Bitcoin Soars 8% as Wall Street Giants Finally Crack Open the Crypto Vault

Wall Street's hesitation is officially over. Major institutions are now greenlighting crypto investments, sending Bitcoin on a blistering 8% rally. The dam has broken.

The Institutional Floodgates Swing Open

For years, traditional finance treated crypto like a fringe experiment. That narrative is dead. A wave of approvals from heavyweight asset managers and banks has created a direct pipeline for institutional capital—the kind that moves markets in percentages that make retail traders' heads spin.

This isn't just about dipping a toe in. It's about constructing entirely new financial products and allocation models. The infrastructure being built isn't for day traders; it's for pension funds and endowments looking for the digital gold standard. Talk about a change from the usual 'safe' bond yields that barely beat inflation.

A New Market Structure Emerges Overnight

The price surge tells only half the story. The real shift is in liquidity and stability. Institutional participation brings deeper order books and, ironically, a more mature trading environment. Volatility won't disappear, but its character is changing from wild speculation to strategic accumulation.

The move legitimizes the entire asset class in the eyes of regulators and conservative portfolios. Once one giant moves, the rest face a brutal choice: lead, follow, or get left holding devaluing fiat. Most will choose to follow, fueling the next leg up.

The cynical take? Wall Street only embraces an asset after it's figured out how to charge a 2% management fee on it. But even that jaded reality signals permanence. The genie isn't going back in the bottle. The question is no longer *if* crypto gets a seat at the table, but how much of the table it eventually owns.

TLDR

• Stock futures rose around 0.2% Tuesday evening with Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 all posting gains ahead of key jobs data
• Bitcoin climbed back above $91,000, up 8% in 24 hours, while ethereum reclaimed $3,000 after a 10% jump on Tuesday
• Vanguard lifted its ban on crypto ETFs and Bank of America now allows advisers to recommend 1-4% crypto allocations to clients
• CME FedWatch shows 87.2% chance of a 25-basis point Fed rate cut at the Dec. 10 meeting, up from 63% a month ago
• Total crypto market capitalization rose to $3.06 trillion after falling below that level during Sunday’s sell-off

The stock market showed modest gains Tuesday evening while crypto markets staged a rebound following policy changes from major financial institutions and rising expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut.

Stock futures edged higher across major indexes. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures, S&P 500 futures, and Nasdaq 100 futures all posted gains of around 0.2% as traders looked ahead to Wednesday’s ADP private payrolls report due at 8:15 a.m. ET.

The broader stock market finished Tuesday higher across the board. Tech stocks including Nvidia helped lift indexes while investors prepared for the Fed’s Dec. 10 policy decision.

Markets are currently pricing in roughly an 89% probability of a rate cut according to the CME FedWatch tool. With government data still delayed after the shutdown and no nonfarm payrolls report this week, the ADP report will serve as one of the last major labor market indicators ahead of the central bank’s decision.

Bitcoin climbed back above $91,000 on Tuesday, gaining approximately 8% over 24 hours. ethereum reclaimed the $3,000 level after a 10% jump.

Total crypto market capitalization rose to $3.06 trillion. This marked a recovery after the market slipped below $3 trillion during Sunday night’s sell-off.

Major Policy Shifts

Vanguard lifted its long-standing ban on Bitcoin ETF purchases. The change took effect for the Tuesday trading session.

THE VANGUARD EFFECT: bitcoin jumps 6% right around US open on first day after bitcoin ETF ban lifted. Coincidence? I think not. Also $1b in IBIT volume in first 30min of trading. I knew those Vanguardians had a little degen in them, even some of the most conservative investors… pic.twitter.com/OKyihvEqqD

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) December 2, 2025

Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas noted bitcoin’s surge aligned with the U.S. equity market open. “Bitcoin jumps 6% right around the U.S. open on the first day after the ban lifted,” Balchunas wrote on X.

BlackRock’s IBIT saw $1 billion in volume within the first 30 minutes of trading. Bank of America told advisers across Merrill, Private Bank and Merrill Edge that clients can now allocate 1-4% of portfolios to crypto.

The policy change affects more than 15,000 advisers who previously faced restrictions on recommending digital-asset products. This marks an end to a long-standing limitation at one of the largest U.S. brokerages.

Fed Rate Cut Expectations Rise

Traders increased their bets on lower interest rates heading into December. CME FedWatch now shows an 87.2% chance of a 25-basis point cut at the Dec. 10 meeting, up from 63% a month ago.

OMG it's at 89.2% now, a rate cut might be happening in 8 days !! pic.twitter.com/NOZHigAXhn

— Satoshi Flipper (@SatoshiFlipper) December 2, 2025

Only 12.8% of traders expect the Fed to hold the current 375-400 basis points target range. The shift has supported a broader bid across risk assets that rely on looser liquidity conditions.

Cardano gained about 14.5% while Solana added 11%. chainlink climbed more than 12%, helped by the launch of Grayscale’s new Chainlink ETF on NYSE Arca.

The new ETF gives U.S. investors their first spot product tied to LINK. Marvell Technology surged 10% in after-hours trading after delivering stronger-than-expected fiscal third quarter results.

American Eagle Outfitters jumped more than 10% after raising its full-year outlook. The retailer cited a stronger-than-anticipated start to the holiday shopping season.

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins told CNBC the agency is preparing an “innovation exemption” and expects to MOVE forward on long-delayed crypto rulemaking “in a month or so.”