📁 What happened in the world of cryptocurrencies last week?

The past few days have been marked by historic records, bold statements, and strategic decisions by regulators, investors, and top market players.

Here’s a brief overview of the key news that could influence the industry’s development:

1️⃣ Bitcoin Surpassed $100,000, Causing Widespread Buzz

BTC reached $104,056, and those famous “pizzas for BTC” are now valued at $1 billion!

2️⃣ New Appointments in the U.S.: SEC and Crypto-Innovation

Donald Trump nominated Paul Atkins as SEC Chair and appointed David O. Sacks to oversee AI and cryptocurrency sectors. Sacks, who has previously invested in decentralized projects, will help develop a clear legal framework for the industry.

3️⃣ Powell: Bitcoin Competes with Gold, Not the Dollar

Fed Chair Jerome Powell compared BTC to “digital gold,” emphasizing that volatility prevents it from becoming a U.S. payment method or reserve asset.

Cathie Wood of ARK Invest expressed optimism, noting Bitcoin’s potential and early stage of development.

4️⃣ Bank of England Prepares to Cut Rates

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey predicts four key rate cuts in 2025, citing faster-than-expected inflation decline.

5️⃣ South Korea Delays Crypto Tax Again

The introduction of a 20% tax on digital asset profits has now been postponed to 2027, giving the market more time to adapt.

6️⃣ Binance Leads in Crypto Inflows

In 2024, the exchange recorded $21.6 billion in inflows, significantly outpacing competitors. Bybit and OKX remain notable but less impressive.

7️⃣ Coinbase Integrates Apple Pay into Onramp

The new feature simplifies buying cryptocurrencies, lowering barriers for new users and strengthening the bridge between fiat and digital assets.

8️⃣ MicroStrategy Buys Another 15,400 BTC

The company continues its long-term strategy, increasing its holdings to 402,100 BTC. The average purchase price is now about $58,263 per coin.

9️⃣ a16z’s 2025 Forecasts: Tokenization and AI

Analysts expect stablecoins to soar in everyday transactions, mass tokenization of assets, and the integration of AI into blockchain services.

New markets and opportunities will expand the influence of decentralized technologies.

1️⃣0️⃣ Ethereum Foundation’s Q3 2024 Grant Report

Nearly $12.85 million went to education, developer tools, ZK-projects, L2 solutions, and events that strengthen the community and technological foundation of the ecosystem.

✅ Conclusion:

This week, we witnessed historic records, new regulatory leadership, strategic investments, and technological breakthroughs.

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🇺🇸 FSOC Warns About Stablecoin Risks

The U.S. Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) has once again highlighted the vulnerabilities of stablecoins and their impact on the market.

🇺🇸 What Happened?

FSOC published its annual report, emphasizing the following:

Stablecoins are vulnerable to mass redemptions if there are no risk management standards in place.

One company controls 70% of the stablecoin market, creating a high concentration of risk.

💵 What Is FSOC Afraid Of?

⚪️ Lack of transparency in reserve management increases the likelihood of fraud.

⚪️ The 2022 TerraUSD (UST) crash demonstrated how quickly a stablecoin can collapse in value.

⚪️ Tether’s dominance, with a market cap of $136.8 billion, could pose a threat to both the crypto market and the traditional financial system.

The Council urged the U.S. Congress to pass laws establishing federal standards for stablecoin management.

They want to protect investors, the market, and consumers from potential risks, but how justified is this approach?

If no measures are taken, FSOC reserves the right to act on its own.

💵 Context

The European MiCA legislation already imposes strict reserve requirements on stablecoins—at least 60% must be held in European banks.

Tether’s CEO, Paolo Ardoino, recently stated that

the upcoming regulatory framework in Europe could create banking issues for stablecoin issuers, threatening the stability of the entire cryptocurrency industry.

💵 Another Perspective

FSOC itself claims that regulating stablecoins will be a key step toward ensuring the crypto market’s resilience.

