Leading Ethereum wallet provider MetaMask announces the launch of a limited pilot program for the MetaMask Card in the U.S. 
MetaMask announced the development yesterday, noting that selected U.S. residents can now gain access to the payment card before it is released to the public. 
The MetaMask Card allows users to spend the crypto assets stored in their MetaMask wallet in physical stores and online platforms where Mastercard is accepted. 
Despite launching the limited pilot program in the U.S. yesterday, the team emphasized that the product is unavailable in states like New York and Vermont. 
#CryptoNewsUSA

Following the latest market drop an early #shiba⚡ Inu investor sold nearly 400 billion SHIB tokens, netting a $9.59 million profit. 
Popular smart money platform Lookonchain called the public’s attention to the transaction, which occurred today. 

User Initial Engagement with SHIB 

According to Lookonchain, the user behind the transaction was an early investor who acquired SHIB on August 6, 2020, a few days after the token launched.
At the time, the user purchased a whopping 15.28 trillion SHIB for a meager cost of $3,800, at an aggregate price of $0.000000000248 per token. Lookonchain claimed that the value of these Shiba Inu tokens surged to a whopping $1.22 billion when the token hit its peak price in October 2021.

Details of the Latest Shiba Inu Transaction 

Ever since, the user has been selling SHIB, with the latest sale recorded in the past few hours. Data from Lookonchain shows that the user moved nearly 250 billion SHIB in three transactions to Gemini crypto exchange. The three transactions involved 10 million SHIB, 99.98 billion SHIB, and 150 billion SHIB, respectively. 
A few minutes after the Lookonchain disclosure, the user moved another 150 billion SHIB to Gemini, bringing the total tokens transferred to Gemini in the past few hours to 399.99 billion SHIB. For context, tokens moved to exchanges are usually sold for fiat or swapped for other assets. 
With Shiba Inu currently trading at around $0.000024, the nearly 400 billion SHIB tokens are valued at approximately $9.6 million. These 400 billion tokens were acquired at an aggregate price of $99.19 in August 2020, resulting in a jaw-dropping profit of over $9.59 million from the recent sale. 
Data from Etherscan shows that the user has been selling SHIB over the past few weeks on Crypto.com and Gemini. Despite this, the wallet still holds 2 trillion SHIB, currently valued at $48 million. 
#CryptoNewsUSA

#Binance Alpha, the newly integrated platform within the Binance Wallet, has officially launched its first and second batches of emerging crypto projects.
The platform introduced the first ten projects selected for its pre-listing token spotlight program. Notably, the Binance Alpha platform serves to highlight early-stage tokens with strong growth potential in the Web3 ecosystem. It has curated a list of promising tokens that may eventually be considered for listing on the Binance Exchange.
#CryptoNewsUSA

#Cardano (ADA) has experienced a slight 2.04% dip to $1.06 as bearish sentiment takes hold, even as whale activity continues to rise.
Despite a recent slowdown after its impressive surge over the past month, ADA retains a generally bullish outlook. The asset is trading at $1.06, showing a 2.04% decline in the past 24 hours, though it has gained 5.54% over the past week.

#CryptoNewsUSA

El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, has expressed his delight as the country’s #Bitcoin portfolio records massive gains with BTC’s surge past $106,000.
Bukele took to X to highlight the milestone, sharing El Salvador’s Bitcoin portfolio gains. Per the tweet, the country’s stash of the premier asset has crossed the $632 million valuation mark.

El Salvador’s Bitcoin Stash Tops $632M

Notably, a screenshot of El Salvador’s Bitcoin Office platform shows that the portfolio hit $632 million when Bitcoin reached a new all-time high of $106,488. Of the total portfolio value, the country invested $270 million to purchase its 5,966 BTC stash.
Bukere’s post shows that El Salvador has an unrealized profit of $362 million, a staggering 133.95% portfolio increase. Notably, the chart shows that the country’s wallet surged from around $100 million in late 2023 to the new high.
Meanwhile, El Salvador maintains its practice of buying one Bitcoin daily until it becomes impossible to acquire with fiat. At the time of writing, the country’s portfolio has reduced slightly to $619 million, following Bitcoin’s retracement to $103,851.
Earlier last year, when El Salvador’s Bitcoin bet started paying off, Bukele criticized legacy media outlets for predicting doom for the country following its adoption of Bitcoin. Despite the country’s massive profits, the IMF still urged the El Salvadoran government last month to reconsider its Bitcoin stance.
#CryptoNewsUSA

Over the weekend, World Liberty Financials scooped up a new batch of altcoins, stacking thousands of #Etherna (ENA) and Ondo (ONDO).
Donald Trump’s World Liberty Financial (WLFI) has ramped up operations preparation with its latest incessant cryptocurrency purchases. For context, the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol has been buying a series of digital assets lately, with six cryptos already in the stash.
On-chain data shows that the Donald Trump-affiliated crypto project went crypto shopping over the weekend. The protocol added new altcoins, including Ondo Finance (ONDO) and Etherna (ENA).

