Bitcoin Price: US$ 100,062.38 (-1.10%)
Ethereum Price: US$ 3,881.61 (+1.30%)
AMP, an Australian superannuation fund, invested $27 million in Bitcoin, becoming the first large Australian fund to embrace the digital asset. However, its Bitcoin allocation was a modest 0.05% of its $57 billion in assets. Despite Bitcoin’s rise, other Australian superannuation funds remain cautious due to perceived risks. Simultaneously, pension funds worldwide, including Michigan’s pension fund, South Korea’s National Pension Service, and the UK-based Cartwright, have diversified into Bitcoin, drawn by its asymmetric risk-return profile. Texas lawmakers have proposed the “Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act” to create a Bitcoin reserve in the state’s treasury, funded by donations rather than taxpayer money. Similar BTC reserve proposals have emerged in Alabama and Pennsylvania. In a separate news, Solana has overtaken Ethereum for the first time in new developer onboarding, with 7,625 new developers joining Solana compared to Ethereum’s 6,456. However, Ethereum maintains its leadership in total developer activity globally. Despite a slowdown in new developer growth across the crypto space, Ethereum’s ecosystem continues to lead in developer activity, with its layer-2 networks seeing significant growth. Crypto development is also expanding globally, especially in Asia, Europe, and North America.
In 2024, Binance has seen over $24 billion in inflows, surpassing 10 other exchanges combined, with a user base approaching 250 million. This growth is attributed to regulatory successes, major price milestones, and the launch of Bitcoin ETFs, while institutional deposits have surged. In other news, ZKsync aims to achieve over 10,000 transactions per second and reduce fees to $0.0001 by 2025, positioning its technology as a top choice for blockchain developers. The platform is focused on improving scalability, security, and privacy for Ethereum-based projects, while privacy-preserving technologies like zero-knowledge proofs are gaining increasing attention in the crypto space. Institutions seek privacy to boost liquidity and participation, and confidential computing is seen as a potential way to unlock significant capital for crypto, with growing interest following legal victories in cases like Tornado Cash. As Bitcoin’s year-to-date returns soar to 137%, surpassing traditional assets like gold and the S&P 500, corporate executives are selling stock at record levels. Despite concerns about macroeconomic conditions, Bitcoin’s momentum remains strong, with the potential for further growth in 2025.
VanEck predicts a correction in the cryptocurrency market in Q1 2025, with Bitcoin potentially retracing by 30% and altcoins facing even sharper declines of up to 60%. However, the firm expects a strong market rebound by Q4, with Bitcoin reaching around $180,000 and Ethereum surpassing $6,000, driven by institutional adoption and the approval of more crypto ETFs. In contrast, Coinbase is facing a $1 billion lawsuit from BiT Global Digital Limited, accusing the exchange of harming the Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) market by delisting the token to promote its competing product, cbBTC. The lawsuit claims monopolistic practices and seeks damages and injunctive relief. On the regulatory front, US Representative French Hill has stressed the need for a comprehensive crypto market structure bill, criticising the current regulatory approach under SEC Chair Gary Gensler and calling for clear rules to foster innovation. Following a Republican victory in the 2024 elections, US crypto industry executives are optimistic about regulatory clarity, with many anticipating pro-crypto legislation, including a potential shift of crypto oversight to the CFTC, which could classify most crypto projects as commodities and create a more favourable environment for the industry.
Source: https://cointelegraph.com
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