Do Kwon extradited to the United States Ethereum will outperform Bitcoin in 2025

Headline

▌Do Kwon was extradited to the United States

According to Bloomberg, Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic said on Tuesday that Montenegro has completed the extradition of Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon and handed him over to the United States. He posted on the X platform: This extradition demonstrates our firm commitment to international justice and the rule of law. Do Kwon is currently facing dual prosecution in New York and Seoul for the $40 billion loss caused by the TerraUSD stablecoin collapse in 2022. Previously, he was arrested in Montenegro for using a forged passport. In April this year, Terraform Labs and Do Kwon were found guilty of fraud in a civil lawsuit charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and Terraform has agreed to pay a $4.5 billion settlement.

▌Ethereum may outperform Bitcoin in 2025

Steno Research said in a report on Sunday that it expects Bitcoin prices to rise from about $94,000 to a minimum of $150,000 next year, while ETH prices will more than double from $3,400 to at least $8,000. That is, the ETH/BTC exchange rate will rise from the current $0.0357 to $0.06 in the next 12 months, similar to the price trend in previous cycles, and altcoins will be the focus of attention. "This expectation is partly based on the argument that Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election is more favorable to altcoins than to Bitcoin," analyst Mads Eberhardt wrote. The report said that Bitcoin's market share is expected to fall from about 56.6% currently to 45%. The TVL of decentralized applications is expected to reach a new high of $300 billion next year, which, if correct, further supports the argument for rising altcoin prices.

Market

As of press time, according to Coingecko data:

BTC's latest transaction price is 93,805.13 US dollars, with a daily increase or decrease of +1.9%;

ETH's latest transaction price is 3,347.65 US dollars, with a daily increase or decrease of +0.7%;

BNB's latest transaction price is 706.55 US dollars, with a daily increase or decrease of +0.7%；

SOL's latest transaction price is 190.99 US dollars, with a daily increase or decrease of +1.7%；

DOGE's latest transaction price is 0.3189 yuan, with a daily increase or decrease of +2.4%；

XPR's latest transaction price is 2.10 US dollars, with a daily increase or decrease of +3.3%。

Policy

▌Hong Kong Legislative Council Member Ng Kit-chung: The SAR Government can refer to the securities industry to establish a DAO licensing system

Ng Kit-chung, Chairman of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, Web3 and Virtual Asset Development Forum Committee, said that the Hong Kong High Court heard the world's first lawsuit involving a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) in August this year. Currently, the United States and Abu Dhabi have relevant legal frameworks to regulate DAOs. Since DAOs have no legal entity, it is recommended that the SAR government can refer to the securities industry's licensing system to establish a DAO licensing system, requiring licensed DAOs to clarify internal individual relationships and must establish responsible officers (ROs) to ensure that licensed companies comply with the regulations of the regulatory authorities and maintain the company's daily operations.

Blockchain Applications

▌Phala Network founder: Eve will refer to aiPool and introduce the fourth-generation token issuance model

Phala Network founder Marvin Tong posted on his social platform that Eve will refer to aiPool and introduce the fourth-generation token issuance model. The token distribution arrangement of the new model is as follows: 65% of the new tokens will be distributed to whitelist contributors in proportion to their confirmed contributions. 20% of the new tokens will create a liquidity pool with SPORE on Metaora/Raydium and burn LP to lock value. 10% will be held by the new AI agent for its initial operation and autonomy. 5% will be sent to the wallet of the parent company AI as a profit share. 10% will be held by the new AI agent for its initial operation and autonomy. 5% will be sent to the wallet of the parent company AI as a profit share.

▌Trader Eugene: PENGU is basically a copy of APE

Trader Eugene posted on the X platform that PENGU is basically a copy of APE, except that it has a functioning team that knows how to execute projects under Luca Netz and has an important upcoming catalyst, the Abstract Chain, which was launched in January. Eugene said: "I like the fact that we have run a full airdrop fractal and early participants have basically completely exited this stage, so that we can now get proper price discovery in 2025."

