unlocks.Solana Breakpoint continues in Abu Dhabi.Never miss a beat with The Block's daily digest of the most influential events happening across the digital asset ecosystem.Disclaimer: This article was produced with the assistance of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and reviewed and edited by our editorial team.Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. 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