MicroStrategy may have to stop buying ever more Bitcoin (BTC) as rumors suggest that the firm is amid a blackout period, which is preventing it from issuing shares or convertible debt.

Publicly traded companies often self-impose these kinds of blackout periods and restrict some financial activities to comply with regulations or avoid attracting regulatory attention. Popular venture capitalist and Framework Ventures founder Vance Spencer claimed that MicroStrategy is going through this kind of limitations right now in a recent X post:

“Saylor has a blackout period all of Jan.”

Spencer claims that MicroStrategy cannot issue any new convertible notes to buy more Bitcoin. He sees it like a switch for liquidity to move from Bitcoin to altcoins:

“[MicroStrategy] goes for it through Dec 31 and then alt season.”

The details

MicroStrategy is a publicly traded business intelligence company founded in 1989 that pivoted to acquire as much Bitcoin as possible in 2020. The company now holds well over 1% of all Bitcoin that will ever exist, and is now well underway to get its hands on 2%.

The company recently acquired its first Bitcoin at over $100,000. According to reports from earlier this week, acquired 15,350 Bitcoin for $1.5 billion at an average price of $100,386 per BTC and achieved a Bitcoin yield of 46.4% quarter to date and 72.4% year to date. The company now holds 439,000 BTC.

The announcement follows a recent Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing by MicroStrategy revealing that the firm acquired about 21,550 BTC for approximately $2.1 billion between Dec. 2 and Dec. 8. The filing reads:

“The Bitcoin purchases were made using proceeds from the issuance and sale of shares under the sales agreement.”

This is true of most of the capital that MicroStrategy used to satisfy its Bitcoin habit. For this reason, news about the imminent absence of the firm’s regular investments into the world’s first cryptocurrency is important in the space if it ends up being confirmed.

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El Salvador has reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund over a $1.4 billion loan package that will see the Central American nation scale back its Bitcoin program. 

The funding package will be exchanged for a reduction in the country’s domestic Bitcoin activity, subject to final approval from the IMF executive board.  

The drawdown will come from the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility, over 40 months, in support of El Salvador’s reform agenda and in particular, to assist its balance of payment needs.

As detailed by the global financial institution, further funding will be provided by the World Bank and the Inter-American Developmental Bank, as well as other sources, to take the total support package beyond $3.5b.

“The potential risks of the Bitcoin project will be diminished significantly in line with Fund policies,” said the IMF statement.

“Legal reforms will make acceptance of Bitcoin by the private sector voluntary. For the public sector, engagement in Bitcoin-related economic activities and transactions in and purchases of Bitcoin will be confined.”

The IMF and the EL Salvador government have reached a staff-level agreement on a 40-month EFF arrangement to support the government's economic reforms. The agreement with is subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board. https://t.co/1GLjFsEhVl pic.twitter.com/M1U77Flz4f

— IMF (@IMFNews) December 18, 2024

Businesses no longer obliged to accept Bitcoin

Among the measures aimed at improving El Salvador’s economic stability, the IMF deal includes significant changes to Bitcoin’s role within the financial system. 

The digital currency will remain legal tender but this status appears to be undermined as businesses will no longer be obliged to accept it. This goes against Article 7 of El Salvador’s 2021 Bitcoin Law, which decreed that “Every economic agent must accept bitcoin as payment when offered to him by whoever acquires a good or service.”

In the public sector, the government has pledged to gradually reduce its participation in Bitcoin-related activity, including phasing out the state-managed public wallet, Chivo. 

Taxes will only be payable in U.S. dollars, which is another significant blow to Bitcoin’s widely acclaimed status in El Salvador.

As the price of Bitcoin topped $100,000 for the first time earlier this month, President Nayib Bukele welcomed the landmark, stating the value of the nation’s crypto holdings had more than doubled. 

In June 2021, Bukele was at the forefront as El Salvador became the first country to accept Bitcoin as legal tender in the name of financial inclusion, but this latest IMF deal represents a significant change in the country’s economic policy. 

Image credit: Via Ideogram

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Major cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com withdrew its lawsuit against the United States Securities and  Exchange Commission (SEC) following a meeting between its CEO and President-elect Donald Trump.

An insider cited by Bloomberg revealed that Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek and Trump discussed government appointments related to the crypto industry and Trump’s plans for a Bitcoin (BTC) reserve. A Crypto.com spokesperson told Bloomberg that the company intends to advise the future president on matters relating to the crypto industry:

“We look forward to working with the new administration to develop and advance clear regulations for the crypto industry so the US can become a global leader in digital assets and innovation. […] We withdrew our action against the SEC given our intent to work with the incoming administration on a regulatory framework for the industry.”

The details

Crypto.com decided to sue the United States regulator in October after being served a Wells Notice. This kind of notice is issued by the SEC when it concludes an investigation.

