🌎 Bitcoin Fails to Deliver Santa Claus Rally

Weekly Crypto Recap: Bitcoin Fails to Deliver a Santa Claus Rally

As the year draws to a close, investors are keeping a close eye on the cryptocurrency market, particularly Bitcoin, in anticipation of a potential ‘January effect’ where financial assets often experience a rally as portfolios are reset.

No ‘Santa Claus Rally’ for Bitcoin

Contrary to expectations, Bitcoin did not experience a ‘Santa Claus rally’ this year. Instead, its price retreated to $94,830, down by over 12% from its highest level this month. The downturn was accompanied by a significant decrease in trading volume, from $41 billion to $22 billion on Sunday, December 29.

Historical data indicates that January has been a mixed month for Bitcoin, with gains in only six of the last 10 years, including a modest 0.62% rise this year. In contrast, February has been a more consistent month, recording losses only twice during the same period.

Regulatory Updates and High-Profile Cases

The Montenegrin Justice Minister has signed an order to extradite Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon to the United States, rather than South Korea. Meanwhile, FTX executive Ryan Salame’s prison sentence has been reduced by over a year, with his release now scheduled for March 2031.

In other regulatory news, the National Bank of Cambodia has authorized commercial banks and payment firms to provide services for Category 1 crypto assets, including stablecoins like USDC and USDT, while maintaining restrictions on unbacked cryptocurrencies. Japan’s government has officially declared that it has no plans to include Bitcoin in its foreign exchange reserves, citing volatility concerns and limited understanding.

Investments and Network Updates

Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy has enlarged its Bitcoin coffer by $561 million, solidifying its position as the biggest corporate holder of Bitcoin. The business intelligence company has also been ranked as the best-performing cryptocurrency stock in 2024, with its share price climbing up to 402% on the year.

In other news, Solana Labs co-founder Stephen Akridge is facing legal action from his ex-wife, Elisa Rossi, over allegations of withholding staking rewards worth “millions of dollars” following their divorce agreement. The BONK community has also celebrated “BURNmas” with a massive token burn, destroying 1.69 trillion tokens valued at over $51 million, representing 1.8% of the total supply.

Trends and Insights

Total NFT sales volume for the last seven days has seen a 50% drop. Russian authorities are set to implement crypto mining restrictions or outright bans from January 1, 2025, to March 15, 2031, citing energy shortages and subsidized bandwidth prices.

Binance Labs and Kraken Ventures have led the $10 million Series A funding round for Usual, a decentralized fiat-backed real-world assets stablecoin issuer. This investment is part of a larger trend, with sector investments totaling nearly $120 million for the week.

For more updates and insights on the cryptocurrency market, stay tuned to Global Crypto News.