Bitcoin topped US$44,000 this week. Bitcoin’s price has been hovering around the US$40,000 level since last week, and passed US$44,000 this week. Ether also cracked US$2,300 — the highest price levels seen in 19 months for both assets. Get the full scope of recent BTC and ETH price developments in our Chart of the Week below.
Crypto.com continues regulatory approval momentum, further establishing itself as the industry leader in regulatory compliance. This week’s latest approval saw the company receive authorization as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) from the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
Market Spotlight
Note: Market prices captured in USD at the time of sending. Explore more on Crypto.com/Price.
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News Snaps
Bitcoin Is Now 10th-Largest Asset Market Cap
Bitcoin is now the 10th-largest asset by market cap, following Meta (formerly Facebook) and Nvidia. BTC overtook the market value of Warren Buffet’s company Berkshire Hathaway on December 3, reaching US$800 billion on December 4.
Franklin Templeton Updates Its Bitcoin ETF Application
Franklin Templeton has filed an updated prospectus with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) application.
MicroStrategy Buys More Bitcoin
MicroStrategy, one of the largest corporate holders of BTC, boosted its holdings in November, buying 16,130 BTC at an average of about US$30,252 per coin. MicroStrategy now holds 174,530 BTC, which brings its gains to over US$2 billion after this week’s high of US$44,000.
El Salvador’s Bitcoin Portfolio Swings to Black
El Salvador’s Bitcoin investments have recently returned to profit. According to a December 4 X post by President Nayib Bukele, the country’s Bitcoin portfolio currently sits at US$131 million with a net profit of US$3.6 million.
BIS Presents CBDC Initiative
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub has presented the final report on its private central bank digital currency (CBDC) initiative, Project Tourbillon. The report explores the concepts of privacy, security, and scalability based on the eCash design by cryptography pioneer David Chaum.
What’s Ahead
Crypto Catalyst Calendar
Chart of the Week
Bitcoin has broken past US$44,000 for the first time in 19 months, while Ether has now topped US$2,300. Meanwhile, spot ETF developments continue to make headlines, and BTC’s move higher comes as gold futures have also surged to a record high of US$2,151 after US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said interest rates are now ”well into restrictive territory.”
NFT Spotlight
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And they’ll be here next week over a series of three sales phases:
Dark Lions — Phase 1: Feline Face-Off
Dark Lions — Phase 2: Allies Assemble
Dark Lions — Phase 3: A Global Showdown
For full details of eligibility and pricing for each sales phase, visit the blog here.
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Product Picks
Introducing Cross-Chain Swaps in the DeFi Wallet
The Crypto.com DeFi Wallet app has introduced cross-chain token swaps and a revamped ‘Trade’ page! Users can easily swap and bridge tokens across seven EVM chains in seconds, with swaps powered by Stargate. What’s more, swapping and bridging now take place on a single page, for maximum convenience. Find out more here.
Make a Deposit for a Chance to Win USDC in This Week’s Trading Arena Event
In this week’s Trading Arena event on the Crypto.com Exchange, users can win a share of the US$5,000 prize pool by simply depositing at least US$1,000 of any token. The top depositors stand to win up to US$1,000 in USDC. Join now!
Crypto.com App New Token Listings
VANAR Chain (formerly known as Virtua) is a carbon-neutral, high-speed, and cost-effective Layer-1 blockchain ecosystem designed for entertainment and mainstream purposes. At the core of this ecosystem is its native gas token, VANRY, crafted to facilitate transactions and smart contract operations within the VANAR Chain.
Jito plays a significant role in the Solana ecosystem. As the leading MEV-powered liquid staking token provider on Solana, JitoSOL enables users to exchange SOL for increased liquidity and staking rewards while also enjoying unique incentives linked to MEV rewards on the Solana network.
Marinade is a staking protocol built on the Solana blockchain that allows users to optimize SOL stake using automated staking strategies. Marinade empowers users to seamlessly stake their SOL tokens in native form or opt for liquid staking within a curated pool of Solana validators. Marinade’s MNDE token lets holders participate in the protocol’s governance. This includes control of the DAO’s fees, treasury and which validators will receive the pool’s SOL stake.
