Quick Take
- The BTC-to-Gold ratio hit a historical peak on 17 December; Crypto.com renewed its partnership with Formula 1 until 2030; Crypto.com and the Philadelphia 76ers unveiled the Web3 mobile game ‘Spectrum Sprint’; Crypto.com partnered with Accor to enable crypto-to-travel loyalty points conversion.
- US spot bitcoin ETFs had a net inflow of US$457 million last week and the highest daily net outflow since the ETFs launched of $672 million on 19 December. Spot ether ETFs saw a net inflow of $63 million last week.
- On the macro side, Bank of England and Bank of Japan kept interest rates unchanged at 4.75% and 0.25%, respectively. In the US, the Fed cut interest rates by 0.25% to 4.25% – 4.50%, back to the December 2022 level and in line with expectations. It also projected two 0.25% interest rate cuts in 2025, down from four, as projected in the September 2024 meeting. In 2025, the Fed expects real GDP growth to be 2.1% (vs 2% projected in September 2024) and inflation to stay at an average of 2.5% (vs 2.1% previously projected). The US stocks plunged on Wednesday, with all three major indices posting sharp declines following Fed’s cutting rate. The latest CME FedWatch Tool showed an 11% probability of a January rate cut in the US.
- Notable updates: Ripple launched its USD stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD); Avalanche’s (AVAX) Avalanche9000 went live on mainnet; Polygon Ecosystem Token’s (POL) Agglayer v0.2 testnet went live; Sonic (S) (previously known as Fantom) mainnet went live; Stacks’s (STX) sBTC went live on mainnet; the Crypto.com App listed Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) and Vana (VANA).
Weekly Market Index
Price and volatility indices were down by -9.89% and -27.74% last week, respectively, while the volume index increased by +9.79%.
BTC reached an all-time high above $108,000 on 17 December, but its price retraced towards the end of the week. Prices for all other tokens in the index decreased last week, which coincided with the Fed signaling fewer interest rate cuts expected in 2025 than initially planned.
APT (-36.0%) led the drop, which came after its co-founder and CEO Mohammad Shaikh resigned to “start a new chapter”. Co-founder and CTO Avery Ching will become the new CEO.
Chart of the Week
The BTC-to-Gold ratio, which measures the number of ounces of gold one BTC can buy, hit a historical peak of 40.1 on 17 December. This coincided with BTC reaching a new all-time-high above $108,000 and exceeded the previous peak of 37.2 reached in October 2021.
Weekly Performance
BTC and ETH decreased by -10.6% and -18.3%, respectively, in the past seven days. All other selected top market capitalisation tokens decreased. APT and OP led the drop.
All key categories decreased in market capitalisation in the past seven days. NFT and gaming category led the drop.
Notable Updates
| Token | Ticker | MC | 7D (%) | Category | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XRP | XRP | $126.6B | -12.2% | Infrastructure / Payment | Ripple launched its USD stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD), on global exchanges on 17 December. It’s available on Uphold, Bitso, and MoonPay, among others, with plans to expand to more platforms soon. |
| Avalanche | AVAX | $14.8B | -29.9% | L1 | Avalanche9000 (Etna upgrade) went live on mainnet on 17 December. According to the team’s announcement, it will lower the cost of deploying a Layer-1 by 99.9% and reduce the minimum gas fee on the C-chain by 96%. |
| Polygon Ecosystem Token | POL | $3.9B | -24.7% | L2 | Agglayer v0.2 testnet went live on 20 December with mainnet expected in early 2025. v0.2 introduces the implementation of pessimistic proofs, and aims to unify EVM chains through the Agglayer. |
| Fantom / Sonic | FTM / S | $2.7B | -33.9% | L1 | The Sonic mainnet (previously known as Fantom) went live on 18 December. Fantom token holders can upgrade their FTM tokens to S in a 1:1 ratio. |
