Cryptocurrencies are trading lower Wednesday morning as sentiment was damped by a slew of negative news, especially on the price of Bitcoin.
Overall cryptocurrency market capitalization was $215.33 billion and the Bitcoin dominance rate was 52.1 percent on CoinMarketCap as of 9.12 am ET. Here is a wrap of the main news from the cryptocurrency and blockchain world over the past 24 hours.
Bitcoin's Lightning Network Applied On Coca-cola Vending Machine
Bitcoin's Lightning Network has been used to purchase Coca-cola from an experimental vending machine that accepts Bitcoin payments, as per a video released by hardware hacker Ricardo Reis. The 42-second video, which is titled "Coke vending machine that accepts Bitcoin payments through Lightning Network," Reis demonstrates the procedure with a modified Coca-Cola vending machine.
Binance Invests $2.5 mln In Australian Startup TravelByBit
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has made a $2.5 million or A$3.48 million investment in TravelbyBit, an Australian cryptocurrency startup in the travel industry, for the expansion of its network of cryptocurrency payment terminals around the world. The companies plan a point-of-sale or POS payment system based on blockchain technology for major airports.
WSJ: Cryptocurrency Trading Bots Manipulate Bitcoin Price
Automated trading programs, or bots, that manipulate cryptocurrency prices are rampant across the market, the Wall Street Journal reported. These bots allow traders to set the entry level and exit level for trade, following which it will place orders at an exchange and execute them at great speed. Such tools are not in the interest for the cryptocurrency market as these can be exploited to artificially create a spike in the cryptocurrency prices or deflate them. Regulators are also closely watching the market to identify such automated trading. Bitcoin Investment Trust Shares Tumble 80% Since December: Bloomberg
Shares of the only Bitcoin investment trust in the U.S., Graysacle Bitcoin Investment Trust, has fallen nearly 80 percent since Bitcoin hit a record $20,000 in December 2017, the Bloomberg reported. High fund fees and the sharply downward trend in Bitcoin are among the reasons to be blamed.
Current Prices
As of 9.12 am ET, Bitcoin was down 1.41 percent at $6,425.01 and Ethereum was lower by 4.19 percent at $217.12 on Coinbase.
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Forex News
December 19, 2025 15:10 ET U.S. inflation data and interest rate decisions by major central banks were the highlights of this busy week for economics news flow. Employment data and survey results on the housing markets also gained attention in the U.S. In Europe, the European Central Bank and Bank of England announced their policy decisions and macroeconomic projections.