As 2024 approaches, the Bitcoin rally triggered by the election victory of newly elected President Donald Trump in early November has stalled after a rebound.
As of Tuesday morning, the Bitcoin price is about $15,700 lower than the record high set in mid-December. Smaller tokens like Ethereum and the meme favorite Dogecoin are also struggling to gain upward momentum.
Trump tends to favor cryptocurrency-friendly regulation and supports the idea of a national Bitcoin reserve, which enhances the valuation of digital assets. However, expectations of interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve have cooled the speculative fervor.

Business intelligence software provider MicroStrategy once again demonstrated its commitment to the Bitcoin strategy. According to a filing submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday, MicroStrategy stated that last week it spent $209 million to acquire 2,138 Bitcoins at an average price of $97,837 per coin. This marks the eighth consecutive week that MicroStrategy has announced an increase in Bitcoin holdings.
The funds used by MicroStrategy to purchase Bitcoin this time mainly came from the proceeds of selling company stock, and the company still has about $6.88 billion worth of stock available for sale.

Recently, the cryptocurrency market has shown differentiation, with the on-chain AI Agents sector being very lively, while the secondary market on exchanges is generally quiet. This indicates that the market is still willing to take greater risks, following trends to chase popular tokens in hopes of achieving higher returns. Placeholder partner Chris Burniske tweeted last night:
Although $BTC is like playing with fire, $ETHBTC, $SOLETH, and $SOLBTC are still performing well. This suggests that it is not a decrease in risk appetite, but more likely a result of year-end fund adjustments.

Only the AI Agents sector is rising against the wind.
According to SoSoValue data, in the past 24 hours, only the AI Agents sector has risen against the wind by 3.64%, while other sectors and mainstream tokens have all fallen without exception, further indicating the current market's strong buying willingness for the AI Agents sector.

Digital asset management company Grayscale stated in a report yesterday (30) that as 2024 comes to a close, Grayscale has updated its TOP 20 digital assets list for Q1 2025, believing these 20 major cryptocurrencies may show significant growth potential in the first quarter of the new year:
Every quarter, Grayscale's research team analyzes hundreds of digital assets, and Grayscale lists the TOP 20 assets in the cryptocurrency sector, which represent a diversified investment portfolio. We believe these assets have significant growth potential in the coming quarter.

On Tuesday (December 31), Bitcoin prices fluctuated by over $2,300, surging to a peak of $95,024 before falling back to around $92,600. Bitcoin's clean energy usage rate has now exceeded 50%, and billionaire Musk previously stated that when this condition occurs, Tesla will once again accept Bitcoin payments. With the inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States approaching, Trump trades are back in focus.

Bitcoin clean energy usage exceeds 50%, and Tesla is expected to introduce payments.
For years, Bitcoin miners have been focusing on environmental issues, and now they are making significant strides towards sustainability, with over 56% of mining energy coming from renewable sources. This progress could pave the way for Tesla to reintroduce Bitcoin as a payment method.

In the past 24 hours, the trading volume of Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin surged by 170%, reaching a market capitalization of $53 million. This surge comes at a time of increasing uncertainty for Tether's USDT due to the approaching EU MiCA regulatory compliance deadline, which may lead to the suspension of USDT in the region. The rise of RLUSD as a viable alternative makes this development particularly significant for the cryptocurrency market.
Surge of Ripple RLUSD: Key Drivers and Impacts
On December 30, Ripple RLUSD trading volume skyrocketed to 33.67 million, growing by 170% within 24 hours. This surge can be attributed to the following key factors:

In 2024, the global cryptocurrency market once again demonstrated its amazing vitality and potential, with many assets performing far better than Bitcoin. $PEPE, $SUI, and MicroStrategy ($MSTR) have become the brightest stars this year, attracting the attention and enthusiasm of countless investors. Their rise has not only rewritten the market landscape but also proven the diversity and possibilities of crypto assets.
In 2024, the legend of the meme coin market is once again written by $PEPE. This token, based on the image of Pepe the Frog, initially gained popularity due to its humor and appeal of meme culture. However, $PEPE has surpassed the traditional meme coin 'joke nature' this year, shocking the market with an astonishing 1,492% increase. From an initial market capitalization of $590 million, it skyrocketed to $9.4 billion by the end of the year, successfully attracting a large number of investors and steadily entering the top 30 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

Warren Buffett disclosed last week that his active buying of shares in the well-known internet company VeriSign, which holds the patent for linking domain names to blockchain addresses like Bitcoin, has drawn attention. After Bitcoin surpasses $100,000 at the end of 2024, a new wave of initial coin offerings (ICOs) may erupt in 2025, this time with more traditional corporate capital entering, expecting total capital to reach hundreds of billions of dollars.
Berkshire Hathaway, led by Buffett, disclosed in a Form 4 document submitted to the SEC on Thursday (December 26) that it spent a total of $28.55 million to purchase 143,424 shares of VeriSign Inc. (VRSN) within three trading days ending December 24.

Bitcoin broke below the key support level of $94,000 early this morning (30th), moving away from the historical high of $108,000 set on the 17th of this month. In just two weeks, the price has fallen over 13%. Whether it can carve out a path for a rebound in a bear-dominated battlefield has become the hottest topic in the market right now.
Market analysts, including BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes, have long warned that Bitcoin may experience significant corrections before setting new highs, and it now seems that these warnings are coming true. Currently, the Bitcoin price has fallen below the 20-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) and is gradually approaching the 50-day EMA, indicating that Bitcoin's recent momentum is weak.