Cryptocurrency

▌QCP: Bitcoin's year-end upward momentum weakened, and institutional allocation may become the key to looking forward to 2025

QCP Capital pointed out that as the end of the year approaches, BTC's momentum has weakened significantly, and the upside is limited by selling pressure. Since December 19, spot ETFs have had a net outflow of US$1.8 billion, and MicroStrategy's BTC purchases have slowed significantly. Looking ahead to 2025, the key catalyst may appear in January, as institutions will readjust their asset allocations. It is expected that the proportion of Bitcoin institutional allocations will increase, consolidate market dominance, stabilize spot volatility, and drive the market's demand for downside protection.

▌CryptoQuant: Binance stablecoin reserves hit a new high of $31 billion, indicating that buying pressure is rising

CryptoQuant contributor Darkfost wrote that Binance stablecoin reserves reached $31 billion on December 11, a record high. It is worth noting that Binance's stablecoin reserves were only $7 billion in June 2023, and have increased nearly fivefold since then. An increase in stablecoin reserves usually means that buying pressure is rising. The current reserves remain around $30 billion, which shows that investors are still active in the market and may continue to maintain strong buying pressure.

▌Montenegro Prime Minister: Welcome entrepreneurs in legal cryptocurrency, AI and other fields, zero tolerance for fraud

Montenegro Prime Minister Milojko Spajic posted on the X platform: "Our country welcomes innovative and legal cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence and other technology entrepreneurs, but we have zero tolerance for fraud." Previously, Bloomberg disclosed that Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic said that Do Kwon's extradition procedures to the United States have been completed. Milojko Spajic said that this extradition demonstrated a firm commitment to international justice and the rule of law.

▌The US dollar recorded its best annual performance since 2015

The US dollar rose further on the last trading day of 2024, rising to its highest level since November 2022. The New Zealand dollar and the Australian dollar lagged behind other currencies. The Bloomberg Dollar Index rose 0.4%, and the year-to-date gain was nearly 8%, the best annual performance since 2015, as the U.S. economy is strong and President-elect Donald Trump's tax cuts and tariffs are expected to keep interest rates high.

Important Economic Dynamics

▌Fed Daly: Cryptocurrency should not be confused with gold and is still far from being a "currency"

San Francisco Fed President Daly said that cryptocurrency should be considered an independent asset class, not lumped in with gold as it is often, and that cryptocurrency is complex and not ready to be a "currency." "I think cryptocurrency is a complex thing, and the service we need to provide to everyone is to really interpret what it means, and once we do that, we can define it," Daly said in the podcast. "It can be a currency, it can be a medium of exchange, it can be a stock, an asset that maintains value or sometimes depreciates. We just have to define these terms." "So I don't think it's like gold," Daly added. "It sometimes has gold-like properties, but I don't think it is a gold-like asset."

▌The probability of the Fed keeping interest rates unchanged in January is 88.8%

According to CME's "Fed Watch", the probability of the Fed keeping interest rates unchanged in January is 88.8%, and the probability of a 25 basis point rate cut is 11.2%. The probability of maintaining the current interest rate unchanged by March is 47.1%, the probability of a cumulative 25 basis point rate cut is 47.7%, and the probability of a cumulative 50 basis point rate cut is 5.3%.

▌The offshore RMB fell 151 points against the US dollar compared with the New York closing price last Friday

The offshore RMB (CNH) against the US dollar was 7.3152 yuan at 05:59 Beijing time, down 151 points from the New York closing price last Friday, and the overall trading range during the day was 7.2978-7.3195 yuan.

Golden Encyclopedia

▌What is Ripple Labs' RLUSD stablecoin?

RLUSD is a stablecoin developed by Ripple Labs, the organization behind the XRP cryptocurrency. RLUSD, or Ripple Labs USD, aims to provide a stable digital currency for trading and transactions. As a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, 1 RLUSD is equivalent to 1 US dollar. Each RLUSD maintains a 1:1 peg. These collateral assets are either US dollar deposits or cash equivalents.

Disclaimer: As a blockchain information platform, Golden Finance publishes articles for information reference only and is not intended as actual investment advice. Please establish a correct investment concept and be sure to increase risk awareness.