Bitcoin expectations for 2025 plus crypto updates from around the globe | Weekly Recap
Recap
As Bitcoin investors eye a potential “January effect,” where financial assets often rally as portfolios are reset, crypto.news takes a look at recent headlines as part of our weekly recap.
No ‘Santa Claus rally’ for Bitcoin
- Bitcoin (BTC) retreated to $94,830, down by over 12% from its highest level this month as the Santa Claus rally failed to materialize. According to CoinGecko, Bitcoin had a volume of $22 billion on Sunday, Dec. 29, down from $41 billion a day earlier.
- Historical data shows mixed January performance for Bitcoin, with gains in only six of the last 10 years, including a modest 0.62% rise this year. February, by contrast, has been a more consistent month for Bitcoin, recording losses only twice during the same period.
Terraform, FTX updates
- Montenegrin Justice Minister Bojan Božović has signed an order to extradite Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon to the United States rather than South Korea, local media Vijesti reports.
- FTX executive Ryan Salame’s prison sentence has been reduced by over a year, with his release now scheduled for March 2031. Salame began serving his 7.5-year sentence in October for his role in the exchange’s collapse.
Cambodia embraces stablecoins, Japan shies away from Bitcoin
- The National Bank of Cambodia has authorized commercial banks and payment firms to provide services for Category 1 crypto assets, including stablecoins like USDC and USDT, while maintaining restrictions on unbacked cryptocurrencies.
- Japan’s government officially responded to Senator Hamada’s queries, declaring no plans to include Bitcoin in its foreign exchange reserves, citing volatility concerns and limited understanding.
MicroStrategy extends weekly buying spree
- Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy enlarged its Bitcoin coffer by $561 million.
- The business intelligence company — the biggest corporate holder of Bitcoin — ranks as the best-performing cryptocurrency stock in 2024, with its share price climbing up to 402% on the year.
Legal drama, network updates, NFT trends
- Solana (SOL) Labs co-founder Stephen Akridge faces legal action from his ex-wife, Elisa Rossi. The legal charges are based on allegations of withholding staking rewards worth “millions of dollars” following their divorce agreement.
- The BONK community celebrated “BURNmas” with a massive token burn, destroying 1.69 trillion tokens valued at over $51 million, representing 1.8% of the total supply.
- Total NFT sales volume for the last seven days has also seen a 50% drop.
Russian mining restrictions
- Russian authorities will implement crypto mining restrictions or outright bans from Jan. 1, 2025 to March 15, 2031.
- Experts say the crypto mining ban is due to energy shortages and the subsidized price at which bandwidth is available in some markets.
