2024’s first week saw significant progress in the crypto world. There was a surge of interest among traders and investors globally, focusing on Bitcoin, Solana, Terra, and the US SEC. This can be attributed to the key developments made by these entities. Some of the top headlines of the week include:
Bitcoin’s Rise
Bitcoin started the week on a positive note, with its dominance increasing after the crypto market rally on New Year’s Day. The sentiment remained optimistic, especially with the potential approval of the spot Bitcoin ETF by the US SEC on January 10. The creator of the Bitcoin S2F model, PlanB, also predicted a price of $55,000 for Bitcoin as the halving approaches, with a potential rise to $1 million by 2025. However, the market saw over $700 million in liquidations on January 3, causing Bitcoin to backtrack and erase earlier gains.
In the meantime, Dennis Porter, CEO of Satoshi Action Fund, revealed that US Senator Thom Tillis had expressed concerns about the proposed “Bitcoin Ban Bill.” This highlighted the need for a balanced regulatory approach to encourage innovation and address illicit finance.
On the other hand, Matrixport predicted a potential dip in Bitcoin’s price to $36,000 as the SEC was expected to have an unfavorable stance on the spot Bitcoin ETF decisions. In a significant transaction, 210,010 BTC worth $9 billion were exchanged in block #824239 on January 4. This was one of the largest Bitcoin transactions to date, with two unknown wallets transferring the mentioned amount between themselves.
Despite the market selloffs and concerns over the SEC’s stance on the spot Bitcoin ETF, long-term Bitcoin holders remained unfazed. Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, even suggested a possible 40% correction in BTC’s price after the spot Bitcoin ETF is approved. Additionally, Citigroup Inc. alumni announced plans to launch Bitcoin depositary reserves that would not be subject to the US SEC’s constraints.
Solana’s Progress
Solana, a prominent blockchain with its native token SOL, also made significant strides this week, driven by a series of listings. According to CoinGape media, Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, announced its support for SOL cross margin and isolated margin pairs on its platform.
Meanwhile, Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko addressed significant vulnerabilities in the Solana ecosystem. Solscan, Solana’s blockchain analytics platform, also joined forces with Etherscan, revolutionizing the blockchain exploration space. Yakovenko also confirmed Solana’s commitment to layer-1 scaling, fueling further optimism for SOL.
Terra’s Developments
The Terra community also saw notable progress this week, as Binance announced the burning of 5.57 billion Terra Luna Classic tokens. This resulted in a total of 93 billion LUNA being burned, according to a report by CoinGape Media.
The community also rejected a proposal to burn 8 million USTC, which was intended for chain development-related purposes. Additionally, Chris Amani, CEO of Terraform Labs, boosted the prices of Terra-backed tokens with his prediction that the Terra ecosystem would have the deepest stablecoin liquidity in Cosmos. He also stated that Terra would be the only ecosystem with sufficient liquidity for DeFi.
This week’s developments have sparked optimism in the crypto market, with progress being made in various areas such as regulation, scaling, and liquidity. Exciting times lie ahead for the crypto world in 2024.