World Liberty Financial Stack Thousands of ONDO, ENA

According to Etherscan, WLFI slashed USDC on Sunday to secure some Ondo tokens. At 22:51 (UTC) on Dec. 15, the DeFi protocol’s multi-signature address swapped 250,000 USDC for 134,216 ONDO.
Notably, World Liberty Financial acquired the ONDO stash through the CoW protocol at an average cost of $1.86 per coin. Meanwhile, the stash has already yielded a $10,000 profit, as the ONDO token has appreciated substantially since its purchase.
The Sunday purchase followed the Trump family business’s purchase of Etherna on Saturday. Data shows that World Liberty Financial’s multi-signature address exchanged 500,000 USDC for 509,955 ENA at an average cost of $0.98 per coin.
Meanwhile, the WLFI wallet’s major holdings now inclujde five altcoins besides stablecoins and the Coinbase Wrapped Bitcoin (cbBTC), worth nearly $85 million. The new protocol started the acquisition in late November and has since bought Ethereum, Chainlink, Aave, Ondo, and Etherna.

#CryptoNewsUSA

#XRP fair market value exceeds the $122,000 price mark, according to an assessment from the Collateralization model from Valhil Capital.
XRP has been one of the top performers over the past six weeks, having recently reclaimed and retained the $2 level. Despite this, some commentaries suggest the altcoin still trades below its fair market value due to several factors contributing to price suppression.

The Collateralization Model

Notably, last year, venture capital firm Valhil Capital compiled several models seeking to assess XRP’s fair market value under certain conditions. Interestingly, a bold valuation model, the Collateralization Model, suggests that XRP could has a fair market value of $122,580.
This evaluation sees a future where global financial systems are tokenized, and XRP becomes the foundation for collateralizing assets worldwide. Developed by Valhil Capital, the model examines the total global wealth and tokenization’s impact on XRP’s role as a store of value.
Interestingly, the Collateralization Model assumes that all global assets, including real estate, derivatives, central bank reserves, and commodities, are tokenized on the XRPL, the underlying blockchain for XRP. The Ripple CTO David Schwartz already confirmed that the XRPL is pivoting to RWA tokenization.
This ambitious scenario sees a future where blockchain technology represents the full spectrum of global wealth. Notably, the goal is to determine XRP’s value as a universal collateral asset in a highly interconnected, tokenized financial system.
Further, the methodology stresses XRP’s ability to secure assets rather than drive transactions. The model’s assumptions include full tokenization of global wealth and the use of XRP to collateralize this value.
#CryptoNewsUSA

Frank Richard Ahlgren III, a Satoshi-Era #Bitcoin adopter from Texas, has been sentenced to two years in prison for crypto tax fraud. 
Ahlgren was found guilty of filing false tax returns and underreporting considerable capital gains from his Bitcoin investments.

The Case Against Ahlgren

Between 2017 and 2019, Ahlgren filed federal tax returns that either misrepresented or completely omitted substantial profits from Bitcoin sales. Notably, Ahlgren began purchasing Bitcoin as early as 2011.
His most notable transaction occurred in 2017 when he sold 640 BTC tokens for $3.7 million. Using the proceeds, he purchased a house in Park City, Utah. 
However, Ahlgren misled his accountant during the preparation of his 2017 tax return. In particular, he inflated the purchase price of his Bitcoin holdings, thereby underreporting his actual capital gain from the sale.
In addition to his 2017 false reporting, Ahlgren made further efforts to conceal his Bitcoin transactions in 2018 and 2019. These efforts included transferring Bitcoin through multiple wallets, conducting in-person cash exchanges, and utilizing mixers to obfuscate the source of his transactions. 
Despite these efforts to hide his activity, the IRS Criminal Investigation team was able to track the transactions. They uncovered a total tax loss exceeding $1 million.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart Goldberg emphasized that Ahlgren’s attempts to hide his gains would not go unpunished. “Ahlgren believed his crypto transactions were untraceable, but the law applies to everyone, regardless of the medium,” said Goldberg.
#CryptoNewsUSA

As the crypto market cap reclaims $3.65 trillion, the meme coin sector is back on its feet. The market cap of meme tokens has surged to $125 billion, driven by the massive gains of #Dogecoin , FLOKI, and PEPE.
Over the past 24 hours, Dogecoin has increased by 5.33%, followed by FLOKI’s 9.07% rise, with both tokens ranking among the top performers. Amid the bullish recovery, Dogecoin’s market cap has reached $61.17 billion, with a 24-hour price increase of $0.4157.

