1. Bitcoin Surges Past $100,000, Reaching a Historic Milestone link

On Thursday, OKX market data showed that Bitcoin (BTC) surged past $100,000, reaching an all-time high of $104,056. Calculating from the 0.003-cent average price of Bitcoin during Laszlo Hanyecz’s infamous 2010 purchase of two pizzas with 10,000 BTC, Bitcoin has appreciated by an astounding 3.33 billion times over the span of more than 5,000 days. This would now value the pizzas at $1 billion.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump congratulated “Bitcoin holders” for reaching the $100,000 milestone in a post on the Truth platform, adding, “Together, we will make America great again.”

The Financial Times column Alphaville published a reflective piece on Bitcoin’s historic rise. Historically critical of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, the column noted its inefficiencies as a medium of exchange and limitations as a store of value, attributing its price largely to market speculation. However, the authors expressed regret for not fully acknowledging Bitcoin’s potential as an investment and admitted a shared dissatisfaction with the traditional financial (TradFi) system.

As of Friday’s report, Coinglass data revealed that $1.091 billion in liquidations occurred over the past 24 hours, with long positions accounting for $818 million. OKX data showed Bitcoin briefly dipped to $89,711.9 and was trading at $97,400 at press time, reflecting a 24-hour decline of 5.26%.

2. Trump Nominates SEC Chairman and Cryptocurrency Chief

2.1 Trump Nominates Paul Atkins as SEC Chairman link

Donald Trump announced on social media the nomination of Paul Atkins as the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Trump stated that Atkins recognizes the critical role of digital assets and other innovations in making America greater than ever before.

2.2 Trump Appoints David O. Sacks to Lead AI and Cryptocurrency Initiatives link

According to Bloomberg, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has announced the appointment of David O. Sacks as the White House Director of Artificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency. Trump remarked, “Sacks will work on establishing a legal framework that provides the clarity the crypto industry has long sought, enabling the sector to thrive in the United States.”

David O. Sacks, a South African-born American entrepreneur and former COO of PayPal, is a staunch advocate for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. He views Bitcoin as a tool to challenge traditional financial systems and centralized power, particularly valuable in times of economic uncertainty and currency devaluation. Sacks also sees DeFi and blockchain technology as pivotal for creating a more transparent financial system.

Through his venture capital firm, Craft Ventures, Sacks has invested in numerous crypto projects, including dYdX, Lightning Labs, River Financial, Kresus, Set Protocol, FOLD, Harbor, Handshake, Voltage, Galoy, Lumina, and Rare Bits.

3. Powell: Bitcoin is Emerging as a Rival to Gold link

At the DealBook Summit on Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell remarked that Bitcoin is predominantly used as a speculative asset, likening it to “virtual and digital gold.” Powell clarified that due to its high volatility, Bitcoin has not become a primary means of payment or a reliable store of value, stating, “It’s not a competitor to the dollar. It’s actually a competitor to gold.” When asked about the possibility of the U.S. holding Bitcoin as a national reserve, Powell reaffirmed that the Federal Reserve’s priority is maintaining a “safe and sound” banking system. He emphasized that any potential interactions between the cryptocurrency ecosystem and the traditional banking system must not compromise the latter’s health. Powell also noted that regulating the cryptocurrency industry is outside the Federal Reserve’s mandate and confirmed he is not allowed to personally own Bitcoin.

On the same day, ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood tweeted her support for Bitcoin, calling it “a great day for Bitcoin and digital property rights.” Wood expressed optimism about the incoming SEC Chair Paul Atkins, predicting he will remove the regulatory hurdles imposed by Gary Gensler and uphold private property rights in the digital world. She highlighted Powell’s analogy of Bitcoin as digital gold, pointing out the vast disparity in market size: the gold market is valued at approximately $15 trillion, whereas Bitcoin’s market cap stands at around $2 trillion. Wood reiterated ARK Invest’s view that Bitcoin holds significance far beyond that of gold and remains in its early stages of development.

4. Bank of England Governor Projects Four Rate Cuts for the UK Next Year link

Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England, stated that policymakers still consider four rate cuts next year, each by 25 basis points, to be the most probable scenario. He noted that inflation is declining at a pace “faster than we had anticipated.” During an interview recorded for the Financial Times Global Boardroom event on Monday, Bailey acknowledged that the market trajectory outlined in the Bank of England’s November forecast was premised on these four rate cuts, a path that indeed aligns inflation with the Bank’s 2% target.

5. South Korea Delays Cryptocurrency Tax Implementation to 2027 link

According to The Korea Herald, Park Kwan-deok, floor leader of South Korea’s largest opposition party, the Democratic Party of Korea, announced the decision to abandon plans to implement a cryptocurrency gains tax in 2025, agreeing to postpone it further to 2027. Initially scheduled for 2021, the tax will, once enforced, impose a 20% levy on digital asset profits for South Korean cryptocurrency investors.