The report compares stablecoins with BTC.

Given the active promotion of Bitcoin in the new U.S. cryptocurrency policy, such close scrutiny of stablecoins doesn’t seem coincidental.

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🔍 Time is Money: How Coin Age Influences Cryptocurrency Coins

UTXO (Unspent Transaction Output) is a key concept in Bitcoin's blockchain.

Every time someone receives a coin, it is recorded as an output in a transaction.

If this coin has not yet been spent (used in another transaction), it becomes a UTXO.

Studying these outputs and their ages allows us to gain deeper insights into the behavior of network participants and predict market changes.

📊 How Does UTXO Analysis Work in Practice?

UTXO analysis is based on calculating the probability of coins being spent depending on their age.

➡️ Young UTXOs (up to 200 days):

These coins are most often spent because they are in the hands of new owners who may have recently acquired Bitcoin and plan to use it.

➡️ Old UTXOs (over 200 days):

These coins remain with long-term investors who are unlikely to spend them in the near future, reducing market liquidity and volatility.

❓ Why Is This Important for Traders?

Market Liquidity Analysis:

Young UTXOs indicate that active transactions may be occurring on the network, creating increased liquidity and volatility.

Meanwhile, old UTXOs signal market stability, where many holders have long-term positions.

💱 Predicting Price Movements:

When old coins start being spent (e.g., coins that haven't been used for over 5 years), it may indicate that long-term investors are beginning to redistribute their assets.

This can be a signal for traders about potential major market movements.

🥸 Long-Term Holders and Their Impact on the Market

Long-term holders (so-called "cold" investors) are those who hold Bitcoins for more than a year or even several years.

These coins are rarely spent, reducing the total number of liquid coins in the market.

When these coins start being spent, it may signal changes in investor sentiment, and the market may begin to move in a new direction.

📊 Conclusions

Understanding how coin age affects their spending allows traders to:

⚪️ Make more informed decisions
⚪️ Build accurate forecasts
⚪️ Adapt their strategies to current market conditions.

UTXO analysis is a powerful tool for understanding liquidity and predicting trends in the Bitcoin market.

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🖥 Kaiko's 3-Month Report: Changes in the Cryptocurrency Exchange Market

Kaiko recently published a new report, focusing primarily on the significant market changes following the last bull rally of 2020–2021.

Here are the key points:

📈 Market Share Redistribution

◽️ Binance remains the leader, but its market share has decreased due to regulatory challenges in various countries (35–48% over recent months).

◽️ Coinbase and Upbit have shown maximum growth, thanks to institutional traders (Coinbase) and retail investors (Upbit).

◽️ Bybit, OKX, and Bitget have lost positions since August.

📈 Return of Exchange Tokens

The volume of the CRO token (Crypto.com) reached $4 billion in November—three times the March figures.

The success is linked to low fees and promotions: users who stake CRO can trade for free.

Regulatory shifts in the USA also contribute to the interest in exchange tokens.

📈 Volatility and Growth of XRP

◽️ XRP volatility increased by +100% in November, and the price exceeded $2 for the first time in 7 years.

◽️ XRP trading volume over the weekend surpassed BTC, indicating widespread interest in the asset.

A favorable court decision in the case with the SEC and upcoming changes in the SEC regulatory body (Gary Gensler will leave the position on January 20) promise improved market sentiment in the USA.

📈 Increase in Demand for Stablecoins

The borrowing cost of USDT and USDC on Binance has doubled since October, associated with increased interest in leveraged funds.

Trading volumes of EUR-stablecoins have grown tenfold to $70 million per day.

Leaders are EURI and EURC, whose popularity is supported by the MiCA regulation.

📈 Conclusions

The sharp increase in interest in stablecoins and the rise in borrowing costs indicate traders' willingness to increase trading volumes, which could lead to a new wave of growth in the cryptocurrency market.

Competition is intensifying, and current dynamics show that the resilience of exchanges depends on their adaptability in the face of new regulatory changes.

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