Good Morning,

Here's a quick preview of today’s content: Santa did not bring a new Bitcoin high for Christmas this year as it hovers $95k with $14B in options expire tomorrow. Plus, a crypto Naughty & Nice list is revealed, Metaplanet makes its largest investment in Bitcoin to date, Animoca Brands founder gets X account hacked, and more

We hop everyone had a great Christmas if you celebrate and are looking forward to a New Year! This is the year to LOCK IN and it started with education and due diligence.

Happy Friday, Let’s dive in.

Market Snapshot

As of 12/27/2024. Data per CoinMarketCap.

  • Bitcoin manages to stay above $95k after a quick 8% jump above $100k over the holiday week, falling 7% following Christmas

    • HBAR dips 8.2% leading the pack for CoinDesk 20 as it slides over 5% to finish off the week

  • Macro researcher Jim Bianco says recent rise in long-term treasury rates, now at 4.63%, alongside recent short-term 50bps Fed rate-cut is ‘unprecedented in modern financial history’, potentially leading to higher market volatility

Market Predictions

  • Traders on Kalshi are currently predicting whether that Dogecoin will hit $1 USD or higher by a specific date (multiple dates to choose)

  • You can trade this market by checking out Kalshi

  • Get a $20 bonus when you deposit $100 or more with code “LIT” on signup

Headline Roundup
The major headlines driving crypto markets

  • IRS doubles down on crypto staking taxes, read full report here

  • Hawk Tuah girl Hailey Welch tops Santa’s crypto naughty list in 2024 (DC)

  • Michael Saylor and Brian Armstrong included in Santa’s 2024 crypto nice list see the full list here

  • Vitalik Buterin 'adopts' Moo Deng with 88 ETH zoo donation (CT)

  • Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood sees $1M+ outlook for Bitcoin with Trump’s presidency and institutional adoption (TD)

  • Japanese investment firm Metaplanet makes its biggest Bitcoin purchase buying 620 BTC costing them $60.5M (DC)

  • Over 30% of South Koreans invest in crypto assets (CT)

  • Hex founder Richard Heart has warrants out for his arrest from largest international law enforcement org., Interpol (DC)

  • Trump appoints 3 more pro-crypto leaders to his cabinet (CD)

  • Agridex has facilitated its first onchain coffee trade, a move it said could open the door to more cost-effective agricultural commodity transactions (CT)

  • $14B in options expire today on Deribit exchange, with $4M expected to expire in-the-money (CD)

  • KULR Technology launches Bitcoin treasury with $21M purchase (CT)

  • Nokia filed for a patent on a “device, method and computer program” that can encrypt digital assets (CT)

VaultCraft launches V2, TVL skyrockets above $100M

VaultCraft launches V2, partners with Safe, and secures $100M+ in Bitcoin

  • Matrixport, Asia’s leading crypto providers, commits $100M+ in Bitcoin

  • OKX Web3 to launch Safe Smart Vaults with $250K+ in rewards

Earn Now

Launches

  • Sonic, SonicX game creator that natively built in TikTok, will airdrop native token to all social media users (CD)

Venture Capital

  • Avalon Labs closes $10M Series A led by Framework Ventures for Bitcoin-backed stablecoin (CD)

  • GEM Capital makes $10M token investment in ESG-forward blockchain 'Trrue' (CD)

  • Tether makes first crypto VC fund investment into Arcanum Capital (CT)

Regulation

  • Israel Securities Authority approve 6 Bitcoin mutual funds to start trading next week (CD)

  • Turkey introduces stricter crypto AML regulations (CT)

  • New York plans to be the ‘gold standard’ for state crypto regulations (BW)

  • 10 regions in Russia hit with 6-year crypto mining ban (CD)

Cybersecurity

  • Yat Siu, founder of Animoca Brands, has X account compromised to promote fake MOCA coin (CD)

  • Hyperliquid token HYPE dips 20%+ amid fear of potential North Korean hacks (DC)

  • Hyperliquid scrutinized for vulnerabilities after $115M outflow this week (BW)

Extra Reads

Chart of the Day

Distribution of open interest options totaling $14B, expiring today on Deribit

Image provided by CoinDesk

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