Heading into the US holiday weekend, bitcoin struggled to maintain its recent momentum, briefly dipping below $91,000 after failing to reach the much-anticipated $100,000 milestone. Analysts suggest Bitcoin is likely entering a cooling-off period, as the Thanksgiving holiday typically brings reduced volatility and lower trading volumes. Altcoins, however, outperformed, hinting at the start of an “alt season.” The market also saw record-breaking growth in stablecoin volumes and a rebound in NFT prices and trading volumes. Meanwhile, meme coins took a breather alongside Bitcoin, though DOGE remained slightly up on the week and hovered near all-time highs.
While overall cryptoasset performance was mixed, US equity indices reached new all-time highs this week. The small-cap-focused Russell 2000 index set new records on Monday, driven by investor optimism that President-elect Donald Trump’s Treasury Secretary pick, Scott Bessent, would be able to navigate economic challenges without triggering inflation. The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, rose in October in line with expectations, showing a 0.2% month-over-month increase and a 2.3% year-over-year gain. The annual figure represents a slight uptick from September’s 2.1%. Following the PCE report, odds of a 25-basis point interest rate cut in December rose to 66.5%. Minutes from the Fed’s last meeting, released Tuesday, indicated that policymakers remain open to easing rates more gradually if inflation proves persistent.
In a landmark decision, a US Federal Appeals Court ruled on Tuesday that the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) exceeded its authority in sanctioning cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash. The court deemed the sanctions unlawful, reversing an earlier decision. The Fifth Circuit Appeals Court stated, “We hold that Tornado Cash’s immutable smart contracts (the lines of privacy-enabling software code) are not the ‘property’ of a foreign national or entity, meaning (1) they cannot be blocked under IEEPA, and (2) OFAC overstepped its congressionally defined authority.” Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal hailed the ruling on X, writing, “Privacy wins,” and called it “a historic win for crypto and all who care about defending liberty.”
Market Overview
The global cryptoasset market capitalization currently amounts to roughly $3.52 trillion – little changed from the $3.53 trillion last week, with bitcoin accounting for 54.4%. Among the Top 30 cryptoassets by market cap, Stellar (XLM) outperformed, gaining 91% over the week. The price of bitcoin (BTC) fell by another 2.2% to $96,723 while the price of ether (ETH) increased by 6.4% to $3,579. The total value locked (TVL) in DeFi is sitting at almost $123 billion, with Ethereum (excluding Layer 2s) accounting for about 56% of TVL. Arbitrum One remains the largest Layer 2 by value locked, accounting for about 36% of the $51 billion in assets.
This Week’s Headlines
- US appeals court rules that OFAC exceeded its authority by sanctioning crypto mixer Tornado Cash
- Trump administration eyes CFTC to lead digital asset regulation, dilute SEC’s role, Fox Business reports
- MARA purchases $615 million worth of bitcoin, boosting total holdings to 34,794 BTC
- Coinbase says it will not support Celo’s upcoming migration from Layer 1 to Layer 2
- Tether to end support for EURT stablecoin citing MiCA regulations, falling demand
- Tron founder Justin Sun named advisor to Trump-backed World Liberty Financial following $30 million investment
- Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Marc Andreessen claims the Biden administration “debanked” more than 30 tech and crypto founders for political reasons
Notable Deals and Fundraising
- Talus Network raises $6 million in a funding round led by Polychain at $150 million valuation
- Ethena-like DeFi protocol Avant raises $6.5 million in seed funding
- Stablecoin yield products firm OpenTrade raises $4 million in a seed extension round led by AlbionVC
- Ex-Revolut duo raise $2.3 million to build “blockchain bank account” Bleap
