Crypto Scoop: Bitcoin Soars to $73,000 as Tether Attains A New Milestone

It was an exciting week in crypto, with top cryptocurrencies trading in green again while big players in the industry attained major milestones. In this edition of the Crypto Scoop, we explore:

• Price moves of top cryptocurrencies
• Tether and Solana’s recent milestones
• Global crypto initiatives and regulation
• Visa and Coin Base's Partnership

Price Moves of Top Cryptocurrencies and BTC turns 16.

Bitcoin peaked at $73,000 midweek before settling back to $70,000 by the end of the week. Ethereum also climbed to $2,700 before dipping to $2,500, while Solana is currently trading at $169.

This week, the famous BTC whitepaper by Satoshi Nakamoto turned 16. Titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” and released on October 31st, 2008, Bitcoin has since changed a lot. From being worth $0.0008 to being a top 10 asset in the world with a market cap of over $1 Trillion, BTC has come a long way since then. 

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) set a record by generating a massive $875 million net inflows in just one day, while Grayscale’s ETFs also pulled in $750 million in net inflows for its Bitcoin and Ethereum Exchange Traded Funds. With this record day, Eric Balchunas from Bloomberg suggested that US spot Bitcoin ETFs could accumulate more BTC than the estimated holdings of Bitcoin's creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, by December this year.

Meanwhile,  MicroStrategy has announced its ambitious “21/21 plan” to raise $42 billion worth of BTC in 3 years, with $21 billion to be raised in equity and the other $21 billion in debt. The selling of its $21 billion in shares will surpass Tesla’s Bitcoin investment milestone set four years ago and possibly make MicroStrategy’s market cap surpass Coinbase’s market cap. CEO of MicroStrategy, Phong Le, said that the company plans to use the additional capital to buy more bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset in a manner that will allow the company to achieve higher BTC Yield.

Tether Reports $2.5B Profit as Solana Surpasses Ethereum

Tether recently released a report announcing a massive $2.5B in profits in Q3, with 2024 earnings reaching $7.7B, with $1.3B of its profits coming from U.S. treasury holdings and $1.1B from unresolved gains from gold reserves. This record net profit and increased stablecoin circulation and adoption worldwide highlight the growing confidence in Tether’s influence in the crypto market. Recent data from TRONSCAN (blockchain browser) also showed that the issuance of TRC20-USDT made history by surpassing 62.7 billion.

Stablecoins were in the news again after the U.S. Treasury, in a presentation, identified a shift in the demand for Treasury bills driven by stablecoins' growth. Stablecoins have increasingly used Treasury bills as collateral, accounting for a massive $120 billion in US Treasury holdings.

At the unveiling of the Satoshi Nakamoto statue in Switzerland, Tether’s CEO announced a detailed reserve breakdown, emphasising Tether’s large holdings in Bitcoin, gold, and U.S. Treasury bonds. He highlighted that these assets are held to back their stablecoin, the USDT, completely refuting any claims of insufficient USDT reserves.

On another note, the Solana blockchain's meme coin market has surged to a market cap of $12.2 billion, with this rise being attributed to increased trading activity in tokens such as WIF, POPCAT, and BONK. Specifically, WIF stands out with a price of $2.65 and a 9.5% increase within a day, boasting a market cap of $2.6 billion and a trading volume of $978 million. POPCAT follows with a market cap of $1.7 billion, trading at $1.74 with a 14% daily increase, while BONK maintains a $1.5 billion market cap despite minor fluctuations. 
Solana also recently overtook Ethereum in daily fees with a record $2.5 million. This shift is largely due to the increasing trading activity on Solana’s leading decentralised exchange, Raydium.

Recent Developments in Global Cryptocurrency Regulation and Adoption

Across the globe, on the African continent, Kenya continues to make its case for why it is considered one of Africa’s top destinations for anything crypto-related. It recently hosted ETHSafari, a significant event for the crypto community that sheds light on Africa’s growing involvement in cryptocurrency while celebrating world culture, music, and the environment.

In the US, Florida's Chief Financial Officer, Jimmy Patronis, has publicly disclosed that the state has made substantial investments, amounting to $800 million, in digital assets. Notably, he has also proposed that Bitcoin be considered an investment vehicle for Florida's state pension funds, aligning with similar initiatives by other states such as Wisconsin and Michigan. During a CNBC interview, he underscored the enduring presence of cryptocurrencies in the financial landscape and highlighted their potential as a safeguard against governmental monetary interventions.

According to a local report, South Korea’s crypto transactions have significantly increased by 21% in domestic virtual asset investors, reaching 7.78 million active participants. However, South Korean regulators have maintained strong oversight with 34.9% of cryptocurrencies on South Korean exchanges being delisted, according to a local report. Regardless of this, South Korea continues to be listed as one of the top crypto hubs worldwide, according to a report by Social Capital Markets, emphasising its growth in the crypto market and increasing adoption in South Korea.

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) is making history as it announced that it is launching Asia's first EU-regulated crypto index, the “Virtual Asset Index Series.” This index will use a 24-hour volume-weighted U.S. dollar spot price from major crypto exchanges to provide a reliable benchmark.

A report by the Central Bank of Brazil noted that Brazil's crypto import activity accelerated significantly, reaching a 40% increase in September 2024, attaining $1.4B compared to last year’s $1B. Most of these transactions were stablecoins, accounting for around 70% of all trades this year. The Central Bank chief Roberto Campos Neto also recently mentioned Brazil’s plans to regulate stablecoins in 2025.
Finally, in Europe, the Italian government expressed its desire to increase the capital gains tax on cryptocurrencies from 26% to 42%, with Italian Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti saying this is due to the risk associated with digital assets. Bolivian bank Banco Bisa also introducing avit cong, ed a service to enable transactions with Tether (USDT), allowing clients to buy, sell, and transfer the cryptocurrency through secure channels under a regulated framework. This news, along with the EU’s upcoming MiCA regulations, shows Europe’s growing desire to regulate stablecoin issuers and control market manipulation.

Visa and Coinbase Make Strategic Partnerships

Visa made headlines after announcing its partnership with the crypto exchange platform Coinbase. This collaboration will allow all Visa customers with eligible debit cards to deposit, withdraw, and buy crypto in real time, aiming to bridge traditional banking with crypto services. 

Coinbase also made major moves after announcing that it would become the official sponsor of the seven-time NBA Champion Golden State Warriors. This sponsorship highlights a big return of crypto to the sports world, which will undoubtedly help improve sentiments about crypto in mainstream sports.
In other news, a team of researchers is currently investigating YouTube personality MrBeast for possibly being linked to over $23 million in alleged profits from several crypto trades that may involve insider trading. The investigation suggests that MrBeast's Ethereum wallet, publicly associated with NFT purchases, helped identify suspicious trading patterns through connected wallets.