Institutions across the globe are adopting cryptocurrency, offering new services and buying into blockchain tech, despite slumping Bitcoin price. Markets are in a slump, with Bitcoin’s (BTC) price sinking below the $100,000 threshold. Despite a downward correction in markets, institutions continue to adopt digital assets in their operations. In the US, a major digital trading platform and chartered bank has opened crypto trading to institutional clients. The derivatives arm of the Singapore Exchange is getting into digital assets as well, opening up perpetual futures trading in crypto. Policy changes have allowed some firms to offer crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs), expanding the availability of crypto-related institutional financial products. Read more
Is the Santa Rally driven by retail FOMO or whale-sized capital flows? Here’s what actually fuels December’s market surge in stocks and crypto. Traditionally tied to the last five trading days of December and the first two of January, the Santa Rally now influences Bitcoin and major altcoins as seasonal optimism, low liquidity and renewed risk appetite shape year-end trading. With institutional desks quiet during the final week of December, even small retail trades can move prices. Social media narratives, year-end bonuses and FOMO often amplify that effect. Retail traders chase narratives, quick trends and speculative opportunities, while whales focus on risk management, balance-sheet adjustments and optimizing capital ahead of the new year. Read more
Many users reported not having access to websites, including Coinbase and Blockchain.com, and social media platforms after Cloudflare reported an “internal service degradation.” Cloudflare, the company responsible for providing network services to websites and platforms across the internet, reported disruptions, which removed access to the front end of many cryptocurrency websites and communications through social media. In a Tuesday update to its system status, Cloudflare said it had implemented a fix after reporting an “internal service degradation” at 11:48 am UTC. “[W]e believe the incident is now resolved,” said Cloudlfare in an update on its status. “We are continuing to monitor for errors to ensure all services are back to normal.” Read more
Brazil is reportedly considering imposing a tax on the use of cryptocurrency for international payments, as it aligns its rules with a global standard for sharing tax data. Brazil is reportedly weighing a tax on the use of cryptocurrencies for international payments as it moves to adopt a global crypto tax reporting data exchange framework. A Tuesday Reuters report, citing “officials with direct knowledge of the discussions,” claims that the Brazilian government aims to tax cryptocurrency use for international payments. During the confidential talks, representatives of the country’s finance ministry reportedly expressed interest in expanding the Imposto sobre Operações Financeiras (IOF) tax to include some digital asset-based cross-border transactions. Read more
Bitcoin analysts are divided over whether the four-year cycle is in play or not as the price plunges: Trade Secrets Is this crypto market cycle over after four years or should the four-year crypto market cycle theory itself be consigned to history? Swan Bitcoin CEO and Bitcoin advocate Cory Klippsten leans toward the latter view. There is a very good chance that Bitcoins famous four-year price cycles are over, killed by institutional adoption, Klippsten tells Magazine. The debate has Bitcoin analysts around the world divided. Some insist the four-year cycle is still alive; others say it is dead and argue that Bitcoin is following a completely different path altogether. So whos right? Read more