In its investigation, Crypto.com accused the regulator of having expanded its jurisdiction over digital assets beyond the authority assigned to the body. A similar sentiment was shared by the republican state attorney generals and the DeFi Education Fund when they jointly sued the SEC and its five commissioners. That lawsuit read:

“The SEC’s sweeping assertion of regulatory jurisdiction is untenable. The digital assets implicated here are just that — assets, not investment contracts covered by federal securities laws.”

Bitcoin’s price failed to react positively to the amicable relationship between the United States regulator that are expected from the next presidency. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at just over $104,000 after losing 2.75% over the last 24 hours.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, a multifactorial measure of crypto market sentiment, currently indicates a level described as “extreme greed.” The index stands at  81, indicating that the crypto market is now overrun by greed. With such scores, the instrument warns of a possible imminent correction:

“When Investors are getting too greedy, that means the market is due for a correction.”

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Australian financial regulator Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) sued leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance.

Over 500 retail clients of Oztures Trading Pty — the company that Binance uses to operate in the region — “were denied important consumer protections after being misclassified as wholesale clients,” the regulator claims in its lawsuit. The ASIC announcement reads:

“ASIC alleges from 7 July 2022 to 21 April 2023, Binance offered crypto derivative products to 505 Australian retail investors who were misclassified as wholesale clients, representing 83% of its Australian client base.”

The details

Australian Binance customers trading financial products—including crypto derivatives—have certain rights and consumer protections under Australian laws. Local retail investors have a right to a product disclosure statement and access to a compliant dispute resolution service. ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court said:

“Our case alleges Binance’s compliance systems were woefully inadequate and exposed more than 500 clients to high-risk, speculative products without the right consumer protections in place. Many of these clients suffered significant financial losses. In 2023, we oversaw compensation payments by Binance of approximately $13 million to affected clients.”

The court further highlighted that “crypto derivative products are inherently risky and complex, so it is critical that retail clients are classified correctly.” According to her, “those classifications ensure they receive the required consumer protections, and the information required to make an informed investment decision.”

The announcement follows recent reports that ASIC has ordered the local operator of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken to pay a fine of A$8 million ($5.1 million) for illegally offering a credit facility to over 1,100 customers. The regulator in question is increasing its pressure on crypto firms ever since it imposed license requirements on them back in late September.

The market has taken a hit over the last 24 hours, although it is hard to determine whether it is in any way related to ASIC’s regulatory actions. Bitcoin is trading at $103.820 after losing 2.65% over the last 24 hours.

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A new national survey finds one in five US voters (19%) have invested in, traded, or used crypto in the past.

The news comes from Emerson College Polling which found that amongst voters who have used crypto in the past, 61% haven’t used it to make any purchases while 39% have.

“Crypto users are younger and have a larger minority base, highlighting crypto as a growing, diverse constituency for political support: 57% of crypto users have a favorable view of Donald Trump,” Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, said.

“Nearly 1 in 3 voters under 40 have used crypto, declining with age, 28% of voters in their 40s, 17% in their 50s, 9% in their 60s and just 4% over 70 are crypto users.”

NATIONAL POLL

Support/oppose President Biden pardon of Hunter Biden
52% oppose
28% support
19% unsure

Support/oppose a President Trump pardon of Jan. 6 rioters
50% oppose
34% support
16% unsurehttps://t.co/MtMB6A0TFu

— Emerson College Polling (@EmersonPolling) December 17, 2024

The study found a difference between genders too as men are twice as likely to use the digital currency than women.

“Crypto users are also more likely to be minority racial groups: about a third of voters who are Asian, Hispanic, or Black are involved in cryptocurrency, compared to 14% of white voters.”

This comes as the President-elect has consistently shared his support for the digital currency industry, with his win in the November presidential election being declared a “huge win for crypto” by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.

At least 19% of voters could be interested in future crypto moves

Many industry supporters took to social media to share their opinions when Trump was declared victorious. In a post on X, Armstrong said the industry received “full-throated support of the winning presidential candidate.”

Since his win, Trump has announced an all-new ‘crypto-czar’ role within the White House alongside a crypto-friendly cabinet.

On December 6, the entrepreneur named the former PayPal COO David Sacks as the chosen person for the job.

He shared the news through the social media platform Truth Social, writing: “I am pleased to announce that David O. Sacks will be the ‘White House A.I. & Crypto Czar.’

“In this important role, David will guide policy for the Administration in Artificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency, two areas critical to the future of American competitiveness.

“David will focus on making America the clear global leader in both areas. He will safeguard Free Speech online, and steer us away from Big Tech bias and censorship.

“He will work on a legal framework so the Crypto industry has the clarity it has been asking for, and can thrive in the U.S. David will also lead the Presidential Council of Advisors for Science and Technology…”

Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram

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As Bitcoin reaches new heights and becomes more popular, luxury brands are considering accepting crypto as payments, according to Reuters.

