Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | December 6, 2023

Bitcoin's Dramatic Rise to $44,000

Bitcoin's price recently soared to $44,000, causing short traders to lose approximately $160 million. This surge was influenced by the anticipation of a U.S. spot ETF for Bitcoin, expectations of U.S. interest rate cuts, and support from bitcoin-friendly leaders. 

Meanwhile, the U.S. private sector added only 103,000 jobs in November, lower than the expected 128,000. This slowdown in job creation and the weakest wage growth since September 2021 suggest a cooling labor market, which could influence the Federal Reserve's monetary policy. The service sector accounted for all job gains, while goods producers recorded a net loss of 14,000 jobs.

SEC Delays Ethereum ETF Decision

The SEC has postponed its decision on Grayscale's Ethereum ETF to January 2024, while BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF has attracted $100,000 in seed funding. Meanwhile, traders are increasingly favoring Ether over Bitcoin, as indicated by CME futures and options market metrics. Donald Trump's Ethereum holdings have surged by $1 million, linked to the buzz around a potential spot ETF. 

In contrast, rumors suggest that institutional giants Galaxy Digital, Celsius, and FTX might sell $45 million in Ethereum, potentially impacting its market value. This sell-off speculation coincides with Ethereum's recent price peak.

BlackRock and Pando's Bitcoin ETF Ambitions

BlackRock and Pando aim for U.S. Bitcoin ETF approval amid rising market optimism. BlackRock's potential $200M shift signals ambitious frontrunner positioning. Pando enters with European ETP experience. Hashdex predicts a Q2 2024 U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF followed by Ether. Market experts anticipate a substantial market impact with ETFs' arrival and regulatory complexities.  

Binance's AEUR Compensation Plan

Binance will compensate traders who mistakenly bought AEUR during its 200% price surge, caused by confusion over its stablecoin status. AEUR, intended to mirror the euro, unexpectedly peaked at $3.25. Trading was suspended, and compensation is planned for eligible traders who bought AEUR in a specific timeframe and held it.

Coinbase Wallet's Social Media USDC Transfers

Coinbase Wallet now allows global USD Coin (USDC) transfers via social media and messaging apps, eliminating the need for bank details or traditional transfers. Recipients can claim funds by clicking a link, prompting them to download the app. The platform supports over 130 countries with local fiat currencies and plans to add support for the Lightning Network.  

Bitcoin's Transaction Congestion Issues

Bitcoin's unconfirmed transactions surge over 260,000, causing congestion and increased transaction costs. Bitcoin developer Luke Dashjr criticizes Ordinal Inscriptions as a vulnerability, leading to spam and excessive memory usage, causing the ORDI token price to briefly dip below $50 then recover, resulting in approximately $5 million in losses for long traders. Jason Fang, however, sees Inscriptions as an innovation benefiting miners. 

Worldcoin Foundation's Decentralization Grant

Worldcoin Foundation introduces a grant program and articulates plans for decentralization. The for-profit company, Tools for Humanity, has primarily led the Worldcoin project. The initiative aims to achieve "distributed robustness" through decentralized orb production, new governance structures, and maintaining a balance between robustness and privacy. The initial grant fund is $5 million in WLD tokens.  

Societe Generale's EUR CoinVertible Launch

Societe Generale will launch EUR CoinVertible stablecoin on Bitstamp, allowing trading for investors. The move marks a groundbreaking shift in traditional bank-stablecoin dynamics. The EUR stablecoin aims to address the dominance of USD-backed stablecoins. Controversy surrounds its smart contract and regulatory compliance, while the bank affirms alignment with upcoming regulations.  

Dogecoin's 10th Anniversary Surge

Dogecoin surged over $0.10 at one point, marking its 10th anniversary. It's up 16.8% to $0.103285, hitting this price for the first time in a year. It has a long way to recover its all-time high of $0.73. Other meme coins like Shiba Inu, PEPE, and BONK also surged, with the meme coin category's market cap reaching $23.7 billion.  

Bonk Coin's Remarkable Growth on Solana

Bonk, a meme coin on the Solana blockchain, has surged over 70% since Sunday, becoming the third-largest dog-themed token with a market cap of $500 million. It has seen rapid adoption in the Solana ecosystem and a 10-fold increase in trading volume since October. Open interest has also surged to $100 million.  

Tether's Market Cap Hits $90 Billion

Tether's USDT soared to a $90 billion market cap, reflecting a 35% year-to-date growth and increased liquidity. Meanwhile, First Digital USD (FDUSD) hit a $1 billion market cap as Binance phased out BUSD, which saw a 92% annual decline, positioning FDUSD as a rising stablecoin contender.

Cosmos' CometBFT V1 Alpha Release

Cosmos introduces CometBFT V1 Alpha, enhancing efficiency with reduced bandwidth consumption and modularization. The release aims to improve integrator experience and accelerate development, preparing for the future while allowing changes to the Go API. This signifies Cosmos' relentless dedication to innovation and a user-focused, scalable blockchain ecosystem.  

EU's Bitcoin Mining Impact Assessment Critique

The European Commission's proposed Bitcoin mining environmental impact assessment has drawn criticism, with concerns about potential mining bans in the EU and the method's scientific validity. Daniel Batten emphasizes defending Bitcoin's environmental contributions and calls for scrutiny of EU-used reports. 

In Texas, Rhodium and Whinstone Inc. are in a legal dispute over a shut-down 125MW Bitcoin mining facility, involving unpaid fees and energy sale profits. The situation is ongoing.  

Circle and Nubank's USDC Partnership in Latin America

Circle and Nubank partner to offer USDC stablecoin to 90 million customers in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia, enhancing digital dollar access. Brazil sees a rise in crypto services, with Itaú Unibanco introducing Bitcoin and Ethereum trading. The country's crypto user base is projected to grow from 37.72 million in 2023 to 54.46 million by 2027.  

Gate.io's Trading Volume Spike

On December 4, Gate.io experienced a drastic surge in daily trading volumes to $4 billion, blamed on market fluctuations disrupting quant institution users' trading strategies. This led to conflicts with RATS token community. Gate emphasized its commitment to supporting RATS and BRC-20 tokens, with proof of reserve snapshot for related assets.  

Top Altcoin Gainers and Losers

Gainers:

BitTorrent New BTT (+95.40%)

Helium HNT (+52.46%)

WEMIX WEMIX (+24.77%)

Losers:

Stacks STX (-9.06%)

Immutable X IMX (-7.32%)

Conflux CFX (-7.18%)