By Kapil Rajyaguru
Bitcoin Crashes Below $97K Amid Fed’s Cautious Stance on Rate Reductions
The cryptocurrency market witnessed a rollercoaster week, marked by monumental highs and gut-wrenching lows. The United States Federal Reserve implemented its third consecutive rate cut, reducing interest rates by 25 basis points. However, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks cast a shadow, suggesting that future rate reductions could pause due to alarming CPI data for October and November.
As a result, bitcoin’s price tumbled hard. It had already retraced to $105,000 after the latest peak but dumped even more to just under $97,000. Its market capitalization has declined to $1.92 trillion on CoinMarketCap, but its dominance over the alts has exploded to 57.44%.
Anchor 1- Altcoins, known for their heightened volatility, suffered significant losses. XRP dropped over 11%, briefly trading below $2.2 before a mild recovery to $2.3. DOGE, AVAX, and SHIB faced similar sharp declines, while ETH, BNB, and SOL registered slightly less severe losses. The overall crypto market capitalization shrank by a staggering $350 billion, currently standing at $3.33 trillion.
MicroStrategy Announces First Bitcoin Purchase With BTC Prices Above $100K
Anchor 2- Meanwhile….Michael Saylor, MicroStrategy’s BTC champion, has announced another massive bitcoin purchase from the company he co-founded, which is actually the first with the asset’s price above $100,000.
As Saylor’s post reads, the NASDAQ-listed giant spent roughly $1.5 billion to acquire 15,350 BTC at an average price of $100,386. The firm’s total stash has grown to 439,000 BTC, valued at well above $44 billion at current prices, while it spent $27.1 billion to acquire it.
MARA Acquires $1.5bn In Bitcoin To Date With Convertible Notes.
In another news, Bitcoin miner MARA’s buying spree has reached over $1.5 billion in Bitcoin acquisitions in the last two months, financed by the issuance of two convertible notes. It gave the company a total boost in holdings of over 50% so far this quarter and nearly 200% this year.
MARA spent around $1.53 billion of the money it received from convertible notes in November and December on 15,574 Bitcoin paying approximately $98,529 per coin, the Nasdaq-listed miner said on X. That brought its holdings to 44,394 BTC as of Dec. 18, up from 26,747 BTC at the end of the third quarter and 15,174 BTC at the end of 2023.
At roughly $100,000 per BTC, the company’s current holdings are worth $4.45 billion. The company enjoyed a yield of 22.5% on its holdings this quarter to date and 60.9% year-to-date.
SEC Simultaneously Approves Hashdex, Franklin’s Bitcoin-Ether ETFs.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has given the green light to Hashdex and Franklin Templeton’s respective Bitcoin and Ether index exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
In a Dec. 19 notice, the SEC approved Hashdex’s Nasdaq Crypto Index US ETF, which will trade on the Nasdaq stock market. At the same time, the regulator approved the separate Franklin Crypto Index ETF, which is destined for the Cboe BZX Exchange.
Both indexes will hold spot Bitcoin and spot Ether. The Franklin Crypto Index ETF tracks the Institutional Digital Asset Index, a benchmark designed to represent the performance of digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ether, and Hashdex’s Crypto Index ETF will track Bitcoin and Ether, which are included in the Nasdaq Crypto US Settlement Price Index.
El Salvador Buys 11 BTC Only A Day After Reaching A Deal With IMF.
El Salvador added $1 million worth of Bitcoin in a single day — only a day after striking a $1.4 billion deal with the International Monetary Fund that stipulated limits on dealing with the cryptocurrency.
The move breaks its long-running streak of adding “one Bitcoin per day,” which President Nayib Bukele announced in November 2022 and brings the country’s holdings to 5,980.77 BTC, worth around $580 million, with BTC trading at around $97,000.
BlackRock’s IBIT Nearly Doubles Gold ETF’s 20-Year AUM Milestone in Less Than 12 Months.
Since the launch of the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) of the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, in January 2024, the fund has seen exponential growth, occasionally crushing milestones.
In a tweet, Ki Young Ju, the founder and CEO of the market analytics platform CryptoQuant, highlighted the latest feat for BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). The ETF’s assets under management (AUM) are nearly double the figure that the BlackRock iShares Gold Trust (IAU) took 20 years to attain.
According to Ju’s tweet, BlackRock’s gold ETF reached $33 billion in AUM in 2024 after 20 years of trading. However, data from the crypto derivatives data analysis platform CoinGlass shows IBIT’s AUM at $58.57 billion. This figure is almost double IAU’s AUM, and it took IBIT less than a year to achieve the milestone.
Ohio Follows Pennsylvania, Texas in Pursuing State-Level Bitcoin Reserves.
Ohio State Representative Derek Merrin has introduced House Bill 703, known as the Ohio Bitcoin Reserve Act, in a bid to authorize the state treasurer to invest public funds in BTC.
The bill also anticipates further federal-level efforts, referencing potential proposals from lawmakers like Senator Cynthia Lummis to establish a national Bitcoin reserve under the incoming administration.
Merrin’s proposal to create a Bitcoin reserve positions Ohio alongside other states like Texs and Pennysylvania pursuing similar initiatives.
Pudgy Penguins’ PENGU Token, NFTs Suffer Major Price Dip Post-Airdrop.
PENGU, the newly-launched cryptocurrency of the Pudgy Penguins ecosystem, suffered a sharp decline in value a day after it went live. Data from CoinGecko showed that the token had fallen by 57.8% within 24 hours to settle at $0.02892.
The highly-anticipated airdrop launched on December 17 saw about 62.8 billion PENGU tokens distributed to millions of qualified NFT holders, traders, and team members.
However, following an initial surge that catapulted the token into the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap, it suffered a swift sell-off that saw its value plummet by more than 60%, falling from a high of $0.06845 to a low of $0.027.
Interestingly, the damage wasn’t limited to the cryptocurrency, with Pudgy Penguins’ NFT collection suffering a similar fate. Within a single day, it saw its floor price plunge by more than 48% to 17.1 ETH, about $64,450, a stark contrast to its all-time high (ATH) level of 36.33 ETH.
FTX Chapter 11 Plan to Go Live on January 3, 2025; Payouts to Follow.
And lastly…FTX and its affiliated debtors have announced that their Chapter 11 reorganization plan will officially take effect on January 3, 2025. This day has also been designated as the initial distribution record date for those holding allowed claims in the plan’s convenience classes.
According to a press release, payments for these claims are expected to begin within 60 days of the plan’s effective date. In line with this, recipients must complete know-your-customer (KYC) procedures and fulfill other distribution requirements, including submitting tax forms.
FTX estimates that total recoveries will range between $14.7 billion and $16.5 billion. To support the distribution process, the defunct exchange has partnered with two crypto custodians, BitGo and Kraken. The duo will help disburse the funds to both retail and institutional customers as well as other claimants in supported jurisdictions.
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