The biggest crypto news and ideas of the day |
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Crypto Market Cap at $3.4B |
Bitcoin (BTC) prices are a little over 1% away from reaching a landmark $100,000, close to 15 years after the asset was first issued. BTC prices spiked above $99,200 early Friday, dipping to $98,600 before holding over $99,000 in Asian afternoon hours. Overall market capitalization stands at a record $3.4 trillion, adding 4.5% in the past 24 hours, mainly on BTC’s 2% jump (BTC is over 56% of the total market cap).
Spot BTC exchange-traded funds offered in the U.S. recorded over $1 billion in net inflows, data shows, led by BlackRock’s IBIT at $600 million in purchases. Fidelity’s FBTC recorded over $300 million inflows, with no outflows from any of the eleven ETFs. Strength in BTC is leading to a rotation in other major tokens ahead of the weekend, buoyed by renewed bullish hopes about a crypto-friendly Trump administration that takes office in January. Ether (ETH) is up nearly 9% in the past 24 hours, boosting various indexes that track the broader decentralized finance (DeFi) sector by at least 8%. Notable Ethereum-based memecoins such as mog (MOG) and pepe (PEPE) are up as much as 27% on their tendency to act as beta bets on ETH’s growth. Solana’s SOL is up 8%, setting fresh highs above $260 amid exchange-trading fund (ETF) filings in the U.S. and continual usage of the blockchain for speculative trading. Cardano’s ADA is up 12%, the second-most gains among majors after XRP. Elsewhere, XRP zoomed 25%, leading growth among major tokens, as SEC chair Gary Gensler announced he would step down in January, clearing headwinds for tokens related to U.S. companies. Traders expect BTC prices to continue holding strong in the short term. “We continue to see strong demand for BTC alongside further easing of monetary policy by global central banks, BTC prices are likely to remain supported as we approach the end of the year,” traders at QCP Capital said in a Friday broadcast. “Throughout the week, our desk observed aggressive demand in March and June Calls, signaling investors' long-term bullish sentiment for next year.” Deribit's BTC futures expiring in March, June and September 2025 trade above $100,000. BTC call option at the $100,000 strike now boasts an open interest of over $2 billion, indicative of traders’ expectations of movement to the upside.
A short-term pullback from the $100,00 level can be expected, however, as multiple CoinDesk analyses noted earlier in the week. |
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Binance Boosts Compliance 34% |
One of the more impressive runs higher ever seen in stocks took at least a brief breather on Thursday, with Bitcoin Development Company MicroStrategy (MSTR) sporting a double-digit percentage loss even as the price of bitcoin (BTC) surged to a new record high just shy of $100,000. At one point lower by more than 20%, MicroStrategy closed the session down 16.2%. The move isn't much more than a large blip on the longer-term chart, with shares still higher by more than five-fold for 2024 and ahead nearly eight times from the level of one year ago. "MicroStrategy's [valuation] has completely detached from bitcoin fundamentals," wrote Citron Research's Andrew Left earlier in the day. A former bull on the stock who recommended four years ago that investors get long bitcoin by buying MicroStrategy, Left said he remains bullish on BTC but has hedged by shorting MSTR. |
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Bitcoin’s Pumping. Memes Are Minting Millionaires. The bear market’s snoozing, and the bull run is here.
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Polymarket Freezes French Traders |
Polymarket blocked French traders on Friday, weeks after reports that the country's government was investigating the prediction markets juggernaut for gambling law compliance. The ban was not reflected in Polymarket's terms of service at press time, but on Friday a reporter using a VPN attempted to access the website from a French server and ran into a digital blockade. Polymarket fell into the crosshairs of France's national gaming authority, the ANJ, after a French trader placed massive bets on Donald Trump to win the 2024 U.S. Presidential election. The fresh ban was first highlighted on social media by French crypto news site The Big Whale. Polymarket did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Neither did the ANJ. |
As bitcoin (BTC) gets closer to the $100,000 mark for the first time — it crossed $99,000 earlier Friday — capital is rotating into alternative cryptocurrencies, creating a buzz in the broader crypto market. Amid the excitement, proof-of-stake smart-contract blockchain Cardano's native cryptocurrency ada (ADA) is having its moment. The token has surged 10% in the past 24 hours, trading at 90 cents early Friday on Coinbase and other exchanges. That's the highest price since May 2022, according to CoinDesk Indices data. The price has risen 22% this week, taking the month-to-date gain to 152%. That has raised the token's market capitalization to $30.85 billion, making it the world's 10th-largest digital asset. In contrast, the CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20), a measure of the broader crypto market, has advanced 14% this week and 58% this month. ADA's rally is accompanied by continued accumulation from whales, hefty crypto addresses with more than $10 million in the token. According to Tagus Capital, whales now hold over $12 billion in ADA. On-chain activity confirms the involvement of whales and institutions, indicating that this rally could have staying power. Data from analytics firm IntoTheBlock shows the number of large transactions involving ADA has skyrocketed by 300% in two weeks. It's a sign of "heightened interest from institutional investors," Tagus Capital said in a daily newsletter, noting the spike in large transactions. "Some of this momentum is sentiment-driven, as previously noted, with Cardano's founder, Charles Hoskinson, hinting at potential collaborations with the Trump administration for crypto-friendly policies." |
The Takeaway: Thanksgiving Talking Points |
By Jonathan Isaac, CoinMarketCap With Bitcoin eyeing $100,000 and “Peanut the Squirrel” grabbing headlines with 3,000% gains, crypto is firmly back on the menu this holiday season. Family debates about Bitcoin, meme coins, and “the dog thing Elon tweets about” will no doubt liven up the dinner table and you, as the designated ‘crypto expert,’ will need some talking points to win over the normies. Crypto is libertarian lunacy Trump's candidacy and victory sparked the latest crypto bull run and many now associate it with the worst excesses of MAGA and Elon’s D.O.G.E trolling. For your left-leaning relatives, seeing crypto championed so hard by the new Republican administration will do little to help your case. If your true-blue cousin won’t buy Bitcoin because of its red-and-orange connections, switch to the facts instead.
Point out that Bitcoin is a currency that can be used by people of all creeds, making it inherently non-political and a movement that can unite us all. Reference Jason Maier’s book, “A Progressive’s Case for Bitcoin,” which unpacks many misconceptions about Bitcoin and underscores its origins as a protest against too-big-to-fail banks, its ability to help poor and marginalized communities, and its potential to create a sustainable environment. While policies may drive price action, crypto itself should never be a partisan issue.
Crypto is a memecoin casino Somewhere between the deviled eggs and the turkey, the next battle you’ll face will be meme coins. With top-performing coins like PEPE, DOGE, and SHIB, and newcomers like PNUT delivering explosive returns, Aunty Cynthia’s heard about the meme coin craze and she’s got some opinions to share. While POPCAT, BONK and MOODENG capture culture and community in ways that make insiders smile, the flip side is making our industry look a little delulu. When trying to get pension funds and family offices to allocate to crypto, it’s hard to argue the virtues of Fartcoin, no matter how many brussel sprouts you’ve eaten. The memecoin craze is fun but shouldn’t overshadow the real power of crypto to bring better, more efficient, more effective financial services to the world. It’s simple — for the 1.4 billion people shut out of the traditional financial system, crypto is a better way to store value, access lending and build wealth, empowering them to take control of their financial futures. Also, when it comes down to it, memecoins are an incredibly innovative new form of expression and financial participation that can provide a sense of community and belonging missing from much of the polarizing social discourse on centralized platforms.
Read the whole thing. |
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