Its increased value has caught the attention of major high-end fashion brands and houses which could bring further opportunities for those invested in the crypto space.

The 159-year-old French luxury fashion department store Printemps recently announced it was partnering with Binance Pay and fintech Lyzi to accept cryptocurrency payments.

In a press release, the company states the initiative “represents a key step in Printemps’ commitment to offering ever more adapted and innovative services, meeting the expectations of a connected and forward-looking clientele.”

Interest has been generated as luxury brands eye up crypto

It’s now thought that other major brands could follow suit, with Reuters reporting that David Princay, president of Binance France, said the company is in talks with other luxury labels and said: “There have been quite a few calls – it’s generated interest.”

The publisher also spoke with luxury lighter and pen maker S.T. Dupont which said it aims to accept cryptocurrency payments within two Paris stores before the holidays.

Some brands have experimented with digital currency payment offers including Hublot, Tag Heuer, Gucci, LVMH, and Balenciaga.

Other companies, outside of the fashion industry, have also begun accepting the new payment option too. The cruise line Virgin Voyages has just begun selling a $120,000 annual pass for up to a year of sailing on its trips and this can be paid for with Bitcoin.

The digital currency has soared in previous weeks, with it hitting a new record on Monday morning (December 16) as it reached above $106,000. It was on December 5 when Bitcoin hit $104,000.

Regulators have long shared warnings that cryptocurrency is high-risk, with limited uses in the real world. While the risk remains, the incoming President Donald Trump has been a firm supporter of the industry.

He referred to digital currencies many times throughout his campaign and his new selections include some pro-crypto people. He told CNBC: “We’re gonna do something great with crypto because we don’t want China, or anybody else…but others are embracing it, and we want to be ahead.”

Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram

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NFT collection CyberKongz has been issued with a Wells Notice by the SEC, as the independent federal government agency announced its intentions to pursue enforcement. 

Late on Monday (Dec. 16), CyberKongz confirmed the development with the project said to be “extremely disappointed” at the approach taken by the SEC. 

“We have been suffering in silence for the last two years, ever since we first received contact from the SEC,” it said in the statement. 

“Throughout the entire process they have showcased a complete lack of understanding of blockchain technologies that has resulted in unjust accusations and information inaccuracies,” it added. 

A Wells notice is a formal communication issued by the SEC, with the letter notifying an entity that the regulator has conducted a preliminary investigation and is considering further enforcement action.

CyberKongz has the right of 30 days to submit a response.

CyberKongz has received a Wells Notice from the SEC.

We are extremely disappointed at the approach the SEC has taken towards us, but we are going to stand up and fight for a brighter future that holds more clarity for NFT projects.

We have been suffering in silence for the last… pic.twitter.com/lc6hyzUPb0

— CyberKongz (@CyberKongz) December 16, 2024

Confidence in a new dawn under the incoming Trump administration

The artist Myoo was prominent in the launch of CyberKongz in March 2021, with 1000 unique NFTs billed as the Genesis Collection. 

Myoo was the designer of the 34×34 pixelated Gorilla images, specifically set up as profile pictures (PFPs).

CyberKongz is alleging the SEC is presiding over a “perplexing interpretation of smart contracts.” It underlined one of the agency’s key concerns, the ‘sale’ of Genesis Kongz in April 2021, was actually a contract migration. 

The project has poured doubt on how a clear regulatory pathway can be maintained if the SEC cannot clearly distinguish between a primary sale and a contract migration. 

This is the latest salvo from the SEC toward gaming tokens after the commission recently dispatched a Wells Notice to Web3 gaming firm, Immutable.

There are some suggestions that gaming tokens could be in trouble with the agency, but looking at the bigger picture, it is only a matter of weeks until Donald Trump returns to the White House, with a new dawn slated to emerge for the industry.

Image credit: Via Ideogram

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French magistrate and European Parliament member Sarah Knafo wants the European Union to establish its strategic Bitcoin (BTC) reserve and reject plans to issue a digital euro.

Knafo posted a video of her speech before the European Parliament in a recent X post, writing “NO to the digital euro” and “YES to a strategic national reserve of Bitcoin. She explained that she wants to prevent “totalitarian temptations” by the European Central Bank, calling for an end to regulatory overreach in crypto and the adoption of Bitcoin’s decentralization.

The lawmaker cited the adoption of Bitcoin as a legal tender by El Salvador back in 2021 and the pro-crypto agenda of United States president-elect Donald Trump. She even mentioned United States Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell describing Bitcoin as “digital gold” earlier this month.

A call for a major change

Knafo criticized local regulators for instead focusing on what she perceives as excessive regulation, taxation, and stifling innovation. She said:

“It is time to change the paradigm. It is time to protect our people from inflation and the poor economic choices of our states. It is time to say no to the totalitarian temptations of the European Central Bank, which wants to impose a digital euro entirely in its hands.”