| Stacks | STX | $2.5B | -34.8% | L2 | sBTC went live on the Stacks mainnet on 18 December, which will unlock access to Bitcoin DeFi. In the initial phase, it will include deposit-only functionality, a deposit cap of 1,000 BTC for controlled testing, and up to around 5% annual rewards paid out every two weeks in sBTC. |
| Token | XRP |
|---|---|
| Ticker | XRP |
| MC | $126.6B |
| 7D (%) | -12.2% |
| Category | Infrastructure / Payment |
| Remarks | Ripple launched its USD stablecoin, Ripple USD (RLUSD), on global exchanges on 17 December. It’s available on Uphold, Bitso, and MoonPay, among others, with plans to expand to more platforms soon. |
| Token | Avalanche |
| Ticker | AVAX |
| MC | $14.8B |
| 7D (%) | -29.9% |
| Category | L1 |
| Remarks | Avalanche9000 (Etna upgrade) went live on mainnet on 17 December. According to the team’s announcement, it will lower the cost of deploying a Layer-1 by 99.9% and reduce the minimum gas fee on the C-chain by 96%. |
| Token | Polygon Ecosystem Token |
| Ticker | POL |
| MC | $3.9B |
| 7D (%) | -24.7% |
| Category | L2 |
| Remarks | Agglayer v0.2 testnet went live on 20 December with mainnet expected in early 2025. v0.2 introduces the implementation of pessimistic proofs, and aims to unify EVM chains through the Agglayer. |
| Token | Fantom / Sonic |
| Ticker | FTM / S |
| MC | $2.7B |
| 7D (%) | -33.9% |
| Category | L1 |
| Remarks | The Sonic mainnet (previously known as Fantom) went live on 18 December. Fantom token holders can upgrade their FTM tokens to S in a 1:1 ratio. |
| Token | Stacks |
| Ticker | STX |
| MC | $2.5B |
| 7D (%) | -34.8% |
| Category | L2 |
| Remarks | sBTC went live on the Stacks mainnet on 18 December, which will unlock access to Bitcoin DeFi. In the initial phase, it will include deposit-only functionality, a deposit cap of 1,000 BTC for controlled testing, and up to around 5% annual rewards paid out every two weeks in sBTC. |
Newly Listed Tokens in the Crypto.com App
| Token | Ticker | MC | 7D (%) | Category | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pudgy Penguins | PENGU | $1.6B | +409.3% | NFT | PENGU is the official token of the Pudgy Penguins NFT collection. It offers users governance rights to influence the direction of the project. |
| Vana | VANA | $493M | -37.9% | AI | Vana is an EVM-compatible Layer-1 blockchain designed to empower users with ownership and control over their data. It creates a distributed network where users can own, govern, and earn from the AI models they contribute to, while developers gain access to cross-platform data for data analysis and training frontier AI models. VANA serves as the native utility token. |
| Token | Pudgy Penguins |
|---|---|
| Ticker | PENGU |
| MC | $1.6B |
| 7D (%) | +409.3% |
| Category | NFT |
| Remarks | PENGU is the official token of the Pudgy Penguins NFT collection. It offers users governance rights to influence the direction of the project. |
| Token | Vana |
| Ticker | VANA |
| MC | $493M |
| 7D (%) | -37.9% |
| Category | AI |
| Remarks | Vana is an EVM-compatible Layer-1 blockchain designed to empower users with ownership and control over their data. It creates a distributed network where users can own, govern, and earn from the AI models they contribute to, while developers gain access to cross-platform data for data analysis and training frontier AI models. VANA serves as the native utility token. |
News Highlights
Crypto.com News
- Crypto.com renewed its partnership with Formula 1 until 2030. The two brands have worked together since 2021, and through the renewed partnership, Crypto.com will focus on creating exclusive fan experiences at a range of Grands Prix races and having the brand featured at key races throughout the season.
- The Philadelphia 76ers and Crypto.com unveiled ‘Spectrum Sprint’, a Web3 mobile video game where players can earn digital collectibles in a Web3 locker and win exclusive 76ers prizes. This game is part of a series of Web3 games centred around the 76ers’s 2024-25 Nike City Edition uniform and the iconic Philadelphia Spectrum.
