PRICE CHANGE: WTD/YTD

- BTC ($31,197): -13% / +8%
- ETH ($1,326): +8% / +80%
- XRP ($0.27): -4% / +23%
- UNI ($11): +20% / +122%
- Crypto Market Cap ($930B): -8% / +22% 
- BTC Dominance: 62%

STABLECOIN MARKET CAP CHANGE: WTD/YTD

- Tether ($24.9B): +2% / +19%
- USDC ($5.5B): +8% / +42%

THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO

- Crypto exchange Coinbase is buying leading blockchain infrastructure startup Bison Trails. The acquisition lets Coinbase offer critical infrastructure tech to build on blockchains. Bison Trails will operate as a standalone product within Coinbase. Link. 

- Coinbase now has over $90 billion in assets on platform and over 43 million registered users. Coinbase Custody accounted for over 50% of assets. Link. Send me an email if you'd like to see Coinbase's 2020 year-end report. 

- During her confirmation hearing for Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen testified that many of the transactions happening with bitcoin are illegal, illicit transactions and that it was 'not a stable store of value and doesn't constitute legal tender'. In a subsequent written statement Yellen clarified that crypto has the potential to improve the financial system, but can also be used to finance terrorism, facilitate money laundering, and support activities that might threaten US national security interests. Given the risks, she emphasized the need for effective regulation. Link. 

- The number of bitcoin whales (addresses with 1,000+ bitcoin) continued to increase even after the cryptocurrency's price dropped below $30,000. Many believe this is proof that institutions are starting to see crypto as a legitimate asset class and are responsible for driving the price of bitcoin up. Link.  

- In a new filing with the SEC BlackRock, a financial institution with over $7 trillion of assets under management, said that it may incorporate Bitcoin futures in some of its funds. Their stance on crypto has changed since 2018 when BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said clients weren't interested in crypto at all. Link. 

- A new Chainalysis report estimates that the criminal share of all crypto activity fell to $10 billion in 2020 though, which was much lower than the $21 billion in 2019. Link. Separately, the report also noted that $34 million of the $144 billion that passed through decentralized exchanges in 2020 were transactions conducted by criminal actors. Link. 

- Crypto market maker Wintermute raised $20 million for its Series B round led by Lightspeed. Wintermute makes markets across 50 crypto exchanges and traded more than $30 billion in December 2020 alone. The company is currently piloting its own OTC request-for-quote platform with beta users. Link. 

- Coinbase is allowing current and former employees to sell their shares on a secondary market ahead of an upcoming IPO. The company filed its s-1 with the SEC in December but hasn't disclosed an IPO date. In December 2020, crypto market analysis firm Messari valued the exchange at $28 billion. Link. 

- Russia has lifted its ban on crypto exchange Binance. Link. 

- Bitcoin fell below $30,000 this week after now debunked rumors of bitcoin 'double-spend' problems. Double-spend refers to the phenomena of one digital token being spent twice, which would render the entire blockchain insecure. The rumors were quickly debunked on social media and the price rallied back above $30,000. Link. 

- President Biden's number one pick to be the chair of the CFTC is reportedly crypto expert Chris Bummer. The CFTFC regulates the US derivatives market and futures market. Brummer has a deep understanding of crypto and has testified about central bank digital currencies and crypto before the CFTC. He also hosts the Fintech Beat podcast which looks at the regulations and policies surrounding finance and tech. Link. 

- Jack Dorsey is working on a project to decentralize Twitter called Bluesky. Developers from Protocol Labs, the company behind IPFS and Filecoin, are helping with the initiative. Link. The first initiative was an extensive ecosystem review of existing blockchain tech. Link to PDF.

- A crypto art piece by Justin Roiland, co-creator of Rick and Morty, sold for $150,000 in a silent auction held by NFT marketplace Nifty Gateway. Link. 

- Polkadot has taken the Chinese crypto ecosystem by storm, especially from the Web3 Foundation. Polkadot has gotten many Chinese developers to abandon Ethereum and build on Polkadot instead - the protocol saw a 44% increase in monthly active developers in the 12 months ended in May 2020. Link. 

- Crypto exchange Gemini is launching a credit card that lets users earn 3% 'cashback' rewards in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Link. 

- Bank of France successfully piloted a central bank digital currency experiment in December, simulating $2.4 million worth of shares purchased and sold by investors using a CBDC. Link.