She explained that she wants to prevent a “dystopian world where a European bureaucrat will be able tomorrow to ban certain transactions and even eliminate us from the banking system with a click for a simple comment made on social networks or for an opinion that displeases. It is time to bet on freedom.”

Market reaction

Market data shows that Bitcoin is trading at just under $107,000 at the time of writing. Over the last 24 hours, the coin kept its value mostly stable and over the last seven days it gained nearly 11.5%.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, a multifactorial measure of crypto market sentiment, currently indicates a level described as “extreme greed.” The index stands at 87, indicating that the crypto market is now overrun by greed. With such scores, the instrument warns of a possible imminent correction:

“When Investors are getting too greedy, that means the market is due for a correction.”

The post ‘No to CBDC, yes to Bitcoin’ EU MP bets on BTC appeared first on ReadWrite.

The Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had local authorities arrest nearly 800 people amid investigations into local crypto romance scam operations.

In a recent EFCC announcement, the regulator’s Executive Chairman Ola Olukoyede explained that the operation led to the arrest of 792 suspects allegedly involved in cryptocurrency investment fraud and romance scams on Tuesday. The arrests were part of a sting operation in a seven-story building that purportedly served as a crime den.

A large-scale international operation

Per the report, the building could be mistaken for the headquarters of a financial corporation and served as training grounds for Nigerian scammers. Olukoyede said:

“Their Nigerian accomplices were recruited by the foreign kingpins to prospect for victims online through phishing, targeting mostly Americans, Canadians, Mexicans, and several others from European countries.”

Among the arrests, 148 are Chinese nationals, 40 Filipinos, two Kharzartans, one Pakistani and one Indonesian. According to the regulator, those people were responsible for administering the scheme and training Nigerian recruits.

Once Nigerian foot soldiers were able to gain the trust of a victim, they reportedly gave access to them over to foreign operators who would carry out the last stages of the scam. This also prevented local criminals from learning the details of the transactions.

The operation was also conducted on a particularly large scale, with 500 SIM cards being recovered by agents on the fifth floor alone. Many of the alleged scammers working in the building were assigned “high-end desktop computers” as well as foreign phone numbers, mostly German and Italian. Olukoyede highlighted that the operation aims to address the nation’s perception as a scam haven:

“Foreigners are taking advantage of our nation’s unfortunate reputation as a haven of frauds to establish a foothold here to disguise their atrocious criminal enterprises. But, as this operation has shown, there will be no hiding places for criminals in Nigeria.”

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Chainlink (LINK) regained high prices not seen since 2021 after President-elect Donald Trump’s decentralized finance (DeFi) firm invested in it.

On-chain data shows that Trump’s World Liberty Finance (WLFI) purchased another million of LINK late Thursday for the straight second day—bringing the firm’s total holdings of the token to $2 million. The decentralized autonomous organization (DOA) administering WLFI also acquired $246,000 of AAVE, reaching $1.2 million of holdings.

Data shared by blockchain data platform Lookonchain in a recent X post shows that so far WLFI spent $30 million on Ethereum (ETH), $10 million on tokenized Bitcoin (BTC), $2 million on Chainlink and $1.25 million on AAVE.

According to market data, Chainlink is trading at $29.6 after seeing its price increase by about 0.7% over the last 24 hours and 22.6% over the previous seven days. The current price has not been seen since late 2021, but is still significantly lower than the all-time-high of $52.88 reported back in September 2021.

The details

World Liberty Financial is the Trump family’s DeFi project. It establishes a unified platform for users to borrow and lend cryptocurrencies, create liquidity pools, and exchange stablecoins. The platform’s WLFI token allows holders to participate in the governance of the DAO that administers it.

WLFI leverages Chainlink to access market data and better integrate with the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem. Chainlink powers a leading “oracle” system, a technical term referring to systems that allow smart contracts to access data that would otherwise be unavailable on-chain.

World Liberty Financial also has close ties to AAVE. AAVE is a DeFi ecosystem that allows peer-to-peer lending and borrowing, similar to WLFI.

In October, the WLFI DAO proposed deploying a World Liberty Financial Ave instance, which would be focused on providing stablecoin liquidity for Ethereum, a standard tokenized Bitcoin, and growing the Ave protocol user base. The proposal was since accepted, and the instance was deployed, profoundly linking the two protocols.

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Michael Saylor — the CEO of MicroStrategy, the market intelligence firm known for siphoning billions of dollars into Bitcoin (BTC) for its coffers — just hinted at the company’s first acquisition of the world’s first cryptocurrency at over $100,000.

