Ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, Bitcoin and cryptoassets experienced a strong rebound, fueled by hopes for a more favorable US crypto policy regime and signs of cooling inflation, which have lifted market sentiment and optimism for risk assets. The US core CPI rate declined to 3.2% in December, down from 3.3% in November, marking its first decrease since July and sparking speculation about potential additional Fed rate cuts in 2025. Contrary to earlier expectations of a “sell the news” reaction to Trump’s inauguration, the nearing January 20 date has rendered this strategy less appealing, with anticipated tax cuts and pro-crypto policies supporting the outlook for risk assets. Amid the market recovery, XRP reached a new all-time high of $3.37 on many exchanges, surpassing its previous peak in 2017. This resurgence followed a turbulent 24-hour period earlier in the week, during which $328 million in liquidations were triggered by bearish sentiment.
As President Biden approaches his final days in office, the Senate has begun the process of confirming President-elect Trump’s Cabinet nominees. Among the first under scrutiny was Scott Bessent, tapped for Treasury Secretary. During his nomination hearing on Thursday, US senators spent little time addressing cryptoasset issues. However, Bessent took the opportunity to express strong opposition to a US central bank digital currency (CBDC) and emphasized his support for a forward-thinking approach to crypto.
Meanwhile, the Senate Banking Committee has yet to schedule a confirmation hearing for SEC chair nominee Paul Atkins. With widespread Republican backing, Atkins is expected to secure the role without much resistance. In the interim, President-elect Trump is poised to name either Commissioner Hester Peirce or Mark Uyeda as acting chair. The transition team is expected to announce the decision within the coming days.
Market Overview
The global cryptoasset market capitalization currently amounts to roughly $3.81 trillion – up from the $3.45 trillion last week, with bitcoin accounting for 54%. Among the Top 30 cryptoassets by market cap, XRP outperformed, gaining more than 42% over the week. The price of bitcoin (BTC) rose by 12% to almost $105,000 while the price of ether (ETH) increased by 6% to $3,438. The total value locked (TVL) in DeFi is sitting at $126 billion, with Ethereum (excluding Layer 2s) accounting for about 54% of TVL. Arbitrum One remains the largest Layer 2 by value locked, accounting for about 32% of the $57 billion in assets. Base is the clear leader in L2 user activity, averaging an impressive 126 user transactions per second over the past 24 hours.
This Week’s Headlines
- Tether poised to relocate to El Salvador after securing DASP license
- Trump Treasury secretary pick Scott Bessent opposes idea of US Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)
- Nasdaq files 19b-4 form for Canary Litecoin ETF, starting the clock on the SEC
- SEC delays decision on Bitwise’s proposed crypto index fund conversion to an ETF
- Donald Trump receptive to include US-based coins in “America-first” crypto reserve, New York Post reports
- US Senator Cynthia Lummis sends scathing letters to FDIC and the US Marshals Office regarding digital assets activities
- BitMEX hit with additional $100 million fine over Bank Secrecy Act violations, according to report
- US government says stolen bitcoin from 2016 Bitfinex hack should be returned to the exchange “in-kind”
- Coinbase launches Bitcoin-backed onchain loans via DeFi protocol Morpho
- MicroStrategy acquires another 2,530 BTC for $243 million, taking holdings to 450,000 BTC
- Semler Scientific expands bitcoin holdings to 2,321 BTC with latest $23 million purchase
- Singapore bans Polymarket amid national crackdown on online gambling sites
- 2024 NFT trading volume was the worst since 2020, according to DappRadar
Notable Deals and Fundraising
- eToro confidentially files for US IPO targeting $5 billion valuation, FT reports
- Phantom Wallet raises $150 million in a Series C round led by Sequoia and Paradigm at a $3 billion valuation
- MoonPay acquires Solana payment firm Helio in $175 million deal
- Blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis acquires AI-powered fraud detection platform Alterya
- Nomura-backed Komainu raises $75 million strategic investment in bitcoin from Blockstream
- Crypto bank Sygnum hits unicorn status with new $58 million raise
- 1Money raises over $20 million in seed funding to build Layer 1 exclusively designed for stablecoin payments
- Paris-based crypto wallet technology firm Dfns raises $16 million in a round led by Further Ventures
- WalletConnect builder Reown raises $13 million in Series B round including Shopify and Kraken
- MegaETH-based DEX GTE raises $10 million, including $2.5 million via Echo
- Solana-based social graph protocol Tapestry raises $5.75 million in Series A funding
- Merit Systems raises $10 million in round co-led by a16z crypto and Blockchain Capital
- Nevermined raises $4 million to accelerate the adoption of AI-commerce by enabling AI agents to pay and get paid
- Web3 gaming firm Hyve Labs raises $2.75 million in pre-seed funding
- New crypto VC Sigma Capital targets $100 million fund, with $40 million pre-committed
