Monday Market Report | December 18th - 24th

Every Monday, we cover the latest developments and trends in the dynamic and ever-evolving world of cryptocurrency. From price movements, to industry news, and our favorite resources, we strive to provide our readers with a comprehensive overview of the crypto landscape.

Dear readers, our warmest holiday wishes to you and yours from all of us over at Ndax, whether you’re celebrating this particular day, or just taking the freebie! Last week—

• The Bitcoin ETF war has officially begun... Who fired the first shot? 
• Which city (on par with NYC) is suffering from Bitcoin Spot ETF FoMo? 
• A shameless grab-bag of all the top stories—and plot twists—of the week. 

By italicizing part of their slogan to specifically call out the traditional financial asset managers (BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, among others?) that have also applied for Bitcoin spot ETFs—Bitwise has fired the first (pot) shot. And they did this weeks before the SEC is even expected to approve or deny any—let alone Bitwise’s—applications. Their two ads (so far) which feature Dos Equis’ ‘most interesting man in the world’, conclude with the tag line “ETFs backed by crypto specialists.” Since Fidelity was mining Bitcoin as far back as 2013, we can only venture a guess as to whom they must be referring to... Perhaps a certain $10T asset manager whose CEO wasn’t always as much of a fan of Bitcoin as he apparently became in ’23? One thing’s for sure, friends, this 2024 Bitcoin ETF War will be taking no prisoners. Watcher.Guru  

Hong Kong distinguished itself from China's widespread crackdown on cryptocurrency activities, embracing crypto firms and encouraging collaboration with banks. In October 2022, the city solidified its global financial center status by issuing policies on cryptocurrencies. Hong Kong initiated a licensing regime for virtual asset trading platforms in June, permitting licensed exchanges to offer retail trading. Last week, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) published two circulars addressing the requirements for spot crypto ETFs. HK’s paving the way for spot crypto ETFs, with its financial regulator—indicating a favorable stance toward innovative technology in the sector—claiming they’re prepared to start accepting and actively considering spot crypto ETF applications. Currently, Hong Kong has listed various futures-based crypto ETFs, including Samsung Bitcoin Futures Active ETF, CSOP Bitcoin Futures ETF, and CSOP Ether Futures ETF. The Block

Last week was perfect for bad actors getting one last comeuppance before 2023 is through. (If there ever was a slate to be wiped clean, it happened this last full working week of 2023). In no particular order: - Defunct crypto hedge fund 3AC’s Founders had $1.4B of their funds frozen by creditors. - SBF’s request to delay sentencing was denied. - Terra’s Do Kwon has (for now) successfully appealed his extradition to the US.  2023. What a year! 

Market Summary

• The global cryptocurrency market has reached a total market capitalization of CAD $2.22 Trillion.  
• Bitcoin continues to lead the market with a dominance of 50.7%, followed by Ethereum at 16.4%. 

Performance

• Solana is currently the top trading pair on NDAX, followed by Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Cardano, Avalanche, Fantom, Polkadot and Shina Inu. 
• Week over week, the value of Bitcoin (BTC) is up 5.26% and currently trading at $57,631, while Ethereum (ETH) is up 5.15%, now trading around $3,038. 

Top Weekly Movers @ Ndax

Who was the top-performing asset on Ndax last week?

Solana was up 20%, dethroning XRP for a top 5 spot—one of their DEXes even outperformed Ethereum for volume for the first time ever. This pump can be attributed to much meme coin fanfare (see last week’s Solana ‘Saga’ Phone story) and their vibrant user and developer communities. Its native token SOL is now trading at CA$130.5, with a market cap of over $40B US, and is up an astounding 684.3% in 2023. (Yes, we double-checked these numbers, and they appear to be correct, given that SOL CAD started off the year under CA$20...)

Vechain’s native token VET was also up 20%. VET was up 118% in 2023—again, not Bitcoin numbers, but we ain’t hatin’—is ranked #38 and is now trading over CA 4.5 cents. VET has a market cap of $2.57B US.  

But the top performing asset—coming a little out of left field—was Near Protocol’s NEAR Token, which was up by half. NEAR rallied 54%, bringing it up just shy of 160% y/y. NEAR is trading above CA$4.60 with a market cap of $3.4B US.

As of 12/25/2023 at 1:00:00 AM EST, values in CAD.

Keep an eye on the market here 👉 Cryptocurrency Prices

In the cryptocurrency community, there's always something going on. Here are a few events and happenings that you might be interested in:

• Stablecoin Issuer Circle Conditionally Registered for Digital Asset Services in France Coindesk 
• Spain sees 56% surge in registered crypto firms in 2023 Cointelegraph  
• BlackRock, Nasdaq Meet SEC Again to Discuss Spot Bitcoin ETF Decrypt 
• Bitcoin Ordinals Critic Caves as Jack Dorsey-Backed Ocean Mining Pool Flips on Inscriptions Decrypt 
• Crypto users to reach almost one billion in 2024, analysts predict Cointelegraph 
• Prometheum Earns Final Regulatory Nod to Try Hand at Fully-Compliant Crypto Coindesk  
• Worldcoin is no longer offering Orb-verification in India, Brazil, and France Techcrunch 

For more news stories, visit our LinkedIn

Mark your calendars!

• Dec 29 - CME Expiry 
• Jan 5 - Franklin Templeton ETF SEC comment rebuttal period ends 
• Jan 10 - Final ARK 21Shares (the first bitcoin ETF) decision deadline for SEC

For those of you looking to learn more about bitcoin and crypto markets this week:

• As the anti-crypto army gets louder, the Crypto Army is rallying to the cause. Elizabeth Warren's latest tirades contain some chilling subtext. – The Breakdown w/ NLW – The Crypto Army Rallies!   
• The SEC held a "rare" meeting with spot Bitcoin ETF applicants today, according to FOX Business. – Bitcoin Magazine - SEC HOLDS CRUCIAL MEETING WITH SPOT BITCOIN ETF APPLICANTS TO ENSURE ALIGNMENT   
• Whitney Webb is an independent investigative journalist who founded Unlimited Hangout, which covers intelligence, tech, surveillance, and civil liberties. We discuss the importance of independent journalism, the challenges of media manipulation, and the rise of tyranny. We also talk about the risks of AI, the influence of powerful figures like Elon Musk and the need for public scrutiny, and the potential co-opting of Bitcoin by powerful institutions. - What Bitcoin Did - The End of the World as We Know It with Whitney Webb   
• Preston Pysh sits down with Bitcoin Mechanic to discuss Ocean’s disruptive mining pool model, emphasizing non-custodial payments and transparent block templates. They tackle the current mining centralization trend, and the innovative PoW marketplace for 2024, and respond to the controversy around the alleged censorship of certain Bitcoin transactions. - Bitcoin Fundamentals w/ Preston Pysh - BTC161: DECENTRALIZING BITCOIN MINING POOLS w/ Bitcoin Mechanic 

Join Ndax's tiered Affiliate Program and start earning passive income today! With a highly competitive commission structure, affiliates can earn up to 10% of the trading fees generated by their referred users. That means you have the potential to earn income simply by referring new users to Ndax's platform.
But that's not all! For every new user you refer, you'll automatically earn $10-$25 CAD. And with a 10% commission on every trade made by your referrals, your earnings can really add up.

Find out more and start referring people today!

Thanks for reading our latest newsletter. Don't forget to follow us on social media for more updates and join the conversation on our forums.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide investment, legal, accounting, tax or any other advice and should not be relied on in that or any other regard. The information contained herein is for information purposes only and is not to be construed as an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of cryptocurrencies or otherwise.