As the last week of the year concludes, we bring forward a brief overview of its highlights, industry developments, and the overall crypto outlook.
As 2023 comes to an end, crypto industry stakeholders would likely look at it as a fantastic year for crypto. The last week of the year continued the bright crypto outlook, with most developments on the regulatory front. After a major debacle for the industry at the end of 2022, the crypto rally this year has largely been a breather.
Sentiments have improved, and regulators are more in support of crypto regulation. Meanwhile, the crypto market continues to tread on a bull run. Factors like global interest rates, spot Bitcoin ETFs, the Bitcoin halving event in 2024, and market sentiments could grab the spotlight in 2024.
The last week of the year after Christmas saw a stable start for Bitcoin. Bitcoin has broadly held its support over $42,000 throughout the week. Its movements were comparatively less volatile than earlier. It could indicate a cautious strategy from traders and investors until next year’s market triggers. An altcoins rally in the market saw tokens like SOL, BNB, and MATIC surging during the week. ETH also held a market cap above $282 billion.
The regulatory landscape for crypto worldwide saw improvements during the week. In Asia, Japan eased some significant rules for taxing crypto holdings. The order, awaiting parliamentary approvals, will stop taxing unsold crypto holdings.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong continued its bullish crypto stance till the end of the year. Its regulators have invited applications for crypto ETFs, initiating a new era for its crypto space. In 2024, the regulator could see several such applications for starting crypto ETFs.
The other Asian country in the news was South Korea, another crypto-friendly hub. This time, South Korea mandated their government officials to disclose their crypto holdings. According to the government, it would increase transparency for its citizens.
On the other hand, the European Union attracted a very high number of crypto firms in 2023. A news report stated the statistics, mentioning countries like Poland, Lithuania, and Italy lead the tally for crypto firms.
Institutional investors’ interest also peaked during the week. MicroStrategy bought more BTC, as its CEO Michael Saylor said, “MicroStrategy has acquired an additional 14,620 BTC for ~$615.7 million at an average price of $42,110 per Bitcoin. As of 12/26/23, MicroStrategy now holds 189,150 BTC acquired for ~$5.9 billion at an average price of $31,168 per Bitcoin.”
The following crypto tokens saw the highest returns this week:
On the other hand, these tokens were the worst performers:
The overall crypto outlook has vastly improved during the year. The crypto rally could continue well beyond 2024 and brighten prospects for the crypto industry. Follow Millionero’s blog and get the latest updates from the crypto space!