December kicked off with a heavy punch to the market. The total market capitalization of crypto assets slid to $2.93 trillion, falling by 0.52% in 24 hours, while the volume unusually surged by 41.31%—this is certainly not a good sign, clearly a mess left by panic selling and high leverage getting liquidated.

Bitcoin still firmly occupies 58.8% of the market, while Ethereum is left with only 11.5%, struggling to hold on. Where is the money running to? Stablecoins like USDT and USDC have become the lifeboats that everyone is scrambling for, while altcoins are being tossed aside. The Fear and Greed Index has dropped directly to 24, firmly in the "Extreme Fear" zone. Although the RSI is hovering around 39.65, appearing tepid, don't let this surface calmness lull you into a false sense of security.

The current situation, to put it simply, is a combination of tightened liquidity and the dark clouds of the macro economy, which leaves the bulls no choice but to hide and lick their wounds for now. However, it is worth mentioning that news from Vanguard indicates that once the gates for the ETF are opened, the sleeping giant of institutional funds could wake at any moment. This is not just wishful thinking; historical data backs it up—Beta values of 2.0 to 2.5 mean that the market rebound could be significant. It may hurt in the short term, but in the long run, it depends on how the institutions play their cards.