The Block
Quick Take Decentralized exchange volumes reached $300 billion in November, surpassing the previous cycle’s high of $260 billion set in May 2021. Panelists at The Block’s Emergence conference discussed how crypto and TradFi are merging and what can be expected as they get closer together.
The cryptocurrency market has sharply declined since the U.S. Federal Reserve’s 25 basis point rate cut on Wednesday, with bitcoin dropping by over 10%.Despite the rate reduction, Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s hawkish comments about slower rate cuts and revised inflation projections have weighed on risk assets.
The SEC has approved crypto index ETFs from Hashdex and Franklin Templeton.The funds will initially hold bitcoin and ether on a market cap-weighted basis — though additional cryptocurrencies could be added in the future, pending regulatory approval.
Well-known crypto trader Jordan Fish, also known as Cobie, has burned 60% of a Pump.fun-launched Solana memecoin called “UPONLY.”Cobie, who previously hosted a podcast of the same name, said the tokens were theoretically worth $17 million when he burned them.
Quick Take Crypto custody firm Copper has withdrawn its UK registration application and is shifting focus to international hubs, according to Bloomberg. The move comes as the UK faces increasing competition from global financial hubs vying to attract crypto asset businesses.
Quick Take The Tokyo-listed firm raised 9.5 billion yen ($60.6 million) in two tranches of bond issuance. The newly raised funds are intended to support the company’s bitcoin purchases.
Quick Take The iShares Bitcoin Trust (ticker IBIT) has net assets of around $33.17 billion, as of Thursday’s market close. The iShares Gold ETF (IAU), which debuted nearly 20 years ago, has net assets of around $32.9 billion.
Quick Take Standard Chartered’s Geoff Kendrick has forecast that the global cryptocurrency market cap could reach $10 trillion by the end of 2026, a 300% increase, if Republicans secure control of both chambers of the U.S. Congress.
Quick Take Stablecoin issuer Tether has entered the oil market, placing a $45 million trade. The company registered over $7 billion in profits in the first three quarters of 2024.
Quick Take Coinbase analysts are optimistic about the cryptocurrency market heading into 2025, citing a supportive macro environment driven by Trump’s economic policy and a potentially friendlier regulatory environment. They also highlighted that memecoin trading has become the third most profitable crypto sector, significantly contributing to Solana network fee generation.
