Coin360 Weekly Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | November 16 - November 22, 2024

Crypto Weekly Market Update

Table of Contents

Market Movements and Trends

• Crypto Weekly Recap

Major Regulatory and Market Updates

• Gensler Resigns Amid Crypto Optimism
• Solana ETFs Reflect Institutional Interest
• Meme Coins Face Volatile Week
• China Recognizes Crypto Ownership

Corporate and Institutional Investments

• MicroStrategy Expands Bitcoin Holdings
• Schwab and Goldman Embrace Crypto

Crypto Exchange and Token Developments

• FTX Plans $16.5B Reimbursement

Legal and Governance Updates

• Lido DAO Faces Legal Risks

NFT and Web3 Innovations

• McDonald’s Partners With Doodles
• Shaquille O’Neal Settles NFT Lawsuit

Crypto Weekly Recap

Bitcoin:

• Weekly performance: +10.71%
• BTC hit new ATH streaks and adoption milestones, with its weekend price of $89,400 now low compared to the current level.
• On Monday, BTC returned to $92,500 before liquidating shorts and surging to an ATH of $99,400. Skepticism and shorts fueled its rise.
• Positive fundamentals and market sentiment drove BTC upward despite on-chain data showing long-term holders distributing Bitcoin.
  • Trump’s plans for a Crypto Czar and his media group's talks to buy Bakkt generated hype.
  • Crypto investment inflows soared to $2.2 billion after GOP wins and Fed easing.
  • SEC approved the 7RCC Spot Bitcoin and Carbon Credit Futures ETF for NYSE Arca.
  • MicroStrategy and El Salvador's bullish BTC positions yielded significant profits. More public companies also bought BTC.
  • A whale turned $120 into $179 million after holding for 14 years.
  • BlackRock’s IBIT options launched with $2B volume, while Grayscale announced plans for one.
  • Tether minted billions in USDT, pushing stablecoin inflows to nearly $10 billion.
  • US spot BTC ETFs saw $2.89B in weekly inflows, marking seven straight weeks of net positive flows and a total of $30.35B.
• BTC traded just below $100,000, up 50% this November, historically its best-performing month.
• According to Cryptoquant, exchange reserves dropped to 2.516M BTC, down 0.72% daily and 2.63% weekly, but a sell wall near $99,300–$100,000 on Binance slowed upward momentum.
• Bitcoin dominance, after climbing significantly, dropped from 61.7% to 60.5% in two days. A stable BTC price at this level could benefit altcoins.

Ethereum:

• Weekly performance: +8.49%
• ETH had an underwhelming week, breaking $3,100 support but losing attention to altcoins.
• For most of the week, ETH traded between $3,000–$3,200. Smart money sentiment hit 2.28, contrasting the general crowd's slightly bullish score of 0.06.
• ETH failed to surpass $3,500, staying 30% below its ATH, even as BTC hit new highs. Institutional interest waned with US spot ETH ETFs posting negative net flows for six days, with a weekly outflow of -$162.81M after three weeks of inflows.
• ETH saw little movement until Thursday night, when it broke $3,300 as BTC dominance dropped.
• As prices rose, whales began selling:
  • Cosmos developer Interchain sold 3,000 ETH from the ICO, adding to 21,600 ETH sold earlier.
  • A whale dormant for eight years, who accumulated 398,889 ETH at $6, sold 73,356 ETH worth $224.42M.
• Analysts forecast a surge to $3,700, potentially sparking an altcoin rally, with ETH as a long-time market leader.
• Ki Young Ju, CEO of CryptoQuant, suggests that ETH holders may be on the verge of an opportunity as the ETH/BTC Net Unrealized Profit/Loss hit a four-year low. This indicates that many ETH holders are enduring losses without realizing them, which reflects levels from ETH early 2020 bottom.
• Early in the week, memecoins dominated with major news, listings, and ATHs for big-cap and low-cap tokens. Solana and Base led activity, with Solana trending on viral TikTok and DeSci coins alongside AI agent; while Base focused on AI, anonymity, and ZK memecoins with Clanker.
• Regulatory bullish news, capped by Gensler's exit, shifted focus to utility and established tech coins. XRP led gains, boosting PayFi cryptos like XLM. Ethereum Layer 2 tokens, including OP, ARB, and STRK, rallied thanks to ETH’s rise. ADA, SOL, HBAR, and other big caps also surged, with SOL hitting a new ATH by Friday, two years after its fall following FTX collapse.