Saylor recently posted a screenshot of MicroStrategy portfolio data website SayloreTracker, which notably shows the firm’s Bitcoin acquisitions as green dots on a chart. As a comment to the image, he simply asked if” SaylorTracker.com [is] missing a green dot.”

Is https://t.co/Bx3917zMqi missing a green dot? pic.twitter.com/B3Zzd6M1uV

— Michael Saylor (@saylor) December 15, 2024

The details

Saylor’s comments apparently suggested that MicroStrategy had acquired Bitcoin once again, but the website’s chart does not yet feature this transaction. At the time of writing, the Saylor tracker does feature one more transaction: MicroStrategy acquired 15,350 Bitcoin for $1.5 billion at an average price of $100,386 per BTC.

Saylor announced the transaction in a tweet published earlier today. He also claimed that the company has achieved a Bitcoin yield of 46.4% quarter to date and 72.4% year to date. The company now holds 439,000 BTC.

This is the fifth Sunday in a row that Saylor has posted a screenshot of SaylorTracker. This series of his X posts has always been followed by a MicroStrategy Bitcoin acquisition being confirmed the day after.

MicroStrategy is a publicly traded business intelligence company founded in 1989 that pivoted to acquire as much Bitcoin as possible in 2020. The company now holds well over 1% of all Bitcoin that will ever exist, with institutional interest in MicroStrategy being an interest in a regulatory-friendly Bitcoin investment.

This latest post follows a recent Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing by MicroStrategy revealing that the firm acquired about 21,550 BTC for approximately $2.1 billion between Dec. 2 and Dec. 8. The filing reads:

“The Bitcoin purchases were made using proceeds from the issuance and sale of shares under the sales agreement.”

Despite Bitcoin’s price rallying ever since Republican candidate Donald Trump won the elections, MicroStrategy’s stock has had a less than stellar performance recently. Right as Bitcoin was approaching $100,000 for the first time in late November, MicroStrategy shares took a major fall.

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New Zealand’s Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has issued a warning regarding an investment scam operating through YouTube channels. The channels are being used to promote fraudulent crypto investment websites, targeting unsuspecting individuals.

In a notice issued on Monday (Dec. 16), authorities warned about YouTube profiles posing as ‘crypto experts’ to lure viewers into joining private WhatsApp or Telegram groups under the guise of investment discussions. These scammers often offer prizes and gifts to entice people to sign up.

Once someone accepts the invitation, the scammers present themselves as investment “mentors,” or “coaches,” providing seemingly professional advice. They make bold, unrealistic promises such as “earn above $2000 – $7000 daily on crypto” or “avoid risks and generate profit… within three day.”

The next step involves introducing the victim to a fake investment platform, which often mimics legitimate cryptocurrency exchanges. The scammers guide their victims through the investment process, starting with small amounts of money. Victims are shown fake profits and persuaded to invest larger sums.

When it comes time to withdraw their supposed earnings, victims are told they need to pay a fee to release their funds. However, even after paying these fees, no money is ever returned.

The FMA has identified nearly 50 suspicious trading platforms, including websites like phoenixtradesinc.com, bitmaxforextrading.com, and cryptonextrade.com. You can find the full list of flagged platforms on the FMA’s official website.

If you believe you’ve fallen victim to one of these scams, the FMA strongly urges you to stop all communication with the fraudsters immediately. Report the incident to the relevant platforms and contact your bank to see if a reversal of the transaction is possible.

Crypto scams surge on WhatsApp, Telegram, and YouTube

Lately, scammers have been increasingly using platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram to promote unauthorized investment schemes. The channels provide direct access to users, allowing scammers to easily stay in touch and exert pressure on their targets.

ReadWrite reported that research published in June shows cryptocurrency losses from deepfake-related scams on platforms like YouTube are expected to exceed $25 billion in 2024, doubling last year’s figures.

226,000 people are currently being scammed on YouTube by an AI Elon Musk – asking for their crypto.

The account looks like a legit @Tesla account, but it is clearly not, as the username is "tesla.elon-US"

They are using an AI generated Elon talking about the robotaxi and… pic.twitter.com/fAiFVpt1tX

— Zoli (@zolihonig) October 11, 2024

Even deepfakes of Elon Musk have been used in crypto scams on YouTube. Back in August, a five-hour YouTube Live stream featuring a fake version of Musk was used to promote a cryptocurrency scam. Viewers were encouraged to send Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), or Dogecoin (DOGE) to take part in a so-called giveaway.

Featured image: Canva

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Mark Longo, the owner of internet-famous Peanut the Squirrel, is calling out Binance, the global cryptocurrency exchange, for allegedly using Peanut’s images and stories without getting the green light from him.

Taking to his X account, Longo shared, “My legal team initiated action against Binance for the unauthorized use of my intellectual property, including images and stories featuring my beloved animals.

