Weekly Market Highlights - Bitcoin Surpasses US$100K Milestone
6 December 2024Macro/TradFiPresident-elect Donald Trump has confirmed Paul Atkins’ nomination as the next chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).Jerome Powell, the Chair of the Federal Reserve, rejected the idea of Bitcoin replacing the U.S. dollar, instead describing Bitcoin as a speculative asset similar to gold.South Korea has decided to delay the implementation of taxes on crypto gains for an additional two years. The 20% tax on crypto income has already been deferred twice since 2021.The French Senate has voted in favour of a tax on unrealized gains, which would apply to digital assets such as Bitcoin.WisdomTree has filed for a spot XRP ETF with the SEC.MicroStrategy has acquired another 15,400 BTC for US$1.5B at around US$95,976 per Bitcoin.CryptoL1/L2:Sonic Labs has announced that its new Sonic chain has produced its first block of transactions and that the network is expected to go “public soon.”Layer 1 blockchain Xion, which focuses on chain abstraction, has launched its mainnet and implemented a “Double or Nothing” mechanism gamifying its initial token airdrop.DeFi:PancakeSwap has launched SpringBoard, a no-code platform that allows users to create and launch tokens on BNB Chain with zero fees and automatic liquidity pairing.Kamino has announced the launch of a new swap feature.NFT:Pudgy Penguins has announced the launch of its PENGU token with 25.9% allocated to the Pudgy Penguins community.Magic Eden has announced that the eligibility checker for its ME token is now Iive.RTFKT, the digital wearables NFT startup that Nike acquired in 2021, has announced that it is shutting down.Stablecoins:Tether's USDT market cap has hit a new all-time high of US$135B.Ethena’s USDe has surpassed DAI to become the third-largest stablecoin, with a market capitalization of around US$4.8B.Circle, the issuer of USDC, has laid off less than 6% of its workforce.Others:Based on data from The Block, the spot trade volume on global crypto exchanges surged to US$2.7T in November, marking the highest level since May 2021.Phantom Wallet has announced an expansion to the Sui network.Latest Binance Research Publications Check out our latest publications:Monthly Market Insights - December 2024The Fed, Interest Rates, and the Economy: A PrimerExploring the Future of AI Agents in Crypto That’s a wrap!Binance ResearchAbout Binance Research: Binance Research is the research arm of Binance, the world's leading cryptocurrency exchange. The team is committed to delivering objective, independent, and comprehensive analysis and aims to be the thought leader in the crypto space. Our analysts publish insightful thought pieces regularly on topics related but not limited to, the crypto ecosystem, blockchain technologies, and the latest market themes.General Disclosure: This material is prepared by Binance Research and is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast or investment advice, and is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities, cryptocurrencies or to adopt any investment strategy. The use of terminology and the views expressed are intended to promote understanding and the responsible development of the sector and should not be interpreted as definitive legal views or those of Binance. The opinions expressed are as of the date shown above and are the opinions of the writer, they may change as subsequent conditions vary. The information and opinions contained in this material are derived from proprietary and non-proprietary sources deemed by Binance Research to be reliable, are not necessarily all-inclusive and are not guaranteed as to accuracy. As such, no warranty of accuracy or reliability is given and no responsibility arising in any other way for errors and omissions (including responsibility to any person by reason of negligence) is accepted by Binance. This material may contain ’forward looking’ information that is not purely historical in nature. Such information may include, among other things, projections and forecasts. There is no guarantee that any forecasts made will come to pass. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the reader. This material is intended for information purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell in any securities, cryptocurrencies or any investment strategy nor shall any securities or cryptocurrency be offered or sold to any person in any jurisdiction in which an offer, solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the laws of such jurisdiction. Investment involves risks.