Bitcoin hit an all-time high on Monday, as institutional interest in the digital currency surged as President-elect Donald Trump announced plans for a Bitcoin reserve.
Bitcoin (BTC) achieved an all-time high of $106,488.25 at 12:40 AM UTC after rising for 25 minutes straight. This increase followed former US President Donald Trump’s statement at the New York Stock Exchange on December 12 to establish a US Bitcoin strategic reserve. Trump’s words, which aim to retain the United States’ edge over global rivals, have sparked investor interest and fueled market momentum. Trump stated on CNBC, “We’re gonna do something great with crypto … we want to be ahead.”
This momentum was clearly bolstered by Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis’ BITCOIN Act, which intends to have the US acquire 1 million BTC over the next five years to tackle the $35 trillion national debt. This story is gaining worldwide traction, as Russia considers establishing a Bitcoin strategic reserve after President Vladimir Putin stated that BTC cannot be outlawed.
In addition to that, Anton Tkachev, a Russian Finance minister, has recommended building a strategic Bitcoin reserve in order to tackle the issue of sanctions put on the country.
MicroStrategy, a big corporate holder of Bitcoin, purchased 21,550 BTC for $2.1 billion, bringing its total holdings to 423,650 BTC. The firm has also been listed on the Nasdaq 100 and will be available to the public beginning December 23.
Michael Saylor calls on the US Government to sell all of its gold and buy #Bitcoin. pic.twitter.com/G25G6uXHOf
— Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) December 15, 2024
FOMO, or fear of missing out, an opportunistic emotion among investors, peaked after the U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a total cumulative net inflow of more than $50 billion in a year.
Bitcoin hashrate hits record highs
![A chart titled "Bitcoin: Miners' Revenue Breakdown [$100k]" shows Bitcoin's price (black line) and cumulative miners' revenue over time, broken into total transaction fees (red) and total miner revenue (yellow). The chart spans from January 2018 to mid-2024, with Bitcoin's price fluctuating significantly but trending upwards. Miner revenue and transaction fees steadily increase, reaching approximately $72 billion cumulatively by 2024, alongside Bitcoin’s price growth.](https://crypto.news/app/uploads/2024/12/glassnode-studio_bitcoin-miners-revenue-breakdown-100k-2.png "Bitcoin hits $106K, an all-time high fueled by Donald Trump's intention to do \"great with crypto\" 2")
On-chain, the Bitcoin network hashrate has reached all-time highs among miners. According to Glassnode statistics, hash rates increased from 128 EH/s to more than 804 EH/s, accounting for 37% of all computational activity in 2024 alone. Bitcoin’s excellent network security and economic incentives have propelled miners to a total income of $71.49 billion.
Ripple CTO warns of RLUSD launch volatility, says “don’t FOMO into a stablecoin”
Ripple’s Chief Technology Officer, David Schwartz, has cautioned investors that the company’s USD-pegged stablecoin, RLUSD, may face supply limits and price swings when it launches.
Schwartz affirmed that once supply and demand return to normal, the stablecoin’s price would settle at its targeted $1 parity, despite the expected swings.
As RLUSD goes live, there may be supply shortages in the very early days before the market stabilizes. There actually is someone willing to pay $1,200/RLUSD for a tiny fraction of one RLUSD. Tools will show you the highest price anyone is willing to pay, even if it’s just for a… https://t.co/LOx4rGiiiJ
— David “JoelKatz” Schwartz (@JoelKatz) December 15, 2024
Schwartz reacted to concerns about pre-launch offers, which appear to be increasing the value of the RLUSD. According to sources, one bid on a Ripple (XRP) wallet called Xaman valued a chunk of RLUSD for 511 XRP, or more than $1,200. Schwartz noted that rather than representing true market value, such high bids are likely to reflect consumers seeking the novelty of owning the initial RLUSD tokens.
The stablecoin is expected to start soon after getting final regulatory approval from the New York Department of Financial Services, according to Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse. Ripple aims to add RLUSD to its cross-border payment solutions and liquidity offerings for financial institutions.
This just in…we have final approval from @NYDFS for $RLUSD! Exchange and partner listings will be live soon – and reminder: when RLUSD is live, you’ll hear it from @Ripple first.
— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) December 10, 2024
The firm sees RLUSD as a complement to XRP, improving its use while using XRP’s widespread exchange availability to keep RLUSD’s price constant. Ripple executives have underlined that the company’s primary purpose is to enable institutional participants, with beta testing demonstrating promise in minimizing depegging and increasing global liquidity.
Tron founder Justin Sun to bag 52.9K Ethereum, what’s happening
Tron creator Justin Sun recently disclosed plans to purchase around 53K ETH from Lido, generating speculation about the possible impact on the Ethereum price.
Justin Sun, the inventor of Tron, has aroused market speculation with his recent plan to buy around 53K ETH. Notably, this comes as the Ethereum price hovers above $4,000, with a nearly 2% increase in its recent 24-hour value. Furthermore, it comes just after Sun’s big ETH selloff, which has raised investor concerns about the possible influence on the asset’s future price.
Tron founder Justin Sun plans to bag 53K ETH
Tron founder Justin Sun intends to buy approximately 53,000 ETH, raising market speculation. Notably, this action happened just after Sun dumped a large quantity of the cryptocurrency, fueling discussion about the possible influence on the Ethereum price.
Notably, Spot On Chain, a leading on-chain analytics and transaction tracking software, has revealed the latest development. According to the article, Sun recently sought to withdraw 52,905 ETH worth around $209 million from Lido. Notably, the article said that this transaction is part of his collection of 392,474 Ether, which he “allegedly bought” for around $1.19 billion through three wallets between February and August.
Meanwhile, his current ETH holdings resulted in an estimated profit of $349 million, or a 29% return on investment. Notably, Sun sold 29,920 Ethereum, worth around $119.7 million, to the HTX exchange last week, when the cryptocurrency’s price reached $4,000.
Will it impact Ethereum price?
The most recent Ethereum (ETH) price was $3,961, up more than 2% in the past 24 hours, while the one-day trading volume increased by 11% to $30.5 billion. The cryptocurrency has reached a 24-hour high of $4,020, with a monthly increase of 27%. On the other side, CoinGlass data indicated that ETH Futures Open Interest increased by roughly 5%, indicating significant market confidence in the asset.
However, Justin Sun’s latest action has sparked conjecture about his future move with his Ethereum holdings. Specifically, a flurry of market analysts are debating whether Sun would continue his Ether selling binge, which might have an influence on Ethereum’s future price.
Meanwhile, despite these worries, some Ether market patterns appear to be positive. For perspective, famous crypto market expert Ali Martinez recently stated that ETH whales are on a purchasing binge after the cryptocurrency surpassed the $3,300 mark. Furthermore, a recent research revealed that ETH’s price might soon approach the $15K milestone, which has boosted market sentiment.
#Ethereum whales have been accumulating more and more ever since $ETH broke $3,330! pic.twitter.com/TdZI86mvkg
— Ali (@ali_charts) December 15, 2024
