By Kapil Rajyaguru
Bitcoin faced a sharp rejection at the six-digit threshold, nosediving to $94,000 on Monday evening. Within an hour, the king coin shed $4,000, hitting a multi-day low of $94,300 before rebounding to $99,800 today. Data from CoinGlass reveals liquidation chaos, with wrecked positions totalling $1.5 billion in the past 24 hours.
Altcoins fared worse, with numerous double-digit losses before staging a partial recovery. Yet amidst the turbulence, the digital asset investment landscape made history. Weekly inflows into crypto investment products soared to $3.85 billion — the highest ever, pushing year-to-date inflows to $41 billion.
Ethereum played a pivotal role, attracting $1.2 billion in inflows — a new record — surpassing the impact of the July ETF launches. Bitcoin led the charge with $2.5 billion in inflows, bringing its YTD tally to $36.5 billion, cementing its dominance in this historic rally.
MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin Stash Rises to 423,650 BTC After Another Multi-Billion Dollar Purchase.
Meanwhile, It seems like a recurring event now, but MicroStrategy, the world’s largest corporate holder of BTC, has announced another massive acquisition. This time, the firm spent $2.1 billion at an average price of $98,782 to acquire 21,550 BTC.
With this quite substantial purchase, Saylor and his team have increased the firm’s total bitcoin stash to 423,650 BTC. At current prices, this fortune equates to roughly $42 billion.
Given that the company spent $25.6 billion to accumulate it, this means that the NASDAQ-listed giant now sits on an unrealized profit worth more than $17 billion.
Going by iMicroStrategy’s current rate of bitcoin acquisitions, analysts hold no doubts that it could find its way into the Nasdaq 100 index by December 23. This follows after analysts at research and brokerage firm Bernstein shared their expectations for the company to continue in its tracks.
Trump’s World Liberty Acquires ETH, LINK, and AAVE in $12mn Crypto Shopping Spree.
Moving on, World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a decentralized finance (DeFi) initiative endorsed by President-elect Donald Trump, has made headlines with a significant $12 million purchase. Using USD Coin (USDC), WLFI acquired various tokens, including Ethereum (ETH), Chainlink (LINK), and Aave (AAVE).
According to SpotOnChain, this is WLFI’s first purchase of LINK and AAVE. The firm also revealed that over the past 12 days, the organization had spent a total of $30 million to buy 8,105 ETH at an average price of $3,701.
The buying spree follows a $30 million investment by Tron founder Justin Sun, who recently became WLFI’s largest investor. Sun expressed his enthusiasm for the development in a November 25 X post.
Russian Lawmaker Proposes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
In another interesting development centred around Bitcoin, Anton Tkachev, a State Duma deputy from the New People Party, has formally proposed establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve in Russia. Tkachev sent an appeal to Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov urging an assessment of the feasibility of creating such a reserve.
His proposal outlines the challenges of reliance on traditional currencies susceptible to volatility, sanctions, and inflation. Tkachev explained that these vulnerabilities threaten Russia’s financial stability.
This development aligns with a growing global trend of governments considering Bitcoin as a reserve asset. In the United States, recent months have seen increased interest in Bitcoin reserves following Donald Trump’s election win, with several states initiating related legislation.
Vancouver Council Votes in Favor of Exploring Bitcoin as a Financial Strategy.
Meanwhile, Vancouver’s city council has voted in favor of exploring the use of BTC in municipal finances, marking a significant step toward making the city “Bitcoin-friendly.” Mayor Ken Sim introduced the motion, which passed on Wednesday with strong support from six councilors. Two voted against it, and three were absent.
The mayor’s initiative aims to explore Bitcoin as a potential safeguard against inflation and currency devaluation. Sim’s motion calls for a report by the end of the first quarter of 2025 to assess the feasibility, risks, and benefits of Bitcoin adoption. To demonstrate his commitment, Sim has pledged a $10,000 donation in Bitcoin to the city, regardless of the outcome.
Circle and Binance Partner to Drive Global USDC Adoption and Battle USDT.
Elsewhere, On Wednesday morning in Abu Dhabi, Binance and Circle announced a strategic partnership to promote USDC, a stablecoin jointly owned by Circle and Coinbase. The collaboration comes as stablecoins gain traction in mainstream finance and competitors seek to challenge the dominance of market leader Tether.
Details about revenue sharing in this arrangement remain undisclosed, though sources informed Fortune that Binance will not acquire an equity stake in Circle. According to the press release, the partnership aims to expand the worldwide adoption of USDC.
As part of the agreement, Binance will adopt USDC as a core component of its corporate treasury. On the other hand, Circle will support Binance by providing the necessary technology, liquidity, and tools to enable user access to USDC while also working to strengthen relationships across global finance and commerce.
USDT Adoption Surges: Outpaces Bitcoin and Nears Ethereum in Wallet Count.
In another news, USDT emerged as a leading digital asset in Q4 2024, with 109 million on-chain wallets holding it, more than double the number for Bitcoin and nearing the 128 million wallets that own Ethereum. Beyond on-chain activity, 86 million accounts on centralized platforms have received USDT deposits.
Meanwhile, USDT has also experienced explosive growth in wallet adoption, surging by 71% in 2023 and 129% the year before. This increase has been primarily fueled by smaller wallets with balances below $1,000, reflecting a shift towards self-custody following the dramatic collapse of FTX.
USDC has gained some traction on platforms like Solana and Base, yet USDT still holds over 30% of the wallet share on Solana.
Ripple Mints Over 13mn RLUSD Amid Imminent Launch.
Meanwhile Ripple Labs, an American blockchain payments firm, has minted over 13 million RLUSD stablecoins across multiple blockchain networks. This activity is part of Ripple’s intensified testing phase for its stablecoin, which is set to launch soon following approval from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).
The stablecoin, which is fully backed by onshore U.S. assets, has been undergoing rigorous tests involving minting and transfers across these networks. Ripple confirmed that these tests are aimed at ensuring the stablecoin’s functionality before its official debut.
Bhutan’s Government Transfers $40mn in Bitcoin to QCP Capital.
And lastly, according to blockchain analytics platform SpotOnChain, on December 9, the Royal Government of Bhutan transferred 402 Bitcoin (BTC) worth $39.56 million to QCP Capital. This is the latest in a series of transactions from Bhutan’s government, which has been actively selling its Bitcoin reserves since October.
Bhutan holds approximately 11,700 BTC valued at $1.15 billion across seven known wallets, making it the fourth-largest government Bitcoin holder globally. The coins are managed by Druk Holding & Investments (DHI), the country’s state investment arm.
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