- Crypto.com partnered with ALL, Accor’s loyalty programme and booking platform, to enable crypto-to-travel loyalty points conversion. The programme will allow Crypto.com users, who are also ALL members, to convert over 20 supported coins, including BTC, ETH, and CRO, to ALL Reward points to spend on hotel stays and experiences globally.
Investment Vehicles
- The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the first spot bitcoin-ether ETFs, namely Hashdex’s Nasdaq Crypto Index US ETF on Nasdaq and Franklin Templeton’s Franklin Crypto Index ETF on Cboe BZX Exchange. The ETFs will hold both spot BTC and spot ETH.
- Bitwise listed Solana-based staking exchange-traded product (ETP) with ticker BSOL on Frankfurt Stock Exchange’s Xetra trading venue. The ETP is designed to provide investors opportunities to earn from Solana staking and exposure to Solana’s price movements at the same time.
Adoption
- Global payroll provider Remote and Stripe are partnering to allow US-based companies to pay their contractors in 69 countries in USDC. This enables companies a secure and efficient payment alternative while maintaining compliance.
- Deutsche Bank is reportedly building its own Layer-2 blockchain on Ethereum using zkSync technology. The blockchain aims to improve transaction efficiency and align blockchain transparency with financial compliance requirements.
- France’s financial markets regulator, Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), approved cryptocurrency business operations for French bank BPCE’s subsidiary, Hexarq. Hexarq is reportedly set to offer crypto services to the Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Épargne networks.
Regulation / Policy
- An Ohio House of Representatives member introduced a bill, tentatively titled the Ohio Bitcoin Reserve Act, to establish a bitcoin fund in the state’s treasury. The proposed bill will allow the state treasurer authority and flexibility to purchase bitcoin.
- The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) released its final guidance report on the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation. It aims to help member states that are seeking regulatory clarity ahead of the final implementation of MiCA scheduled for 30 December.
- El Salvador reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on an approximate $1.4 billion loan. Elements of the programme include making bitcoin acceptance by the private sector voluntary and gradually unwinding the government’s participation in the Chivo crypto e-wallet (Chivo). The day after, El Salvador purchased $1 million worth of bitcoin.
Recent Research Reports
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- 2024 Year Review & 2025 Year Ahead: In 2024, the crypto industry witnessed more impressive milestones than in the previous year. In this report, we curate the top crypto events and trends of 2024, followed by our outlook for 2025.
- Alpha Navigator: Quest for Alpha [November 2024]: Crypto led the rise, with BTC reaching an all-time high above $100,000 on 5 December. Fixed Income also increased while Equities had mixed performances. The US, UK, and New Zealand reduced interest rates; China kept interest rates unchanged.
- Ethereum Pectra Upgrade: The Pectra upgrade aims to address Ethereum’s mainnet performance with three key objectives: fix existing network issues, improve user experience, and prepare for future upgrades.
Interested to know more? Access exclusive reports by signing up as a Private member, joining our Crypto.com Exchange VIP Programme, or collecting a Loaded Lions NFT.
Recent University Articles
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| How to Participate in Solana Governance: A Step-by-Step Guide | Bitcoin vs Bitcoin Cash — A Closer Look at Their Shared Origins and Diverging Paths | Solana Tokenomics: Everything to Know |
| How to Participate in Solana Governance: A Step-by-Step Guide |
|---|---|
| Bitcoin vs Bitcoin Cash — A Closer Look at Their Shared Origins and Diverging Paths |
| Solana Tokenomics: Everything to Know |
- How to Participate in Solana Governance: A Step-by-Step Guide: Staking SOL tokens on-chain gives users the opportunity to participate in Solana governance. Here’s how.
- Bitcoin vs Bitcoin Cash — A Closer Look at Their Shared Origins and Diverging Paths: Discover the key differences between bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) in this in-depth guide.
- Solana Tokenomics: Everything to Know: Solana’s tokenomics is based on staking incentives, vesting schedules, and inflation controls. Here’s how it works.
Catalyst Calendar
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