“This is the first of multiple cease and desist letters to be issued. I’m committed to protecting my creative work and sending a clear message: unauthorized use of my IP will not be tolerated.”

Longo believes Binance’s alleged unauthorized use of Peanut the Squirrel’s images and stories also waters down the originality of his creative work.

PNUT token sparks mixed reactions

While the legal scuffle has stirred some buzz, the market doesn’t seem too rattled. The Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT) token has dipped just 2.10% in the last 24 hours, now trading at $1.12.

The dispute is heating up the already chaotic world of Peanut-themed meme coins. Longo is now championing his new token, Justice for Peanut (JFP), calling it the “only real PNUT coin.” Despite an explosive start with a market cap hitting $116 million earlier this month, JFP has taken a nosedive, now valued at just $3 million—a massive 95% drop.

Unsurprisingly, Longo’s legal fight and his meme coin ventures are sparking mixed reactions online. On platforms like X, some in the crypto community are questioning his motives, accusing him of using the drama for personal financial gain.

You rugged 5 separate contracts and made millions of dollars already and we have all the proof. Everyone knows your a scamming value extractor

— flooksta (@flooksta) December 16, 2024

Lol that is not how shilling works buddy

— Dusk (@HyperionRidge) December 16, 2024

One user wrote: “You rugged 5 separate contracts and made millions of dollars already and we have all the proof. Everyone knows your a scamming value extractor.”

Another added: “Lol that is not how shilling works buddy.”

What happened to Peanut the Squirrel?

Peanut the Squirrel unexpectedly became a hot topic during the U.S. Presidential election, due to an incident involving Longo and New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC). In late October, the agency seized Peanut and a raccoon from Longo’s care. Tragically, Peanut passed away while in custody, sparking widespread outrage and even drawing support from high-profile figures like Elon Musk.

The crypto world quickly rallied, launching a wave of meme coins inspired by Peanut. Among them, PNUT gained the most traction, securing a Binance listing on November 11 and becoming a major player in the market.

Peanut’s story also highlights broader trends in the cryptocurrency space, especially with meme coins. As ReadWrite reported in November, PNUT made waves by hitting a $1 billion market cap just 11 days after its launch—an astonishing feat compared to Dogecoin (DOGE), which took 1,487 days to reach the same milestone. It appears that Peanut’s legacy lives on for now, both in the crypto community and beyond.

ReadWrite has reached out to Binance for comment.

Featured image: Ideogram / Canva

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Recent market data indicates that Bitcoin (BTC) spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have surpassed 500,000 BTC of inflows in 2024.

Head of research at K33 Research Vetle Lunde pointed out the milestone in a Dec. 12 X post. He also added:

“U.S. ETFs have absorbed more than 2.5% of the circulating supply since their launch in January.”

After years of battle in the cryptocurrency industry, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved only Bitcoin spot ETFs in mid-January. The spot ETFs track Bitcoin’s price directly by having the fund’s manager hold actual Bitcoin, in contrast to previous derivative-based Bitcoin futures ETFs, which only held “paper Bitcoin.”

The details

The asset managers leading this growth include BlackRock, Fidelity, ARK, the 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, and Bitwise. For context, BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager, with $10 trillion in assets, followed by Fidelity, with over $4.1 trillion. The world’s top players are now investing heavily in the development of Bitcoin products.

Farside Investors data shows that BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) has received $35 billion in cumulative inflows so far, while the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) has received $12.22 billion. Ark Invest’s ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) and the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF have attracted $2.64 billion and $2.21 billion, respectively.

The remaining asset managers active in the market have garnered way less investor interest, in the order of millions. Those include products by WisdomTree, VanEck, Coinshares Valkyrie, Franklin, and the Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF.

The news follows mid-November reports that BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF products saw record-high inflows as cryptocurrencies rallied following Donald Trump’s victory in the United States. At the time, inflows reached values as high as nearly $1.12 billion, equivalent to almost 82% of the total of $1.37 billion.

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Cryptocurrency asset manager Grayscale Investments has launched two new investment products: the Grayscale Lido DAO Trust and the Grayscale Optimism Trust.

According to a recent announcement, the new Grayscale products give exposure to the governance tokens of Lido (LDO) and Optimism (OP). Grayscale’s Head of Product & Research, Rayhaneh Sharif-Askary said:

“Lido is helping to democratize staking on Ethereum, and Optimism is critical in allowing Ethereum to scale to compete with newer, faster Layer 1 blockchains. […] Grayscale Lido DAO Trust and Grayscale Optimism Trust provide investors with exposure to protocols helping to increase Ethereum’s efficiency, security, scalability, and adoption within the broader DeFi ecosystem — playing a critical role in the Ethereum story.”

Both Optimism and Lido are governed by a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). Those are a peculiar kind of organizational structure that make heavy use of blockchain technology for their operation.

