Crypto Scoop: Bitcoin Soars To An ATH of $76,800, ETH Trades At $2,900

This week, Bitcoin broke records as it soared to an ATH of $76,873 while several altcoins traded in green. In this edition of the Crypto Scoop, we review the following:

• Price moves of top cryptocurrencies
• Tether and Tron DAO’s stablecoin initiatives
• Global crypto initiatives and regulation and more.

Tether swaps more than 2 billion USDT to the Ethereum network

Tether has executed a major cross-chain transfer, moving over $2 billion worth of USDt from various networks to Ethereum on Nov. 6. This shift involved $1 billion from the Tron network, $600 million from Avalanche C-Chain, $300 million from Near Protocol, and $60 million from EOS, all to Ethereum, as per Tether’s statement. This significant migration, driven by a large unnamed exchange, was aimed at consolidating USDt holdings on Ethereum. Tether assured its millions of users that this decision would not impact USDt's total supply.

At Hong Kong FinTech Week, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire emphasised the essential role of stablecoins in modern financial systems, especially for enhancing cross-border trade and emerging market efficiency. Allaire highlighted stablecoins like USDC as transformative tools for “better, faster, cheaper” transactions, underscoring stablecoins’ evolving role in global trade settlements.

Meanwhile, the stablecoins recorded another significant milestone with the TRON DAO launching the TRON-Peg USD Coin, enabling efficient cross-chain transfers of USDC between Ethereum and Tron. This bridge mechanism is designed to enhance accessibility and broaden the use of USDC within TRON’s ecosystem. Users can now seamlessly shift USDC assets between the two chains, ensuring seamless borderless transactions.

A group of fintech and digital asset companies, including Paxos, Kraken, and DBS Bank, have announced the “Global Dollar Network” and the launch of the USDG stablecoin. Backed by Paxos and set to align with Singapore’s upcoming stablecoin regulations, this new stablecoin promises to return nearly all rewards to participants. It offers an open network model, inviting more partners to join. With DBS Bank supporting cash management and reserves, this initiative is geared toward building a stablecoin that can meet enterprise standards while being user-friendly for consumers.

Recent Developments in Global Cryptocurrency Regulation and Adoption

The government has stepped up efforts in Kenya to tax the rapidly growing cryptocurrency sector, collecting $77.5 million from 384 traders in the past fiscal year. The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) aims to increase crypto tax collection significantly, targeting $465 million over the next few years. To facilitate this, the KRA is considering implementing a real-time tax system integrated with crypto exchanges to capture transaction details, enhancing revenue collection in a market still hindered by regulatory challenges and low public awareness.

Meanwhile, Detroit has positioned itself as a leader in crypto adoption by becoming the largest U.S. city to accept cryptocurrency payments for taxes and fees.  City officials announced a partnership with PayPal to enable residents to pay these expenses with digital currencies, aiming to provide streamlined, secure transactions and support unbanked and underbanked communities. Beginning in 2025, residents will be able to pay these expenses with crypto through a platform operated by PayPal, a move aimed at supporting tech innovation and financial inclusivity for unbanked residents.

Michigan’s State Retirement Fund also recently increased its Ethereum holdings, investing over $10 million, making it the first U.S. state pension fund to prioritise Ethereum over Bitcoin. Across the Atlantic, the British pension firm Cartwright made headlines by recommending a direct 3% allocation in Bitcoin for a UK pension fund, marking a groundbreaking move in European retirement fund investment.

On the regulatory front, Dan Gallagher, Robinhood’s legal chief, has emerged as a top contender to head the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under a potential Trump administration. Gallagher’s appointment could signal a shift in regulatory approach, as Trump has openly criticised current SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s stance on crypto.
Internationally, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is advancing asset tokenisation, leveraging its Project Guardian to explore foreign exchange and funds applications.  This initiative, which has conducted trials in seven jurisdictions with over 40 institutions, aims to drive tokenisation in foreign exchange and investment funds. MAS Deputy Managing Director Leong Sing Chiong highlighted that scaling these efforts requires improved infrastructure, liquidity, and standardisation. MAS’s commitment to addressing these barriers shows Singapore’s ambition to lead in digital asset innovation and foster an ecosystem where tokenised assets can thrive.

Dapps’ revenue hits $164M in October amid growing adoption

According to a report by Binance Research, decentralised applications (dApps) generated $164 million in revenue in October, reflecting a strong increase in blockchain adoption. The report shows that dApps made up 12 of the top 15 revenue-generating protocols last month, highlighting the rising use of decentralised applications for activities like trading and decentralised exchanges.

Interactions with dApps have been steadily increasing, driven partly by the popularity of trading bots and decentralised finance tools. Meanwhile, the blockchains with the highest revenues, Tron, Ethereum, and Solana, earned a combined $182 million. However, the growing revenue from dApps suggests they could soon rival or even surpass these major blockchains in revenue share, marking a potential shift in where value is captured within the blockchain ecosystem as more users turn to decentralised applications.

Google Cloud and JPMorgan Embrace Blockchain Innovation

Google Cloud has now become the primary validator on the Cronos blockchain, signalling a significant step forward in the adoption of blockchain technology by major global tech companies. This move is part of an expanded partnership with Cronos Labs and demonstrates Google Cloud's commitment to the Web3 space. As the main validator, Google Cloud will play a central role in maintaining Cronos's security and decentralisation, working alongside 32 other validators, including Crypto.com and Blockdaemon, on the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) protocol.

This partnership is expected to drive innovation and increase developer engagement on Cronos, with Google Cloud offering essential resources for building decentralised applications. Rishi Ramchandani, Google Cloud's Web3 APAC head, noted that the collaboration will provide developers access to Google Cloud's secure infrastructure, advanced AI, and data analytics tools, essential for creating the next generation of decentralised applications.

Meanwhile, JPMorgan has unveiled a new instant settlement feature for dollar-euro exchanges using its Kinexys blockchain to modernise cross-border transactions. Set to launch soon, this service will utilise JPM Coin to enable swift, secure payments between institutions, bypassing the standard two-day settlement window for dollar-euro exchanges. With daily processing volumes on Kinexys exceeding $2 billion, this feature marks a step forward in reducing operational costs and improving liquidity for JPMorgan's clients in traditional banking.