6. Binance Records $21.6 Billion in Crypto Inflows in 2024 link

Binance saw a cryptocurrency inflow of $21.6 billion in 2024, while the total inflows for the second to eleventh ranked centralized exchanges amounted to $15.9 billion. Bybit ranked second with an inflow of $7.47 billion, followed by OKX in third place with $4.37 billion in inflows.

7. Coinbase Integrates Apple Pay with Onramp to Streamline Crypto Purchases link

Coinbase is integrating Apple Pay into its fiat-to-crypto payment solution, Coinbase Onramp, streamlining the process for users to purchase cryptocurrency. Originally named Coinbase Pay, this solution supports one-click purchases and reduces the complexity of topping up self-custody wallets. Onramp supports over 60 currencies and offers a lightweight KYC screening, allowing users to make transactions via bank accounts, debit cards, and Coinbase accounts. This feature was rolled out to a select group of customers just before Thanksgiving.

8. MicroStrategy Acquires 15,400 BTC for $1.5 Billion link

MicroStrategy has announced the acquisition of 15,400 BTC for $1.5 billion, with an average purchase price of $95,976 per Bitcoin. As of the current quarter, the company’s quarterly return (QTD) stands at 38.7%, while its year-to-date return (YTD) is 63.3%. As of December 2, 2024, MicroStrategy’s total Bitcoin holdings amount to 402,100 BTC, with an aggregate cost of approximately $23.4 billion and an average purchase price of $58,263 per Bitcoin.

9. a16z Predicts 2025 Crypto Trends, Highlighting Tokenization and AI-Blockchain Integration link

a16z has outlined key areas of focus for the cryptocurrency industry in the coming year, emphasizing the potential growth drivers of tokenization use cases and the integration of artificial intelligence with blockchain technology. According to their report, AI-powered, on-chain applications are expected to introduce at least three emerging trends across the industry: AI-driven wallets, decentralized autonomous chatbots, and identity verification solutions. Another anticipated trend for 2025 involves stablecoins. Over the past few months, the industry has established markets suitable for global remittances, with several companies and protocols launching new stablecoins pegged to the dollar. a16z predicts that stablecoins will gradually replace everyday credit card transactions starting next year. Additionally, as infrastructure matures, the report anticipates that by 2025, more “non-traditional assets” will be tokenized on-chain, enabling cross-sector tokenization. The report also forecasts that previously overlooked assets, such as biometric data, will generate new revenue streams. Another prospect for 2025 and beyond is the on-chain trading of government bonds. With institutional adoption of digital assets on the rise, government-backed tokenized markets are expected to flourish in 2024. Looking ahead, a16z expects governments themselves to explore the benefits of issuing debt on-chain.

10. Ethereum Foundation Publishes Q3 2024 Grant Report link

The Ethereum Foundation has released its Q3 2024 funding report, allocating approximately $12.848 million to support various projects and activities across multiple sectors. The focus areas for funding include community education, developer experience and tools, zero-knowledge proofs and cryptography, consensus layers, and Layer 2 solutions. Community education projects received the largest share of the funding, supporting events such as EEA Industry Day in Bangkok, the ETH Pura Vida conference and hackathon in San José, Costa Rica, and similar initiatives. In the technical domain, the foundation supported projects like the continued development of Web3.js, research aimed at optimizing the Ethereum consensus layer with Lighthouse, and privacy technology development through ZKP projects such as Circuitscan and Rapidsnark Mobile Prover.

Fundraising

• DeFi.app has completed a $2 million seed round, with a valuation of $100 million. link

• Cross-chain protocol Union announced the completion of a $12 million Series A funding. link

• usdx.money revealed it has secured $45 million in funding. link

• U2U Network raised $13.8 million to further advance DePIN and hardware technology. link

• Swiss crypto payment platform Brighty raised $10 million, with Futurecraft Ventures leading the round. link

• GAIB raised $5 million in a pre-seed round, focusing on GPU tokenization and simplifying AI compute resource access. link

• HTML5 game distribution platform Playgama completed a $3 million funding round. link

• Bitcoin ecosystem project BLIFE Protocol secured $7 million in funding. link

• Bitcoin and ZK infrastructure company Fiamma completed a $4 million seed round. link

• Generative AI platform Sekai, based on Story Protocol, announced a $3.1 million seed round. link

• Blockchain platform Haven1 raised $4.6 million in private equity funding. link

• Decentralized lending protocol Suilend announced it completed a $4 million funding round. link

• Decentralized technology company Binary Holdings secured $5 million in strategic investment from ABO Digital. link

• Pantera Capital raised $20 million through two dedicated funds to increase investments in the TON blockchain. link

Learn more, check out crypto-fundraising.info.

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