The anticipation of President-elect Trump’s inauguration on Monday, January 20, has amplified bullish sentiment in the crypto markets. His administration is expected to introduce crypto-friendly policies and possibly establish a U.S. Bitcoin strategic reserve, boosting confidence in the market.
According to Bloomberg, Trump plans to release an executive order elevating crypto as a policy priority and giving industry insiders a voice within his administration.
The Bitcoin Funding rate remains bullish at 0.010, with bulls dominating the Bitcoin futures market.
US BTC Spot ETFs recorded another day of net inflows with $626.1m net inflows on Jan 16. Meanwhile, inflows almost tripled for ETH Spot ETFs compared to just one day prior, recording $166.6m of net inflows.
After 10 consecutive days of ETH net outflows from exchanges, which can potentially signal accumulation and buying pressure, exchange flows turned positive with $138.11m in net inflows as of January 17, 10:00 CET. During the outflow period, several significant withdrawals occurred, including one wallet moving 2,884 ETH ($9.57m) from Binance. During this same timeframe, ETH's price moved from around $3,200 to over $3,400. Yesterday, according to Lookonchain, three major Ethereum holders sold 10,895 ETH ($36.47m) within three hours, coinciding with ETH's price movement below $3,300. ETH has since recovered and is trading above $3,400.
On Thursday, Senator Cynthia Lummis sent a letter to FDIC Chair Marty Gruenberg after whistleblowers alleged that the agency destroyed materials related to its crypto-related operations and threatened employees to silence them.
While cryptocurrency markets saw robust expansion in 2024, with total transaction volume surging to $10.6 trillion—a 56% jump from 2023, illegal activity in the space showed encouraging decline. A TRM Labs (blockchain intelligence company) analysis revealed that illicit transactions fell to $45 billion, marking a 24% decrease from the previous year. These illegal activities now represent just 0.4% of total crypto volume, down sharply from 0.86% in 2023. Three categories of illicit activity dominated the landscape: sanctions violations led at 33% of illegal transactions, followed by blocklisted addresses at 29%, and scams and fraud completing the top three at 24%. This pattern largely mirrors what was observed in 2023, suggesting consistent enforcement challenges in these areas.
Coinbase introduces Bitcoin backed USDC loans for US clients with possibility to access credit up to $100k.
In 2024, USDC circulation grew by 78% as Circle secured regulatory approvals and expanded partnerships. According to their latest report, USDC's user base expanded to over 500 million across 16 blockchains, with $850 bn in fiat transfers completed. The stablecoin hit a monthly high of $1 trillion in transactions during November 2024, pushing its lifetime volume past $20 trillion.
Binance Poland is implementing new transaction verification procedures to comply with EU regulations. The exchange will now require additional documentation for crypto transfers exceeding €1,000 or equivalent amounts. This includes providing sender information for deposits and beneficiary details for withdrawals.
Swiss state-owned bank PostFinance launches ETH staking from 0.1 ETH.