The altcoin market in December no longer sees the big losses seen last month. It is now moving into a new horizontal phase. Several altcoins with their own catalysts and news flows have led many derivatives traders to take unilateral positions.
However, there are also some important macro events this week. These events may expose your positions to significant liquidation risk.
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1. Zcash (ZEC)
ZEC has fallen 50% from its all-time high of $748 hit last month. Such large declines tend to attract investors who think they missed out on previous opportunities. This sentiment has led derivatives traders to expect a rebound in December. As a result, the cumulative liquidation amount on the long side sharply increased.
Traders also now have another reason to bet on long positions. Zooko Wilcox, founder of Zocash, will participate in a discussion on cryptocurrencies, financial surveillance, and privacy hosted by the SEC on December 15th. Investors are hopeful that his arrival will increase support for privacy altcoins, including ZEC.
If long positions remain overconfident without a stop-loss plan, long traders could face liquidations of up to $98 million if ZEC falls towards $295 this week.
Recent analysis by BeInCrypto shows that ZEC is still in a broad downtrend after an initial FOMO rally. Its technical structure continues to resemble a bubble pattern.
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2.ASTER
Aster, the main derivatives DEX on the BNB chain, benefited from a surge in trading activity during the perpetual DEX boom in September. However, the price has since fallen by more than 60% and now hovers below $1.
The liquidation map shows that the total active liquidations of short positions exceed the total of long positions. Still, short sellers could face considerable risk this week.
Astor recently announced an accelerated share repurchase program starting December 8, 2025. The new daily share repurchase pace increased to approximately $4 million, up from the previous $3 million.
This development could support price gains this week. If ASTER rises to $1.07, total short-side liquidations could exceed $32 million.
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Technically, the analyst also notes that the price has reached a strong support zone and broke above the one-month trend line.
3. Bitensor (TAO)
The Bittensor (TAO) liquidation map shows a severe imbalance. The amount settled on the long side is much greater than the amount settled on the short side.
If TAO falls to $243.50, long traders could face losses of nearly $17 million. Conversely, a rise to $340 could result in approximately $5 million of short positions being liquidated.
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Why are so many traders betting on long positions? Many expect the price to rise ahead of TAO’s first halving.
According to BeInCrypto, around December 14th, Bittensor’s first halving will reduce its daily issuance from 7,200 TAO to 3,600 TAO when the total supply reaches 10.5 million.
“This reduction in supply reduces emissions to network participants and increases the scarcity of TAO. Bitcoin’s history shows that a reduction in supply can increase the value of the network despite decreasing rewards, as the network’s security and market value have been strengthened through four consecutive halvings. Similarly, Bittensor’s first halving marks an important milestone in the maturation of the network as it moves towards a supply cap of 21 million tokens.” – Explained grayscale.
Grayscale’s report reinforced bullish sentiment among long traders. Without a strict stop-loss plan, the “news tout” effect can cause widespread liquidations.
Additionally, the second week of December is the week the Federal Reserve announces its interest rate decisions. Historically, this announcement has far more market impact than most internal crypto news. Even if a trader correctly predicts the Fed’s movements, he or she may not be able to avoid extreme volatility that causes liquidations of both long and short positions.