Strike Options Listings [US only]
DOGE, DOT and LINK contracts are now available for Strike Options in the Crypto.com App.
Strike Options are a CFTC-regulated crypto derivatives product that allows users to potentially profit in just 20 minutes by predicting whether the price of an underlying asset will be higher than the strike price at the time of expiry.
UpDown Options Listings [US only]
DOT and LINK contracts are now available for Strike and UpDown Options in the Crypto.com App.
UpDown Options give traders the tools to capture value across all market conditions, allowing them to maximize profit and minimize losses, trade with lower costs, and hedge against price dips. Users can trade BTC, BCH, ETH, LTC, DOGE, and AVAX on four available contracts each, depending on their risk appetite, seven days a week.
Crypto Level Up
Bitcoin Spot vs. Futures ETFs Explained
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are investment funds traded on stock exchanges like the Nasdaq. Spot Bitcoin ETFs allow investors to buy shares, gaining proportional ownership to the BTC the fund holds. Futures Bitcoin ETFs do not hold any BTC, as they track the coin’s price through futures contracts instead. Read on to find out more.
What Are Spot Bitcoin ETFs?
Spot Bitcoin ETFs aim to track the price of BTC by holding a sum of the token. These ETFs buy BTC and issue shares to traders based on the value of the BTC they hold. Essentially, they provide traders with direct exposure to BTC’s price movements. However, as of November 2023, no spot Bitcoin ETFs have yet been approved.
What Are Futures Bitcoin ETFs?
Futures Bitcoin ETFs are also known as derivatives-based ETFs. These funds do not hold any BTC; instead, they track its price through futures contracts. Futures Bitcoin ETFs provide traders with a more efficient way to gain exposure to BTC, with at least five such funds available right now.
Learn All About How Bitcoin Spot and Futures ETFs Differ.
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Decoder
Cold Wallet
A cold wallet is an offline wallet used to store cryptocurrencies.
By definition, any form of cryptocurrency wallet not connected to the internet is considered a cold wallet. In comparison with a hot wallet, which is connected to the internet, cold wallets are generally considered more secure since they keep a user’s private keys offline.
Types of Cold Wallets
Paper Wallets
Paper wallets are one of the simplest forms of cold storage, as the public and private keys are directly printed or written on them.
Hardware Wallets
Hardware wallets are physical devices that often resemble a USB drive. When not in use, they are typically disconnected from any other device, making them tremendously difficult or near impossible to hack into.
Sound Wallets
Sound wallets use compact discs (CDs) or vinyl disks (records) that store a user’s encrypted private keys in sound files.
Security Tips
Malaysian Man Loses ~US$212,000 to Cryptocurrency Investment Scam
In November 2023, a man in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, lost almost RM1 million (~US$212,000) to a cryptocurrency investment scam. He alleged that he was cheated by someone who promised a 60% return on his investment via a specific mobile app. The man was then unable to withdraw his money, and his account in the app was blocked.
Five Handy Tips to Safeguard Against Cryptocurrency Scams
1. Take your time to research the investment you’re being offered. A lot of bad crypto advice is circulating, and you don’t want to be led into a scam. Do not take advice from people on social media or internet forums, or anyone else you don’t know well and who doesn’t have solid financial credentials.
2. If the cryptocurrency investment being proposed is peppered with mentions of ‘quick’, ‘easy’, or ‘low/no risk’, walk away. It’s a scam if it sounds too good to be true.
3. Trust your gut. If you don’t feel good about what you’re being pitched, it is best to trust your gut and walk away. This is especially true if the investment guarantees high returns or has little details or explanations.
4. If you currently own cryptocurrency, don’t interact with strange tokens that suddenly appear in your wallet, whether they ’re cryptocurrencies or NFTs.
5. If you suspect that a cryptocurrency investment being offered to you is a scam, it is always better to be safe than sorry: Do your own research and seek advice from trusted sources.
That’s it for this week’s Snapshot. Want more? Find out what’s trending in the crypto world.
