1. Forbes predicts seven trends for the cryptocurrency industry in 2025.
1. G7 or BRICS countries will establish strategic Bitcoin reserves; 2. The market value of stablecoins will double to 400 billion USD; 3. The Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem will achieve rapid growth with the help of L2 networks (such as Stacks, BOB, Babylon), with the locked value expected to exceed the current 24 billion USD of cross-chain wrapped Bitcoin; 4. Cryptocurrency ETF products will expand to Ethereum staking and Solana and other sectors; 5. Tech giants like Apple and Microsoft may follow Tesla's example and increase their Bitcoin holdings; 6. The total market value of the cryptocurrency market will exceed 8 trillion USD; 7. An improved regulatory environment in the United States will drive a revival of cryptocurrency entrepreneurship.
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2. QCP: Nearly 20 billion USD nominal value of BTC and ETH options will expire this Friday, which may lead to a quarterly end volatility sell-off.
QCP Capital stated that as the holidays approach, spot prices continue to experience sideways fluctuations. This Friday, nearly 20 billion USD nominal value of Bitcoin and Ethereum options will expire, accounting for nearly half of the total open interest in Deribit options. After the options expiration, it is likely that we will see a typical end-of-quarter volatility sell-off, especially if spot prices continue to fluctuate within this range and option sellers continue to roll their short positions. Unlike those option sellers who have to wait for the expiration to release their collateral, call option buyers may have already rolled most of their positions in advance. However, if BTC can successfully break through the 100,000 USD mark, then volatility may remain stable. Meanwhile, as BTC continues to hover below 100,000 USD, we may also see altcoins start to gain momentum again.
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3. The Bank of Italy categorizes Bitcoin P2P services as 'crime-as-a-service'.
The Bank of Italy (Banca d'Italia) in its latest published Economic and Financial Research Report No. 893 categorizes Bitcoin peer-to-peer (P2P) services as 'Crime-as-a-Service' due to their suspected use in money laundering activities.
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4. Russia bans cryptocurrency mining in 10 regions for 6 years
Starting from January 1, 2025, cryptocurrency mining will be completely banned in 10 regions of Russia (Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, North Ossetia, Chechnya, the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, as well as Zaporozhye and Kherson regions) for a period of six years. This ban will last until March 15, 2031. Russian lawmakers have also approved seasonal restrictions on major cryptocurrency mining regions to prevent power outages. These restrictions are consistent with the Russian cryptocurrency mining law signed by the president in August and October 2024.
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5. Hong Kong police: Losses related to cryptocurrency cases exceeded 3.1 billion HKD in the first ten months of this year, with a single highest loss of 1.6 billion HKD.
Hong Kong police reported receiving over 3,400 cases related to cryptocurrencies last year, with losses exceeding 4.3 billion HKD. In the first ten months of this year, there were over 2,100 cases with losses exceeding 3.1 billion HKD. Among these cases, the single highest loss was approximately 1.6 billion HKD. Legislative Council member Wu Jiezhuang stated that in addition to strengthening regulation and public education, citizens should also increase their understanding of cryptocurrencies, recognize investment risks, avoid being lured by small gains, choose licensed trading platforms for investments, and invest within their means.
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