There’s never a dull moment on the blockchain. Here’s what you need to know this week:

Bitcoin

$109,652.03



1.92%

Ethereum

$3,941.36



1.82%

Tether

$1.00

淪

0.05%

XRP

$2.77



2.76%

Solana

$196.38



4.12%

USDC

$1.00



0.00%

See the latest prices

MARKET BYTES

BTC cracked $100K for first time ever before volatility returned

In the last week, crypto’s autumn rally hit dizzying new heights with bitcoin crossing the $100,000 mark for the first time ever (!) last Wednesday (notching an all-time high of $104,000) and ETH hitting a three-year high by passing $4,000 on Friday.

Early this week, however, volatility returned for a wide range of tokens, with BTC swinging as low as $94,282 on Tuesday before jumping back above $100,000 on Wednesday morning as the latest U.S. inflation report “further solidified the market outlook for a [rate] cut” from the Federal Reserve, reported CNBC.

Among smaller tokens that surged in recent weeks, XRP, Cardano, and Hedera were all down more than 20% for the week on Tuesday, before regaining ground on Wednesday. 

What’s been causing the swings? 

One factor appears to be long-term BTC holders continuing to take advantage of historic high prices to sell for a profit. Another potential driver was the liquidation of more than $1.5 billion in long crypto derivatives positions in just 24 hours ending on Tuesday.  

However, prices for a wide range of tokens remain close to their all-time highs and many analysts suggest that $100,000 BTC is just the beginning. 

“Looking forward, Bitcoin could reach even greater heights as more institutions begin to perceive it as a viable store of value and allocate funds to Bitcoin ETFs,” BTSE exec Jeff Mei told Reuters. “I'd also expect more institutions to rotate into Ethereum ETFs, which haven't been as popular as the Bitcoin ones up until now.”

Here are three more market stories you should know about.

Trump announced his picks for SEC chief and “crypto czar” 

When BTC prices spiked last Wednesday, one potential trigger noted by analysts was the market’s reaction to president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) when current chief Gary Gensler steps down in January: Paul Atkins. 

Atkins is a former SEC commissioner who was appointed by President George W. Bush, and more recently he sat on the board of the Digital Chamber of Commerce, a crypto advocacy group. As Trump put it,  Atkins “recognizes that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before.” 

• Going ‘All-In’… Trump also recently announced that he’d be appointing venture-fund investor, PayPal cofounder, and tech podcaster David Sacks as the nation’s “AI and crypto czar.” While the exact remit of the roll is not yet defined, Trump said Sacks “will work on a legal framework so the Crypto industry has the clarity it has been asking for, and can thrive in the U.S.” 

BTC ETF inflows have grown by nearly $10 billion since U.S. election

As of Monday, spot BTC ETFs had tallied $9.9 billion in new capital since Nov. 5. Collectively, the bitcoin investment products (which include BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC funds) now hold around 1.1 million BTC worth around $100 billion — or more bitcoin than is held by the cryptocurrency’s pseudonymous founder Satoshi Nakamoto.  

Bitcoin also now represents about 1% of the $10 trillion in assets held across all ETFs, notes CNBC, and is potentially poised to eclipse the value of gold held by ETFs. 

“For context, the physical gold ETF category, which has been around for over 20 years, has about $125 billion in assets [compared to $100 billion in spot bitcoin ETFs],” said the ETF Store’s Nate Geraci. “So, it’s not inconceivable to think that spot bitcoin ETFs will surpass gold ETFs sometime over the next several months.” 

• ETH too? Ethereum ETFs also broke records last week, with $1.2 billion in inflows, which is more than the ETFs saw when they launched in July. Meanwhile, ETH, which has rallied roughly 50% since the election, is still about 20% below all-time highs above $4,600.

MicroStrategy buys $2.1 billion more BTC 

For the fifth week in a row, publicly-traded software firm MicroStrategy made a vast purchase of bitcoin for its corporate treasury, adding an additional  $2.1 billion in BTC and bringing the company’s holdings to around $41 billion. 

As of Wednesday, the firm’s stock was up around 500% for the year. 

“For now, Bitcoin’s favorable price movement allows MicroStrategy to sustain a positive feedback loop: rising MSTR stock prices enable additional fundraising, which funds further Bitcoin purchases, driving up Bitcoin prices and stock value,” Presto Research analyst Min Jung told Bloomberg. “While effective during a bull market, this strategy’s sustainability depends heavily on continued Bitcoin price appreciation.” 

• Sharing the strategy… Despite a pitch from MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor, Microsoft shareholders declined on Tuesday to pass a proposal that would see the software giant purchase BTC for its corporate treasury. A similar proposal for Amazon could receive a vote at the company’s next shareholder meeting in 2025.

WHAT’S NEXT?

From altcoin ETFs to ‘AI agents,’ 5 themes for crypto in 2025

In 2024, crypto took a major leap into the mainstream with the blockbuster success of spot crypto ETFs, the election of the most pro-crypto congress in U.S. history, and $100,000-plus bitcoin. (What a year!) As asset manager Hashdex put it when reflecting on the past 12 months, “we believe crypto’s moment has arrived.” 

So what’s on the agenda for 2025? We gathered takes from Wall Street analysts, venture investors, crypto journalists, and more, to highlight five key storylines to have your eyes on in the new year. (And be sure to check out Coinbase Institutional’s in-depth 2025 themes report, which comes out next Tuesday!)

Let’s get into it…

1. How high can the bull market go? 

Crypto markets have been in bull territory since 2023, and bitcoin is up more than 130% so far this year. But many analysts see the potential for further gains in 2025.