In most cases, DAOs have token holders vote to approve or deny proposals — often spending the organization’s funds — on-chain in a process not dissimilar to what happens with stakeholders in traditional markets, but instantly and on-chain. The LDO and OP tokens are among the assets allowing their holders to vote in this fashion.

The details

The new trusts highlight Grayscale’s expansion into Ethereum-related products. The latest financial derivatives are now available for daily subscriptions to eligible individual and institutional accredited investors.

The product featuring the LDO token is part of Grayscale’s “Financials Crypto Sector” category, which includes assets related to financial transactions and services. On the other hand, the trust giving exposure to OP is in the “Smart Contract Platforms Crypto Sector” category, which is focused on protocols supporting decentralized finance and applications.

The announcement follows recent reports that Grayscale Investments filed to convert its tradable Solana (SOL) close-ended trust into a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF). The New York Stock Exchange Arca recently submitted a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission asking for a rule change that would allow it to list Grayscale’s product.

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Europe’s digital euro currency is potentially about to make some progress, as a key figure has stepped aside to avoid delays.

Stefan Berger, a member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Germany, has stood down from his position in the talks. He has been involved for some time after Meta, then Facebook tried to introduce Diem into the region. While the project was killed, Berger called for a digital euro to be developed.

The digital euro isn’t a cryptocurrency, but a “stablecoin”, which would match the euro’s current value. It is intended to offer another method of payment and eliminate transaction fees that are incurred when paying by debit or credit card.

A digital euro would ensure that anyone, anywhere within the EU – whether online or offline – would have access to their money.

This is why, despite contactless payment technology being available in the EU for quite some time now, restaurants in Germany and other countries in the region won’t accept cards.

Stefan Berger steps aside for EU digital euro project to move forward

Berger has become a skeptic of the project, and rather than impeding any progress that the EU makes on bringing it to life, he has stood aside. Part of his concerns include a central bank having that level of control over what could be important infrastructure.

Despite misgivings around the digital euro, Berger has been instrumental in bringing the MiCA regulation (Markets in Crypto Assets) in 2023. This brought clear, defined rules to cryptocurrency in the area, intending to “protect consumers and investors” from the risks of the technology.

According to Politico, MEPs have been pushing for someone to take charge that would bring progress to the project. Some have even pointed to Berger as a main reason for delays, as it is claimed he missed “key deadlines”.

Key members of the EU are now pushing for “quick progress” on the digital euro project.

Featured image: Wikicommons, Digital Euro demo video

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After its latest boom, it appears that cryptocurrency is still on the menu for a lot of Americans going into 2025. In a new survey by exchange Kraken, it found that 73% will return to it next year.

The survey is littered with interesting tidbits about people’s crypto habits. This includes that only 8% of those asked think the technology is a “Ponzi scheme”, while 29% “remain undecided”.

Cryptocurrency is the current hot topic in America. As President-elect Trump puts his weight behind it, with planned White House roles, Bitcoin has broken the $100,000 mark. As of writing, Bitcoin sits at $100,407.20.

With the price rising, it’s unsurprising that over half, at 52%, see the digital currency as a long-term investment. However, the Web3 tech is still known for criminal activity, including the buying and selling of drugs online.

60% of Americans believe crypto is used for crimes

Americans appear to agree, with 60% believing that crypto is still heavily used in crimes. It’s hard to gauge where criminal activity lies with crypto transactions as unless the “illicit address” of the wallet is known beforehand or tracked properly, things can fall through the cracks.

Chainalysis found that $24.2 billion, or 0.34% of “total on-chain transaction volume” were related to criminal activities. The analytics company admits that it hasn’t tracked every address and doesn’t include “funds associated with crypto money laundering.”

Interestingly, the younger the audience, the less likely they are to believe that crypto has “practical applications”. Only 32% of 18 to 29-year-olds think this, while 55% of 30-44-year-olds hold this belief. The 45 to 60 age group is by far the largest, with 63% thinking crypto has real-world applications. 60 and over is at 52%.

Kraken marks this as “younger participants may still be navigating the complex truths of crypto”.

Featured image: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Kraken

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Microsoft shareholders strongly opposed a recent proposal to invest part of the company’s assets in Bitcoin (BTC).

As many as 5.148 billion votes were against the proposal, with only 28.234 million Microsoft shareholders voting in favor, according to the annual  Microsoft Investor Relations report. The reported data shows that only 0.55% of the total votes favored the investment.

Last month, a Microsoft document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed that the company planned to assess investing in Bitcoin and vote on the issue during a meeting. The board’s recommendation to vote against the proposal had already set the tone.

The results follow late November reports that Michael Saylor — the chairman of top corporate Bitcoin holder MicroStrategy — was going to pitch investing in Bitcoin to the Microsoft board of directors. He explained that an activist arranged the meeting:

“The activist that put that proposal together contacted me to present to the board, and I agreed to provide a three-minute presentation — that’s all you’re allowed — and I’m going to present it to the board of directors.”

