Weekly Market Index
Last week’s crypto market prices dropped by -4.51%. Volume decreased by -9.67%and volatility increased by +77.13%.
Chart of the Week
Despite a challenging macro and industry environment, the total cryptocurrency market cap rose +98.61% during 2023 to reach US$1.6 trillion (as of 18 Dec 2023). Explore more top crypto events and trends of 2023, followed by our outlook for 2024 in our new report: 2023 Year Review & 2024 Year Ahead.
Weekly Performance
Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) dropped by -5.8% and -6.9%, respectively, in the past seven days. Price action for other selected top-cap tokens was also mostly negative, although Internet Computer (ICP) was up +84.3%.
Selected key categories were mixed in terms of market cap change in the past seven days, led by Gaming.
News Highlights
- Crypto.com partners with six major charities in Singapore to enable Web3 payments and innovation. The partnerships will facilitate digital asset-to-fiat donations and collaborative Web3 social impact projects.
- Cronos Labs launched Cronos zkEVM Chain testnet, a zero-knowledge (ZK) rollup blockchain network. The testnet is a hyperchain using ZK Stack, launched in a partnership between Cronos Labs, Matter Labs, the team behind zkSync, and engineering teams from Crypto.com, VVS Finance, Fulcrom Finance, and Veno Finance.
- The US Federal Reserve last week held its key interest rate steady at the target range of 5.25%-5.5% and also signaled potential rate cuts in 2024.
- The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), a US entity that details how companies should report assets on their balance sheet, published a standards update last week that will let corporations recognise “fair value” changes in crypto holdings. The new rules will take effect after 15 December 2024.
- Credit rating agency S&P released a new stablecoin ranking system. It rates stablecoins on a 1 to 5 scale, aiming to “evaluate a stablecoin’s ability to maintain a stable value relative to a fiat currency,”. A score of 1 means “very strong,” while 5 means “weak.” USDC got a score of 2, the best rating amongst all stablecoins ranked.
- Deutsche Bank’s asset management arm, DWS, is forming a new venture with Galaxy Digital and Flow Traders to jointly issue a euro-denominated stablecoin.
- The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler said last week that the agency’s “new look” at applications for a spot Bitcoin ETF had been taking recent court rulings into consideration. For example, three judges in the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled in August that the SEC has to re-review Grayscale’s bid for a spot Bitcoin ETF.
- China’s Ministry of Public Security and the national-level Blockchain-based Service Network are jointly spearheading an initiative, called RealDID. It will use blockchain technology to offer a spectrum of services, including verification of personal real names, protection of personal data through encryption, secure private logins, business identity checks, and personal identification certificate services.
Recent Research Reports
- Exploring the Future of Blockchain Gaming: Trends and Opportunities: A comprehensive review of the blockchain gaming industry, the state of the gaming market, current challenges and opportunities, and what lies ahead for on-chain games.
- Research Roundup Newsletter [November 2023]: We present to you our latest issue of Research Roundup, featuring trending market insights in November, charts of the month, and our exploration of new developments within the Bitcoin ecosystem.
- 2023 Year Review & 2024 Year Ahead: 2023 has been an eventful year for the crypto industry. In this report, we curate the top crypto events and trends of 2023, followed by our outlook for 2024.
Recent University Articles
- Cosmos (ATOM) — What It Is and How It Works: In this article, we discuss Cosmos, a blockchain ecosystem that aims to revolutionise how blockchains interact with one another.
- What Is Aptos (APT)?: In this article, we discover how Aptos is designed to tackle blockchain’s challenges and make it scalable, safe, and cost-efficient.
- Data Tokenisation: What It Is and Why It Matters for Crypto: Learn all about data tokenisation, how it works on the blockchain, and its application in crypto and other industries.
Catalyst Calendar
Author
Research and Insights Team
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