Bitcoin surges to new all-time high as crypto trading volumes boom and regulatory outlook improves
DATA from CryptoCompare shows that over the last week, the price of the flagship cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC) rose more than 16% to a new all-time high above $109,000 before seeing a slight drop to $107,500 this afternoon.
Ethereum’s Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, moved up around 10.5% over the same period to $3,370 at the time of writing. As a result of ETH’s underperformance, the ETH/BTC ratio briefly dropped below 0.03, a four-year low.
Cryptocurrency prices surged over the weekend over the recent launch of the ‘official’ memecoins of President-elect Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, with the former’s fully diluted value (FDV) not sitting above $55 billion, and the latter’s at $11 billion.
Headlines in the cryptocurrency space this week pointed out that the incoming Trump administration may soon release an executive order making cryptocurrency a national priority, and giving crypto industry insiders a voice in his administration.
The order is expected to designate cryptocurrency as a national imperative or priority, directing government agencies to collaborate with the industry. Additionally, it will establish a crypto advisory council to advocate for the industry’s interests in policy formulation.
The crypto industry has faced substantial scrutiny and prosecution under the Biden administration, to the point the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been accused by industry stakeholders of employing regulatory tactics through litigation rather than formal regulation.
It’s worth noting that over the course of a week, a federal appeals court has delivered a scathing critique of the SEC’s handling of cryptocurrency regulation, intensifying the scrutiny of the agency’s approach to the industry. In a ruling, a three-judge panel sided with Coinbase in its efforts to compel the SEC to establish clear rules governing crypto assets.
Just this week, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) started reviewing sports-related derivatives contracts listed on Crypto.com in a bid to determine whether they comply with legal standards.
The CFTC has requested a temporary halt to trading on these contracts while a 90-day review takes place, and a permanent ban may result if the CFTC finds violations of gaming prohibitions. Crypto.com opposed the suspension, citing the CFTC’s decision as contradictory to recent federal court rulings and disappointing since the incoming administration wasn’t consulted.
This week the U.S. Department of Justice also argued that billions of dollars worth of bitcoin stolen from cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex in a 2016 should be returned to the exchange.
In a recent court filing, the Department of Justice (DOJ) argued that the recovered cryptocurrency should be returned to Bitfinex because there are no specific victims in the case. In the 2016 breach, hackers stole nearly 120,000 BTC worth approximately $12 billion from the platform, and authorities have since recovered over $9 billion of the stolen funds.
Crypto trading volumes hit new $75 trillion high in 2024
Last year, the centralized exchange market witnessed a surge in cumulative annual volume, surpassing the previous all-time high of $65.1 trillion achieved in 2021, according to CCData’s latest Exchange Review.
This growth can be largely attributed to the increasing popularity of derivatives offerings, as evidenced by the significant increase in the share of derivatives markets, which now account for 69.2% of the total volumes, up from 59.5% in 2021.
As of December 2024, Binance maintained its position as the undisputed leader in the centralized exchange market, dominating both the spot and derivatives market share with a combined total of 35.1%. Bybit and OKX closely followed, securing market shares of 12.8% and 12.4%, respectively, according to the report.
Trading volumes last year rose amid a memecoin trading frenzy that was followed by the growth of artificial intelligence (AI) agent tokens, which saw a significant drop in the beginning of the past week and underperformed the wider market since the beginning of this year.
Thailand weighs allowing Bitcoin ETFs on local exchanges
Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is considering listing bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on local exchanges to compete with other Asian nations in establishing themselves as digital asset centers.
SEC Secretary General Pornanong Budsaratragoon emphasized the need to adapt to cryptocurrency adoption and provide investors with more options with proper protection.
The week also saw Swiss government-owned PostFinance, which serves about a quarter of Switzerland’s population, launched ether staking for its 2.7 million customers. Customers can invest ether for a minimum of 12 weeks and sell earned staking rewards.
Francisco Memoria is a content creator at CryptoCompare who’s in love with technology and focuses on helping people see the value digital currencies have. His work has been published in numerous reputable industry publications. Francisco holds various cryptocurrencies.