According to analysts and experts, AI agents, a series of crucial network upgrades, and improvements in the US regulatory environment are all reasons for Ethereum fans to look forward to 2025.
Ethereum supporters say that AI entities, significant network upgrades, increased institutional interest, and comprehensive regulatory reforms brought by the new US President Donald Trump’s crypto-friendly government are all reasons to be excited about 2025.
Infinex founder Kain Warwick stated in an interview with Cointelegraph that although Ethereum's performance in 2024 may seem a bit flat, this asset is like a 'compressed spring,' ready for a breakout in 2025.

The global investment market entered the Christmas holiday last week. Since Europe and the US have been the biggest drivers of this Bitcoin bull market, the holiday has led to a decline in past buying from these regions, while Asian and Middle Eastern investors have been selling as per past funding operations. As a result, the cryptocurrency market prices have not faced many issues, with Bitcoin prices dropping from $97,000 to $94,000, a weekly decline of about 5%. Ether fell from $3,500 to $3,300, with an overall weekly decline of about 4%.
However, South Korea may be one of the few counterexamples. Due to political turmoil, the public is buying cryptocurrencies en masse, making South Korea the largest buying force in Asia lately. Jeff Park, the strategy director of Bitwise, pointed out that the South Korean National Assembly recently passed a motion to impeach the Prime Minister and acting President. The news of the acting President’s impeachment led to a significant depreciation of the Korean won, further increasing the popularity of cryptocurrencies as a store of value.

On Monday (December 30), Bitcoin plummeted to around $93,500 as the Biden administration launched a classic last-minute regulatory move before leaving office, with the IRS under the Treasury releasing the midnight broker rule requiring brokers to report digital asset transactions, incorporating decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms into the existing tax framework. Market participants criticized that this would threaten the future of U.S. DeFi innovation.

Major bearish news: U.S. 'midnight broker rules' target DeFi.
The IRS has released final regulations requiring brokers to report digital asset transactions, incorporating DeFi platforms into the existing tax framework. The rule will take effect in 2027 and will require brokers to disclose transaction details, including total gains and taxpayer information. Brokers must start collecting and reporting data from 2026. These regulations primarily target 'front-end service providers' like decentralized exchanges (DeXs). According to the IRS, classifying these platforms as brokers will help ensure tax compliance.

FLOKI seems to have a large number of holders currently in deficit.
Everyone's eyes are on the whales, watching to see if they will help drive up the price.
The past week has been a turning point for the memecoin community, as it has been struggling to attract investors due to a recent preference for less volatile, more stable assets. FLOKI has particularly become a prime example of this shift.
In just seven days, FLOKI achieved an impressive 22% growth, showing signs of recovery, which aligns with the broader shift in the memecoin market. So, as the green shoots of growth begin to appear, does this signal the start of a larger-scale rebound for FLOKI?

Ethereum supporters say the rise of AI agents, major network upgrades, increased institutional interest, and sweeping regulatory changes brought about by the crypto-friendly administration of new U.S. President Donald Trump are reasons to be excited about 2025.
Infinex founder Kain Warwick said that although Ethereum's performance in 2024 was slightly lackluster, the asset was like a "compressed spring" and was ready for a breakthrough in 2025.

According to TradingView data, ETH (Ether) has risen 53.5% this year so far, from $2,350 on January 1 to $3,478 at the time of writing.

In the final days of a record year for digital assets, Bitcoin’s rally is bursting as investors assess the remaining momentum of President-elect Donald Trump’s embrace of the cryptocurrency sector.
The largest coin was changing hands at $96,200 as of 6 a.m. in London on Friday, with some coins trading nearly 3% lower than the previous day’s retreat. Smaller rivals, including Ether and Dogecoin, a favorite of the meme crowd, also oscillated in a narrow range.
Trump is moving forward with his promise to create a crypto-friendly environment in the U.S. and is backing the idea of ​​a national Bitcoin reserve. Traders are taking some profits and are waiting to see if the controversial reserve is feasible.

Ryan Salame and Caroline Ellison, two core figures in the cryptocurrency exchange FTX fraud case, are currently serving their sentences, but according to Business Insider, their sentences were recently shortened and they were given the opportunity to be released early.
Ryan Salame, formerly co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, a subsidiary of FTX in the Bahamas, was the fourth close associate of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) to plead guilty. He pleaded guilty to criminal fraud in September last year and was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison in May this year.
Ryan Salame has been serving his sentence in prison since October this year, but the latest data from the Federal Bureau of Prisons shows that his expected release date has been brought forward to March 1, 2031, more than a full year earlier than the original April 2032.

Christmas 2024 is one of the most important moments in Bitcoin’s history. As global investors focus on this digital asset, the price of Bitcoin finally breaks through the $100,000 mark. Although this rise is somewhat limited by the low liquidity environment during the holiday season, the market’s confidence in its long-term performance is increasing.
This price breakthrough was not only driven by high investor sentiment, but also closely related to the macroeconomic background and upcoming options events. On December 27, up to $14 billion in Bitcoin options will expire, of which $4 billion in open positions have entered the "in-the-money" state. This scale sets a historical record for the Deribit exchange and may lead to a significant increase in market volatility. Deribit CEO Luuk Strijers pointed out that this expiration event will become a key market driver in the short term.

On Friday (December 27), the average profit of Bitcoin investors reached $57,525, reaching a peak of $69,438 earlier in December, an average increase higher than the average annual salary of Americans. After President-elect Donald Trump won the election, the number of American Generation Z cryptocurrency users on the well-known exchange Bitget surged 683%.
According to Whale Alert data, the average salary of Americans in 2024 is $62,027. Bitcoin investment profits have obviously surpassed American salaries. Imagine that as long as you own one Bitcoin, your savings will grow and even exceed your own annual salary, which has fueled the enthusiasm of the U.S. market.