Altcoins:

• Ethena activated Wintermute’s fee switch proposal.
• Quantoz to launch MiCA-compliant stablecoins with Tether funding amid regulatory changes.
• HBAR price rose as Hedera board member Brian Brooks was speculated to head the US SEC.
• Simon’s Cat Token aimed for Solana expansion to drive major growth.
• Meme coins boosted Solana DApps to the top 10 fee-generating protocols.
• Coinbase announced plans to delist WBTC on December 19.
• Sky introduced USDS on Solana.
• Decentralized AI project Morpheus launched on its mainnet.
• Binance clarified concerns about BFUSD amid Terra collapse comparisons.
• ME Foundation announced a ~$312 million token airdrop for Magic Eden users.
• BlackRock’s BUIDL token launched on Securitize's platform for synthetic dollar minting with RWA yield.
• io.net partnered with Zero1 Labs to advance decentralized AI development.
• Russia approved a 15% tax on crypto mining and transactions.
• Injective launched an SDK for building on-chain AI agents.
• South Korea confirmed a 20% crypto tax starting in 2025 with a higher exemption limit.
• Uniswap V3 liquidity pools remained dominated by a few large participants, according to a BIS study.
• Meme coin launchpad Emojicoin.fun went live on Aptos mainnet; Aptos integrated Stripe and Circle’s USDC.
• Arkham Intel announced the launch of a US spot trading platform.
• Jito token holders are set for payouts under the TipRouter proposal.
• DCG launched a subsidiary focused on decentralized AI.
• Justin Sun purchased "The Banana" for $6.2 million.
• WisdomTree introduced a low-cost XRP ETP on European exchanges.
• Sui network resumed after a scheduling bug caused two-hour downtime; announced partnership with Franklin Templeton.
• Mastercard and JPMorgan partnered to integrate foreign exchange on the blockchain.
• The Graph introduced the GRC-20 standard for Web3 data structuring.
• Cardano's ADA surged to $0.90, its highest in 2.5 years, as whale holdings surpassed $12 billion.
• MetaMask’s Gas Station to remove Ethereum fees for seamless DeFi swaps.
• Monad testnet began rolling out on its Ethereum-compatible Layer 1.

Gensler Resigns Amid Crypto Optimism

Gary Gensler announced his resignation as SEC Chair, effective January 20, 2025, coinciding with Donald Trump's return to the presidency. His tenure was marked by over 100 enforcement actions against cryptocurrency firms and stringent regulations suggesting that approximately 10,000 tokens register as securities. Following the announcement, Bitcoin surged to $99,000, with a total market capitalization reaching $3.44 trillion. Major altcoins, including Solana and XRP, posted significant gains. Speculation about a more crypto-friendly regulatory environment under potential successor Summer Mersinger and Trump's interest in cryptocurrency policy initiatives has heightened optimism for the industry's future growth potential.

Solana ETFs Reflect Institutional Interest

Four investment firms—VanEck US, 21Shares, Bitwise Invest, and Canary Funds—have filed to launch Solana (SOL) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), reflecting growing institutional interest. Solana, with a market cap exceeding $122 billion and processing over 50 million daily transactions, has emerged as the third-largest cryptocurrency. This move aims to simplify crypto investments for mainstream audiences by eliminating the complexities of digital wallets. Bitwise recently registered a trust in Delaware for a spot Solana ETF, highlighting the increasing momentum for integrating cryptocurrencies into traditional investment frameworks.

