Market Overview (Dec 9 – Dec 15): USDC Gains Momentum Backed by Binance and BlackRock

MicroStrategy buys 21.5k BTC. Google launches quantum chip. Eric Trump predicts $1M Bitcoin. Microsoft rejects Bitcoin reserves. South Korea delays crypto tax until 2027. USDC gains market influence.

Last week’s Highlights Big News (December 9 – December 15)

MicroStrategy has purchased an additional 21,550 BTC ($2.1 billion) at $98,783 per Bitcoin. As of December 8, 2024, they hold 423,650 BTC ($25.6 billion) at an average price of approximately $60,324 per Bitcoin.

Google has just launched a new quantum computer chip called Willow, marking a significant advance in quantum technology with the ability to achieve 105 qubits. Every time there is news about quantum computers, people worry about the encryption of Bitcoin. Will this break Bitcoin?

Eric Trump said at the Bitcoin Mena conference that the U.S. will become the global leader in crypto and believes Bitcoin will reach $1 million.

Microsoft shareholders voted against adding Bitcoin to the company’s reserves. This is a commendable effort, and although the outcome wasn’t as expected, the noteworthy point is that Microsoft, the third-largest company in the world by market capitalization, can no longer ignore Bitcoin.

South Korea has postponed taxing crypto until 2027. Previously, the country planned to impose a 22% tax on profits from crypto investments exceeding 2.5 million won (around $1,750) annually, but it has been delayed multiple times and is now pushed to 2027.

The Pudgy Penguins NFT collection has just become the second most valuable NFT project in the world, with a floor price exceeding $100,000, higher than that of a Bitcoin. The floor price increased by 76% in 7 days following the announcement of the launch of the PENGU token on the Solana blockchain in late 2024.

Read more: Market Overview (Dec 2 – Dec 8): Altcoin Season Slows as Tether’s $2B Mint Hints at Turmoil

Macroeconomic News

U.S. CPI (Consumer Price Index)

• This month: 2.7%
• Estimate: 2.7%
• Last month: 2.6%

Core CPI

• This month: 3.3%
• Estimate: 3.3%
• Last month: 3.3%

U.S. PPI (Producer Price Index – Wholesale Inflation)

• PPI: 3.0%
• Estimate: 2.6%

U.S. PPI Core

• PPI Core: 3.4%
• Estimate: 3.2%

Although the PPI is higher than expected, it is not the consumer inflation rate (CPI). Currently, it is still highly likely that the FED will cut interest rates on December 18.

Market Overview

Bitcoin & Ethereum Market Updates

• BTC hits new ATH at $106K, with the weekly candle closing green and showing a strong reversal.
• ETH surpasses $4K, with the market turning green at the start of the week.
• Current market trends are shifting upwards, but not all at the same time.
• $241 million in stablecoin netflow was withdrawn from exchanges in the last 24 hours.

World Liberty Financial’s Recent Investments

World Liberty Financial, owned by the Trump family, spent 500,013 USDC to purchase 509,955 ENA at an average price of $0.981.

In the past ~2 weeks, World Liberty Financial has spent a total of $44.41 million to buy the following cryptocurrencies:

Cryptocurrency	Amount Purchased	Total Spent (USD)	Average Purchase Price (USD)
ETH	8,105 ETH	$30 million	$3,701
cbBTC	102.9 cbBTC	$10 million	$97,181
LINK	78,387 LINK	$2 million	$25.51
AAVE	5,886 AAVE	$1.91 million	$324.4

Binance’s Partnership with Circle: Key Insights

Binance is gradually being influenced by the U.S. after recent moves (CZ’s release, listing meme/low-cap tokens, adding USDC pairs, removing $BUSD). This indicates that Binance has likely reached an agreement with the U.S., and supporting $USDC is part of this deal.

Potential Increase in USDC Trading Pairs:

Many tokens could be paired with USDC, creating speculative opportunities similar to the past trend of adding USDT pairs.

Possible Listings of Base System Tokens:

Binance could list tokens from the Base network or projects backed by Coinbase, such as:

• $AERO
• $MORPHO
• $DEGEN
• $WELL
• #MIGGLES
• $TOSHI
• $F

USDC’s Growing Potential:

With backing from BlackRock, Coinbase, and other major U.S. financial institutions, $USDC has the potential to surpass $USDT and become the leading stablecoin in the crypto ecosystem.

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.