Dogecoin Price Analysis

In the 4-hour chart, Dogecoin’s price action shows a sideways trend within two crucial boundary levels. The support level is at $0.3488, with overhead resistance at $0.4681. This range has remained consistent for the past few sessions, reflecting a consolidation phase in the market.
Multiple doji candles on the 4-hour chart indicate indecisiveness, signaling a potential bearish turnaround. However, the ongoing bullish momentum is attempting to shift this sentiment.
Currently, Dogecoin’s price action shows a bullish reversal from $0.3656, which has reignited optimism among traders. The recovery rally, contributing to a 14% surge, has helped Dogecoin reclaim the psychological mark of $0.40.
This milestone has restored confidence in the market. The S1 pivot level aligns with this level, reinforcing its significance as key support.
Amid the recovery rally, the MACD and signal lines have given a positive crossover, accompanied by new bullish histograms. This momentum suggests a potential shift in market dynamics.
Thus, the technical indicators support Dogecoin’s bullish outlook, with a possible challenge to the overhead trendline, which could serve as the next major resistance.
#CryptoNewsUSA

Dogecoin Price Chart

Citing on-chain data from market analytics resource Santiment, Martinez revealed that whales holding between 10 million to 100 million #Dogecoin accumulated about 210 million tokens amid the latest bearish phase that began on Monday. 
Data confirms that the 210 million tokens they procured are worth over $88 million at the current price of $0.42. According to Santiment, these whales held a cumulative balance of 21.64 billion DOGE right before Dogecoin witnessed the recent price slump. 
Following the correction phase, the holdings among these addresses have now skyrocketed to the current figure of 21.85 billion tokens, marking an increase of 210 million Dogecoin in four days.

#CryptoNewsUSA

#Bitcoin whales took advantage of the recent price dip, accumulating more assets and creating 342 new wallets.
Bitcoin has had a volatile week, briefly peaking at $100,400 on Monday before dropping below $94,400. Meanwhile, Bitcoin is recovering toward the $100K level again, highlighting ongoing market fluctuations.
Remarkably, large-scale Bitcoin holders, commonly known as whales, demonstrated notable activity amid this price movement.
#CryptoNewsUSA

Another ambitious #Bitcoin price prediction emerges after Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao asserted that the asset could skyrocket by more than 8x.
Notably, Bitcoin’s growing traction has come with higher price expectations as several industry leaders have thrown in their thoughts on the asset’s short-term and long-term performance. The former Binance CEO recently predicted Bitcoin’s future outlook, insisting it would trump the market cap of gold.

Bitcoin to $850,000: CZ

In his session at the Bitcoin MENA 2024 conference in Abu Dhabi, Zhao insinuated that Bitcoin would surge past $850,000. He drew the price assertion from the theory that Bitcoin would surpass gold’s $16 trillion market cap.
The former CEO stated that the Bitcoin growth trajectory would trounce that of gold, as the former is a new technology and the latter an old financial tool. He insisted that comparing Bitcoin to gold does not add up, as the digital asset has several advantages and “could do more” than the precious metal.
As a result, he maintains that Bitcoin would birth an industry larger than gold’s empire. Notably, if it attains the market cap of gold, which is currently $18.25 trillion, Bitcoin will trade at $921,976 per coin.
#CryptoNewsUSA

Eric Trump, President-elect Donald Trump’s son, is bullish on #Bitcoin .
Barely a week after Bitcoin clinched the long-desired $100,000 price point, Bitcoiners are already setting their sights on new milestones, seven figures to be exact. The latest voice to join this chorus is Eric Trump, the second son of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
“I am confident that it [Bitcoin] is going to hit $1 million,” Eric Trump asserted, speaking to a packed audience at the ongoing Bitcoin MENA Conference in Abu Dhabi today.

#CryptoNewsUSA

Despite the broader market correction, #Ondo Finance is holding strong amid the massive incoming supply. Currently, Ondo is trading at $1.63, with a 2.55% price increase over the past 24 hours, maintaining a market cap of $2.25 billion.

ONDO Price Analysis

The 4-hour chart shows a significant candle forming in the past four hours, marking a 9.46% surge within a falling-channel pattern.
Moreover, it completes a morning star pattern as it bounces back from the $1.47 support level. Breakout potential has significantly increased as the price approaches the overhead resistance trendline.
The bullish reversal in Ondo’s price action stems from a long-standing support trendline with consistent lower price rejections, which adds credibility to the morning star pattern and further increases breakout chances.

Whale Shows Confidence Amid Market Crash

A crypto whale has entered Ondo Finance as the bullish recovery trend gains momentum. According to a recent tweet from SpotonChain, a whale bought a large amount of Ondo tokens amid the broader market pullback.
The entity created a new wallet and exchanged 4,611 Ethereum tokens, worth $17.1 million, to purchase Ondo tokens. In return for the massive Ethereum supply, the whale acquired 10.978 million Ondo tokens at an average price of $1.553.
#CryptoNewsUSA