On December 14th, Matrixport analyst Markus Thielen predicted that even if spot Bitcoin ETFs do not receive approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the crypto market will continue to rise in 2024. The increase in liquidity, the Bitcoin halving, and the possibility of Trump being reelected all provide catalysts for further growth in the crypto market.
Thielen stated that since the pandemic, the size of money market funds in the United States has increased from $3 trillion to $6.1 trillion. This growth means that the annual interest payments are now about $370 billion, equivalent to about $1 billion per day – which can be easily invested in higher-risk investments such as stocks and cryptocurrencies.
In addition, DASH posted on the X platform that 29% of adults in Spain believe that cryptocurrency is the future of finance. Cryptocurrency has now become the second most popular payment method in Spain, surpassing bank transfers.
Bitnovo’s research shows that 60.7% of Spanish citizens have the motivation to purchase cryptocurrency for long-term investment, and 35.7% of Spanish citizens have the motivation to purchase cryptocurrency for payment. There are 178 blockchain financial services startups in Spain.
According to Cointelgraph, Bitwise’s senior research analyst Ryan Rasmussen predicts that Bitcoin prices will soar to a new high of $80,000 in 2024.
In the same year, the amount of funds used for settlement in stablecoin exceeded that of payment giant Visa. As of the third quarter of 2023, Visa has processed payments exceeding $9 trillion, while stablecoin transactions have exceeded $5 trillion. The market value of stablecoins has grown from almost zero nearly four years ago to $137 billion now, and it is expected to see more trading volume and usage scenarios in 2024.
Bitwise also predicts that with the expected launch of Bitcoin spot ETFs in early 2024 and the halving of Bitcoin supply in April, Bitcoin will be an important catalyst for price growth. The Bitcoin spot ETF will manage assets worth $72 billion over the next five years. Ethereum is also expected to significantly improve in 2024, with revenue expected to grow by 100% to reach $5 billion. Meanwhile, the EIP-4484 upgrade may reduce the gas cost on the mainnet to below $0.01.
In the traditional finance (TradFi) field, Coinbase is considered the top competitor to benefit the most in 2024, and Bitwise predicts that its revenue will grow by 100% next year, exceeding Wall Street’s expectations by ten times.
Next, let’s focus on the soaring popularity of BONK tokens on major market platforms.
Recently, according to media reports, Solana‘s Web3 smartphone Saga has seen a surge in the value of its BONK token, and the value of the token it gifted has exceeded the official selling price of the phone.
Every owner of a Saga phone can claim 30 million BONK tokens on Bonk DApp, which are currently worth nearly $700, while the official selling price of the Solana Saga phone is $599.
Solana co-founder Raj Gokal tweeted, “Saga’s sales have increased more than 10 times in the past 48 hours and are expected to be sold out before the new year.”
It is understood that Bonk (BONK) is a memecoin based on the theme of dogs in Solana. The memecoin was launched in December 2022 with the aim of supporting and revitalizing the struggling Solana community. As a dog-themed token similar to DOGE and SHIB, BONK positions itself as a social token focused on community engagement through BonkDAO.
On December 15th, according to the latest data from Gate.io, the Solana Ecosystem Meme Token BONK has increased its price by 75.54% in the past 24 hours, and is now quoted at $0.00002441. It once rose above $0.000028, continuing to reach a new historical high. BONK is now ranked 55th on the crypto market value ranking, with a total market value of $1.457 billion.
Yesterday, according to the Ethereum staking data dashboard created by 21.co in Dune, the amount of Ethereum staking has been on the rise from January to December 2023. 21.co suggests that this may indicate sustained trust in the ecosystem among people. Despite the price increase, users continue to stake Ethereum instead of selling it.
According to Deribit data, BTC option contracts with a nominal value exceeding $1.517 billion and ETH option contracts with a nominal value exceeding $600 million will expire and be delivered on Friday, December 15th. The maximum pain point price for BTC is $42,000; The maximum pain point price for ETH is $2,200, please pay attention to market fluctuations.
Main Token Trends
BTC
The four-hour chart today continues in a converging pattern. The upper price targets of Bitcoin are still expected at $45,345 and $47,990. In the short term, it seems relatively high, with signs of potential fund transfer. Short-term support is at $40,280 and $38,220. Keep monitoring the overall upward trend.
ETH
This week, there’s continued oscillation between $2,135 and $2,382 for Ethereum price. Fibonacci sequence targets can be used for structural support. If the trend continues upward, pay attention to breaking the $2,381 resistance. If it fails, expect continued oscillation with support around $2,135 in the mid-term.
1INCH
Leading in the aggregation protocol sector, 1INCH price has dropped from a long-term high of $7.7426 to $0.3768. The daily chart might complete a head and shoulders bottom pattern with resistance at $0.4042 and $0.5833. Long-term prospects include targets at $2.6430, $2.9654, $5.54, and $7.74