A recent report from Fidelity cited factors including a rising supply of money in the economy and the Federal Reserve’s ongoing interest rate cuts as potential tailwinds that could positively impact crypto. 

The report also asserted that it's more than likely that we are “at least halfway through the full bull market.” 

“The second half of bull markets is typically when volatility and price appreciation are higher,” noted Fidelity Digital Assets research director Chris Kuiper.

Another factor that could drive prices higher in 2025? According to BlackRock analysts, investors are looking for “new and distinct sources of risk and return” outside of stocks and bonds. 

Since 2022, bitcoin’s correlation with the stock market has fallen sharply — from around 50% to around 15%. BlackRock believes that trend will continue, which could push more capital into cryptocurrencies.

2. Stablecoins will continue to emerge as a mainstream crypto use case

If 2024 was the year that bitcoin went mainstream, then 2025 might be the year that stablecoins do the same. 

Stablecoins — crypto tokens pegged to the price of another asset (typically a fiat currency like the U.S. dollar) — are currently a $200 billion market and rising, and many analysts believe they are one of the biggest real-world use cases for crypto. In the first half of this year, according to a joint report from Castle Island Ventures and Visa, stablecoins were used to settle more than $2.6 trillion of value, including payments and remittances. 

Y Combinator, the tech accelerator that funded companies like Stripe and Airbnb, is encouraging companies applying in 2025 to think about stablecoin startups: “We are especially interested in hearing about ideas that target businesses, helping them to hold and manage stables, and also services that make it easy for developers to integrate with them.”

Similarly, Mick Roche, global head of trading at Zodia Markets, told CoinDesk that he believes corporations will drive the next stage of stablecoin adoption, especially in regions where payments infrastructure might be inefficient. “Adoption will likely be particularly strong among primary commodity traders, producers, importers, and shipping companies,” Roche said.

3. Clear U.S. regulations could help spur crypto innovation  

Coinbase chief policy officer Faryar Shirzad predicts that new, clear regulations for the crypto industry should emerge “fairly quickly” in 2025.

“We have the most pro-crypto Congress ever [in] history, we have an extraordinarily pro-crypto president coming into office,” Shirzad told CNBC. “I think the combination should finally allow the 50 million Americans who own crypto to have their interests and voice heard in policy.”

There are currently two major bills on the docket: the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act, and the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act. The former aims to create a regulatory structure that would treat stablecoin issuers similarly to banks. The latter, which passed in the House of Representatives this year, would establish a legal framework for digital assets that will clarify which agencies are responsible for regulating the industry.

In 2025, Shirzad says he expects “significant movement and hopefully passage of both market structure legislation and stablecoin legislation.”

4. ETFs for XRP, Solana, and other cryptocurrencies could begin trading

In 2024, spot ETFs for bitcoin and ether brought billions of dollars in institutional money into crypto and helped pave the way for the current rally, which is why Wall Street is hoping to launch ETFs for a wide range of other tokens. 

Right now, applications from multiple firms for ETFs that would hold Solana, XRP, HBAR, and an index of cryptocurrencies (akin to the S&P 500), are waiting on SEC approval.

According to several market watchers, the SEC likely won’t approve any new crypto ETFs during the final weeks of the Biden administration. But Trump’s nomination of Paul Atkins as SEC chair has investors hopeful that will change in 2025.

While altcoin ETFs “had just a fighting chance of winning approval under the Gensler-led SEC,” noted Bloomberg, “their odds are better under the new administration.” 

5. Onchain “AI agents” could make trades on their own 

Many people are probably already familiar with using AI to help with tasks and productivity. But what about using onchain AI agents to make crypto transactions on your behalf? 

Last month, for example, Coinbase released AgentKit, which helps developers create AI agents that can autonomously interact with blockchain networks, enabling “automated, crypto-powered applications.”

In 2025, says a16z’s Carra Wu, we’ll likely see crypto wallets that are compatible with AI agents and allow them to sign transactions and make trades. 

A related idea explored in a16z’s report is “decentralized autonomous chatbots,” which are AIs that could be used to earn crypto by posting appealing content on a decentralized social platform like Farcaster.

As Wu puts it, such innovations would represent AI making “the transition from NPCs [non-player characters] to being the main characters.”

NUMBERS TO KNOW

$183.7 billion

Ethereum’s onchain volume in November, the blockchain’s highest network activity in nearly three years. Surging NFT trading, stablecoin transfers, and DeFi activity have been key drivers for ETH’s recent resurgence.

11,774

Amount of BTC that bitcoin miner Marathon Digital purchased for an average price of $96,000 per coin, the firm announced on Tuesday. That brings Marathon’s total bitcoin holdings up to 423,650 BTC, worth more than $40 billion.

23.81 ETH

Floor price (roughly $84,000) for a Pudgy Penguins NFT as of Tuesday afternoon, an increase of about 66% over the prior seven days. The jump in value — which saw the collection’s market cap surpass Bored Ape Yacht Club’s, putting it in the second-place spot behind CryptoPunks — followed last week’s announcement that the collection was planning to launch its own Solana-based token.

SECURITY PSA

Holiday Gifts and Grifts: A Seasonal Safety Guide

The holiday season is a time for celebration and cheer around the world. It’s also a time to be extra mindful of scams.

Scams are expected to rapidly increase as thieves look to exploit online shoppers during the holidays. Cybercriminals are using AI-generated websites and advanced phishing to dupe even careful consumers. With online shopping at all-time highs, authorities expect to see a rise in scams across the board.

Follow these tips to help keep you and your loved ones safe.

TOKEN TRIVIA

Which cryptocurrency recently surpassed Solana in market cap?

Find the answer below.

Trivia Answer