Market Overview (Dec 11 – Dec 17): Tether’s Pledge to Protect USDT, Coinbase’s SEAM Launch and more

Key Points

• Last week, Google updated its policy on cryptocurrencies, and Tether’s Pledge to Protect USDT,…
• In macroeconomics, the CPI remains steady, the Fed maintains interest rates, and upcoming focus on the PCE inflation rate.
• The prediction market suggests Bitcoin’s price will surpass $69K in 2024.

Discover the latest news in the cryptocurrency market, including updates from Google Update, Tether’s Pledge to Protect USDT, and Coinbase’s SEAM Launch,… Explore the impact of hacking incidents, NFT market entry, and stablecoin concerns.

Last week’s highlights big news (Dec 11 – Dec 17)

Google has updated its policy on cryptocurrencies and related products, clarifying the scope and requirements for advertising cryptocurrency trust funds.

Binance, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges, has made an exciting announcement. They are launching their 40th project on Binance Launchpool called Fusionist ($ACE).

Fusionist is a native token of Endurance, a decentralized social gaming and blockchain platform. The core team behind Fusionist comes from Tencent, a well-known Chinese gaming company.

Coinbase is also making waves with the launch of the SEAM seamless protocol governance token. SEAM is specifically designed for the lending protocol and is the first original Base project token traded on Coinbase.

However, not all news is positive. OKX DEX, a decentralized exchange, has recently experienced a suspected hacking incident. Several wallets authorized for OKX DEX were compromised, resulting in the theft of over $424,000.

The exchange has taken immediate action to remove the proxy used in the attack. It is suspected that the private key of the account with the address 0xFacf3 was leaked. OKX has acknowledged that the hack compromised 18 assets, and they will reimburse impacted individuals for any losses they may have suffered.

In Hong Kong, China Mobile’s unit, CMHK, has entered the NFT market. This move highlights the growing interest in non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and their potential applications in various industries, including SocialFi, DeFi, and GameFi.

SafeMoon, a cryptocurrency that gained popularity in recent months, has unfortunately announced bankruptcy. As a result, the SFM token price has experienced a sharp decline.

Lastly, Tether’s Pledge Protect USDT has reached out to US lawmakers to address concerns regarding the misuse of their stablecoin. The CEO of Tether has emphasized their commitment to preventing unauthorized individuals from utilizing their stablecoin.

Tether has cooperated with the US Secret Service and is currently working on establishing a similar partnership with the FBI. To comply with regulations, Tether has frozen wallets on the US sanctions list, including the freezing of 435 million USDT.

Macroeconomics (Dec 11 – Dec 17)

In recent CPI updates, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for this month stands at 3.1%, slightly lower compared to last month’s 3.2%. The Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, remains steady at 4.0% for both this month and the previous month.

At first glance, it may seem like inflation is not changing significantly. However, a closer look at the details reveals a more positive situation. Let’s break it down:

• Stable Food Prices: Food prices have remained stable for the past few months, contributing to the overall steady CPI.
• Decrease in Energy Prices: The significant decrease in oil prices has led to a decline in energy prices, which has a favorable impact on the CPI.
• Used Car Prices: The high cost of used automobiles is the primary cause of the steady increases in other commodities. Should this element be eliminated, the CPI index would drop much lower.

Considering these factors, it becomes clear that the overall inflation rate is in a relatively good state. The stability in food prices and the decrease in energy prices counterbalance the impact of other commodities, particularly used car prices.

Moving on to the Federal Reserve (Fed), they have decided to maintain interest rates. Their projections indicate three rate cuts in 2024, aiming to stimulate economic growth.

The “dot plot” chart of individual expectations from Fed members suggests an additional four rate cuts in 2025, resulting in a 1% decrease. Furthermore, three more cuts in 2026 are anticipated, which would bring the interest rate to a range of 2%-2.25%.

In terms of upcoming financial events, the focus this week is on the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation rate in the US.

The Core PCE, which closely follows the Core PCI, is expected to be 3.2% this month, slightly lower than last month’s 3.5%.

These two indices usually move in the same direction, but it’s worth noting that Core PCI remained unchanged compared to the previous month, maintaining a steady rate of 4.0%.

Prediction Market Crypto (Dec 11 – Dec 17)

According to data from glassnode, the duration from when the market price exceeds the realized price until it surpasses the previous cycle peaks is as follows:

• The 2015-2017 cycle lasted 14 months.
• The 2019-2021 cycle lasted 20 months.
• The current cycle has already exceeded the realized price for 11 months.

Based on this information, if the current cycle lasts for 14 months, similar to the 2015-2017 cycle, Bitcoin’s price will surpass $69K in March 2024. If it follows the pattern of the 2019-2021 cycle, Bitcoin’s price will surpass $69K in August 2024. Taking an average of the previous two cycles at 17 months, Bitcoin’s price is projected to surpass $69K in June 2024.

Recent Hot Trends in the Crypto Market

In recent times, there has been a significant trend in the market known as engraving, or the “20 list trend.” This trend involves the listing of various tokens on popular platforms like Binance, with a market cap reaching billions.

Tokens such as $ORDI and $SATS, part of the Brc20 ecosystem, have gained considerable attention, reflecting the changing positions of many investors. In addition, other ecosystems like Doge with drc20, TRX, AVAX, ARB, SUI, and APT have followed suit, indicating widespread participation in this 20-market wave.

Besides that, these transactions resemble NFTs and operate similarly to OTC trades, where sell orders require a matching buyer. Consequently, participants anticipate and react to these trends to take advantage of the market momentum.

Notably, ETH has also joined this trend with Ethrunes, a project initiated by the ETH shark whale, which has witnessed an impressive launch volume of over 1000E. However, it is expected that this trend will come and go quickly.

A Little Update on This Trend

Among the various systems participating in this trend, some of the notable ones include:

• BRC20 with a market cap of 2 billion in just 10 months.
• DRC20 with a market cap of 200 million in 8 months.
• TRXI with a market cap of 20 million in just 2 days.

Furthermore, as the year draws to a close, various predictions have been made regarding the future of cryptocurrencies. VanEck’s 15 predictions have garnered attention, and Bitwise has presented 10 predictions as well.

Here are some of Bitwise’s predictions for the crypto market in the coming years:

• Prediction 1: Bitcoin is expected to trade above $80,000, setting a new all-time high.
• Prediction 2: Bitcoin ETF funds will be approved, leading to the most successful ETF launch in history.
• Prediction 3: Coinbase’s revenue will double, surpassing Wall Street’s expectations by at least tenfold.
• Prediction 4: Stablecoins will process more transactions than Visa, highlighting their growing importance.
• Prediction 5: Wall Street will move towards tokenizing RWA, with J.P. Morgan creating a fund issued on the blockchain.
• Prediction 6: Ethereum’s revenue will double, reaching $5 billion, as more users embrace cryptocurrency applications.
• Prediction 7: Taylor Swift will release NFTs to connect with her fans, showcasing the broader adoption of non-fungible tokens.
• Prediction 8: Crypto will become the “native currency of the internet,” with AI assistants incorporating it for online payments.
• Prediction 9: Prediction and gambling applications will attract over $100 million in staked funds, emerging as a killer app.
• Prediction 10: Ethereum’s upgrade will significantly lower average transaction fees to below $0.01, facilitating the development of more popular applications.

DISCLAIMER: The information on this website is provided as general market commentary and does not constitute investment advice. We encourage you to do your own research before investing.