Late-night cryptocurrency chaos, over 110,000 traders liquidated, Bitcoin's predicted price slashed in half

Crypto Markets See Heightened Volatility Over the Past Two Days!

On January 3, Bitcoin surged and briefly topped $90,500, then in the afternoon it plunged and fell below $90,000. As of 22:50 at the time of publication, Bitcoin is back above the $90,000 mark again. Multiple major cryptocurrencies collectively rose; Ethereum reclaimed $3,000, up more than 2%, XRP rose more than 6%, and Dogecoin jumped more than 9%. According to data from coinglass, over 110k people were liquidated in the past 24 hours.

On the news front, late on January 3, according to Xinhua News Agency, U.S. President Trump said the U.S. has successfully carried out an attack against Venezuela. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were “dragged out of the bedroom and taken away” during a U.S. military raid. A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement issued on the 3rd that Guterres was deeply shocked by the escalation of the situation in Venezuela in recent days, and that the U.S. military action taken in Venezuela that day may have worrying effects on the region.

Bitcoin Plunges Nearly 30% in Two Months

Standard Chartered Significantly Cuts Its Long-Term Bitcoin Price Forecast

Notably, according to Caixin Global, Geoff Kendrick, Global Head of Digital Asset Research at Standard Chartered Bank, one of Wall Street’s most steadfast Bitcoin bulls, has recently sharply lowered its outlook for this crypto asset.

Standard Chartered has effectively “cut its entire” future Bitcoin price forecast in half, with the biggest declines especially in 2026–2028. Kendrick said Standard Chartered expects Bitcoin to rise to $150k in 2026, only half of its previous $300k target.

In early October 2025, Bitcoin once surged to an all-time high of about $126,000; compared with the peak, Bitcoin has since fallen by nearly 30%.

Bitcoin’s most recent round of decline has been driven by multiple negative factors, including insufficient market liquidity, reduced risk appetite amid uncertainty over the rate-cut outlook, and market speculation that Strategy—the largest Bitcoin corporate buyer—may be forced to sell part of its holdings.

In addition, on the news front, expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts have strengthened again.

In a report, Barclays’ U.S. economists said the bank maintains its expectation that the Federal Reserve will cut rates twice in 2026, with 25 basis points in March and 25 basis points in June. They believe the risks around this baseline forecast are tilted toward delaying the rate cuts.

David Seif, Chief Economist for Developed Markets at Nomura, said in a recent interview with a reporter from 21st Century Economic Herald that the dynamic changes in the Federal Reserve in 2026 may become even more pronounced. Nomura expects the U.S. economy in 2026 to continue to show resilience, with real GDP projected to grow 2.4%. Easing pressure on the labor supply and faster business investment led by AI will provide support for the economy. Conditions in the labor market will improve; after three years of slight increases, the unemployment rate by year-end will fall to 4.0%.

For the future path of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy, Nomura expects that although inflation pressures triggered by 2025 tariffs may ease, core services inflation will keep the Federal Reserve cautious. Under a new, more dovish leadership team, it is expected that the Federal Reserve will cut rates once each in June and September 2026.

(Statement: The content of this article is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice. Investors act on it at their own risk.)

(Editor: Wenjing)

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                                                            Cryptocurrency