The details

The vote was the results of the National Centre for Public Policy Research (NCPPR) pushing for the proposal, noting that MicroStrategy outperformed Microsoft by over 300% with its Bitcoin accumulation strategy. The NCPPR highlighted that this is true despite MicroStrategy doing a fraction of the business” of Microsoft.

Early November reports by industry media suggested that Microsoft could risk being sued by shareholders if it decides not to invest in Bitcoin and the price increases. Saylor suggested that more companies should consider investing in Bitcoin:

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The city council of major Canadian city Vancouver gave the green light to study Bitcoin’s (BTC) integration in the local financial system.

The just-approved motion was submitted by city’s Mayor Ken Sim last month and proposes accepting taxes and fees in Bitcoin and converting a portion of Vancouver’s financial reserves to BTC.

Sim’s political party — A Better City — had already garnered the attention of the crypto community when, back in April 2022, it started accepting cryptocurrency donations. He said at the time:

“We want to demonstrate our commitment to technology both in terms of embracing it to help improve service at City Hall and to promote Vancouver as a tech center. […] Whether it’s automating applications processes, or using AI to optimize city planning, we need to use technology to remain ahead of the curve.”

The details

The motion explains that the hope is that holding a portion of the city’s reserves in Bitcoin will preserve some of its purchasing power against the volatility, debasement and inflation of traditional currencies. The document reads:

“Diversifying the City of Vancouver’s financial reserves and payment options, including Bitcoin, would not only enhance the resilience of our city’s financial portfolio but also ultimately benefit the city’s taxpayers.”

Before fully implementing such drastic measures, the measure requests that city staff assess the risk and feasibility of the project and report the results by the first quarter of 2025.

Market data shows that Bitcoin is trading at nearly $101,200 after gaining 2.6% over the last 24 hours to press time. The world’s first cryptocurrency also lost 1.75% over the last seven days.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index stands at  83, indicating that the crypto market is now overrun by greed. In such cases, the instrument is being interpreted as a warning of a possible imminent correction — but no instrument can guarantee any kind of market performance. The website reads:

“When Investors are getting too greedy, that means the market is due for a correction.”

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The nomination of Caroline Crenshaw, a Democrat seeking another term as a commissioner at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), encountered fresh challenges as a scheduled committee vote was unexpectedly postponed.

Bloomberg reports that the vote, first set for December 11 as part of a U.S. Senate Banking Committee hearing, was postponed just minutes before it was due to take place.

Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown delayed the vote Wednesday morning (Dec. 11) just minutes before it was set to begin, following the arrival of the panel’s Republican members. Later in the day, Republican senators rejected Brown’s request to bypass procedural rules and reschedule the vote, according to a Senate aide.

‘Smear campaign’ against Caroline Crenshaw

Brown criticized the move, stating: “This is why people hate Washington. Corporate special interests have run a disgusting smear campaign against Caroline Crenshaw, an Army reservist and public servant who has been nominated and confirmed by a Republican President and Republican Senate.”

He continued: “She has been thoroughly vetted and has gone through every step in the nomination process. Republican Senators are doing the bidding of corporate special interests and standing in the way of her confirmation.”

If the nomination continues to face delays, President-elect Donald Trump could move to appoint Republican Paul Atkins to take Crenshaw’s spot on the SEC’s five-person board, as her term has already expired. According to the statute, Crenshaw can stay at the SEC only until January 2026 unless someone else is confirmed to her role.

Crypto community calls for Crenshaw to be voted out of SEC

Crenshaw’s time at the SEC hasn’t been without controversy, especially among crypto industry leaders.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong didn’t hold back in a December 9 post on X, calling her a “failure of an SEC Commissioner.”

Caroline Crenshaw was a failure as an SEC Commissioner and should be voted out.

She tried to block the Bitcoin ETFs, and was worse than Gensler on some issues (which I didn't think was possible).

The Senate Banking Committee should take note – the crypto community is watching… https://t.co/JQyp2zYaY2

— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) December 9, 2024

Armstrong specifically criticized her stance against Bitcoin ETFs and went as far as to claim that she’s been even more damaging to the crypto space than SEC Chair Gary Gensler.

As ReadWrite reported earlier this month, Trump announced Atkins as his choice to lead the agency. Meanwhile, SEC Chair Gary Gensler and Commissioner Jaime Lizárraga, both Democrats, are set to leave the commission in January. The SEC, by design, can have up to five commissioners, with no more than three from the same political party.

Tyler Gellasch, president of the trade group Healthy Markets Association, warned that failing to confirm Crenshaw could mean the SEC loses the crucial balance that comes from having diverse political perspectives on the board.

Featured image: Canva

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