Meme Coins Face Volatile Week

This is a full-blown week for meme coins. Dogecoin investors dropped a $258B lawsuit against Elon Musk, citing his market influence as mere "puffery," with Dogecoin surging 300% post-election due to Musk's involvement. BONK surpassed WIF with a $3.9B market cap and targeting a 1 trillion token burn by December, driving market excitement. Ai16z’s ELIZA token launch caused a 50% crash in a community-backed token, spurring insider trading allegations. Gen Z’s memecoin scam saw a $30K rug pull morph into an $82M rally. Lastly, CHILLGUY’s meteoric rise to $579M faced setbacks from intellectual property disputes, recovering partially to $322M.

China Recognizes Crypto Ownership

A recent ruling by the Shanghai Songjiang People’s Court on November 18, 2024, established that cryptocurrency ownership is legal in China, classifying it as personal property with "property attributes." Judge Sun Jie emphasized that while individuals can hold cryptocurrencies, businesses are prohibited from engaging in crypto investment, trading, or token issuance. This decision aligns with existing regulatory guidelines but does not recognize cryptocurrencies as legal tender. The ruling has generated optimism in the crypto community, indicating a potential shift in China’s stance. As of now, Bitcoin is trading above $98,000, reflecting growing interest amid ongoing restrictions on business activities.

MicroStrategy Expands Bitcoin Holdings

MicroStrategy completed a $3 billion issuance of 0% convertible senior notes, maturing in 2029, aimed at bolstering its Bitcoin holdings, which already include 331,200 BTC valued at $32.7 billion after a recent 51,780 BTC acquisition. Part of its broader “21/21” strategy to raise $42 billion over three years, the company plans to acquire an estimated 30,600 BTC with these proceeds. Despite the announcement, MicroStrategy's stock (MSTR) saw a 16% dip but later recovered 3% in after-hours trading. The Bitcoin market, buoyed by this move, neared all-time highs, with BTC surpassing $99,000, signaling significant momentum in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Schwab and Goldman Embrace Crypto

Institutions seem to be ready for crypto adoption. Charles Schwab Corp’s president and soon-to-be CEO announced plans to enter spot crypto markets, targeting younger investors under 40, while integrating AI for operational efficiency. The firm, managing $7 trillion in assets, emphasizes client-driven crypto adoption, with incoming CEO Rick Wurster expressing regret over not entering crypto earlier. Separately, Bloomberg reported that Goldman Sachs revealed intentions to spin off its blockchain-based digital assets platform within 12-18 months, aiming to streamline trading and settlement for institutional clients. Partnering with Tradeweb Markets, the $3 trillion asset manager is advancing tokenization and reactivating Bitcoin-backed loans, reflecting rising institutional interest in digital assets.

FTX Plans $16.5B Reimbursement

FTX announced a $16.5 billion customer reimbursement plan, with fund distribution expected to start in March 2025 after finalizing arrangements by early December 2024. Claimants must open accounts with distribution agents and complete verification to receive funds. The reorganization plan includes court-approved 119% creditor reimbursement claims. After the announcement, FTT, FTX’s token, surged 36% to $2.61 following news of the reorganization plan, with potential to surpass its $3.43 year-to-date high. Increased dormant token circulation indicates repositioning by holders. 

Lido DAO Faces Legal Risks

A California federal court classified Lido DAO as a general partnership, holding its members liable under state partnership laws. The case, initiated by investor Andrew Samuels, alleged Lido's tokens were unregistered securities, leading to financial losses. The court found that active governance participation, including major venture firms like Paradigm Operations and Andreessen Horowitz, establishes liability. Judge Chhabria's decision raises concerns for decentralized governance, suggesting participants could be liable for minimal involvement, prompting calls for DAOs to adopt formal legal structures to mitigate risks and navigate increasing regulatory scrutiny in the crypto landscape.