BlockBeats News, December 16th: Bitcoin briefly dropped below $86,000, falling over 3% in 24 hours. In the past 24 hours, a total of $594 million was liquidated across the entire network, with long positions liquidated accounting for $497 million. Globally, 178,874 people were liquidated.The Bank of Japan plans to announce its interest rate decision on December 19th (Friday), with the market expecting a 25 basis point rate hike. Several macro analysts believe that if the Bank of Japan raises rates as expected on December 19th, Bitcoin could further pull back to the $70,000 level. Analyst AndrewBTC stated that based on historical data, every rate hike by the Bank of Japan since 2024 has been followed by a Bitcoin price drop of over 20%. For example, there was a drop of around 23% in March 2024, around 26% in July 2024, and around 31% in January 2025. If the Bank of Japan raises rates next week, similar downside risks may reappear.Furthermore, former Federal Reserve Board member Kevin Warsh has surpassed Hassett in the probability of becoming the next Federal Reserve Chair, rising to first place. On the prediction market Polymarket, Warsh's probability of being nominated by Trump as Fed Chair has increased from 7% to 48%, while the probability of US National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett being nominated has dropped from a peak of 85% to 42%. Wintermute stated that risk assets are showing some fatigue, indicating that stocks and digital tokens are both "digesting macro uncertainty, rather than entering a sustained risk-off phase."De Maere noted that a key factor putting pressure on the market was last week's Federal Reserve interest rate meeting. Despite the meeting delivering the widely expected 25 basis point rate cut, the forward guidance notably shifted to a more cautious tone: the Fed's latest projections indicate only one rate cut expected for the whole of 2026, a pace significantly slower than the pricing expectations of many investors. The market is currently still betting on nearly three rate cuts next year, creating a clear disconnect between investor expectations and the policy signals released by the central bank.

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