Hodler’s Digest, December 8-14 – Cointelegraph Magazine

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JP Morgan raises target for Bitcoin mining stocks

According to a December 10 report shared with Cointelegraph, JPMorgan analysts raised their price targets for four Bitcoin mining stocks to reflect the value of miners’ power assets and BTC holdings.

Mining operations for the upgrade include MARA Holdings (MARA), CleanSpark (CLSK), Riot Platforms (RIOT), and Iren (IREN), according to a report written by analysts Reginald Smith and Charles Pearce. Each stock is already trading near or above its revised target price.

“We previously valued Bitcoin miners based on each operator’s four-year total profit opportunity,” the analysts said. “We are extending this framework by incorporating 1) the value of each company’s land and power assets (…) and 2) the HODL premium. This gives miners credit for being able to hold Bitcoin in their balances like MicroStrategy does.”

New York Regulators Approval of Ripple’s RLUSD Stablecoin — Brad Garlinghouse

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple Labs, reported that the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has approved the company’s RLUSD stablecoin after months of consideration.

Garlinghouse said in a December 10 post that Ripple would soon announce a list of exchanges and partners for RLUSD following NYDFS approval. The company launched plans for its stablecoin in April as a competitor to Tether’s USDt and USDC.

Ripple executives have speculated that the stablecoin could reach a market capitalization of $2 trillion by 2028. The company began testing RLUSD on the XRP ledger and Ethereum mainnet in August and announced partnerships with exchanges including Uphold, Bitstamp, Bitso, MoonPay, Independent Reserve, CoinMENA, and Exchange. I am optimistic about October.

Bitwise Predicts 2025 to Be the Year of Cryptocurrency IPOs — Kraken Lists Circle

Bitwise, a cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuer, predicts that at least five cryptocurrency unicorns will be listed in 2025, including stablecoin issuer Circle and cryptocurrency exchange Kraken. did it

So-called cryptocurrency bank Anchorage Digital, analytics firm Chainalytic and cryptocurrency exchange Figure are three other companies expected to launch IPOs next year, according to Bitwise. Investment Director Matt Hougan and Research Director Ryan Rasmussen wrote in “10 Cryptocurrency Predictions.” 2025” report was released on December 10.

Increasing investor demand, institutional adoption, favorable macro environment, and warm political environment were the key catalysts that led the duo to dub 2025 the “Year of the Cryptocurrency IPO.”

Riot Platform raises $500 million to buy Bitcoin amid price surge.

Riot Platforms proposes to raise $500 million to buy more Bitcoin. The Company may issue private placement bonds to qualified institutional investors. The decision comes as Bitcoin is hovering around record highs and other industry heavyweights are making massive acquisitions at record prices.

Riot may offer senior convertible notes through a private offering memorandum. Buyers will have the option to purchase an additional $75 million worth of notes within three days of their initial purchase. It said the offer would depend on market conditions and there was no mention of interest payments.

The notes are unsecured senior notes with a maturity date of January 15, 2030 and will be redeemable or convertible into shares of Riot common stock at the Company’s election. Conversion rates and other terms are determined at the time of product pricing.

Riot said it would use the funds “to acquire additional Bitcoin and for general corporate purposes.”

Riot held 10,427 BTC at the end of the third quarter of this year, after producing 1,104 BTC in the quarter and selling none. Last quarter it produced 844 BTC.

Binance CEO Richard Teng said re-entering the U.S. market was a “hasty discussion.”

Binance CEO Richard Teng said it was too early to discuss whether the cryptocurrency exchange would regain its footing in the U.S. now that a pro-crypto president is set to take office after being forced out a year ago.

When asked whether Binance would find a way to return to the U.S. market or relaunch Binance USD, Teng told Bloomberg TV on December 9, “I think it’s a premature discussion whether we will re-enter the U.S. market.” He said. Stablecoin.

“Right now we are focused on global placements,” he said, implying that the exchange is trying to gain market share, and “we are looking at institutions, sovereign wealth funds and high-net-worth individuals to initiate distributions.” “This space.”

Binance withdrew from the United States in November 2023 as part of a $4.3 billion settlement with the U.S. government over sanctions violations, money laundering, and operating an unlicensed money transmitter.

winners and losers

Bitcoin this weekend (BTC) It’s in $101,296; ether (ETH) to $3,900 and XRP to $2.43. The total market capitalization is $3.63 $1 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Among the top 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers this week are Bitget Token. (BGB) 35.26%, virtual protocols (pseudomorph) 35.26% and Aave (ghost) 33.74%.

The top three altcoin losers this week are Celestia. (TIA) 23.16%, World Coin (World) 22.53% and EOS (EOS) 21.08%. For more information on cryptocurrency prices, read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.

most memorable quotes

“I think it’s turning into a ‘digital currency for beginners’ kind of thing where it’s at. And unfortunately, I’m an idiot!”

john stewartcomedian

“Given that Bitcoin’s value is driven by such distinct drivers, there is no inherent reason why Bitcoin should be correlated with major risk assets over the long term.”

black rockasset management company

“We are not obsessed with being first, as much as we provide value to our customers and continue to grow.”

Marcin KazimiercakRedstone co-founder

“Last month, Americans voted for leadership that supports innovation, and this Sherrod Brown bait and switch directly ignores the will of the voters.”

Cedar Innovation Foundation

“Bitcoin energy use does not occur in transactions, so transaction volumes can be increased exponentially without increasing emissions.”

Daniel Battenbitcoin environmental activist

“Some replacements may continue to run for a while, but the majority are likely to slow bleeding or harden for two to six weeks.”

Felix Hartmanventure capitalist

Predictions of the Week

Bitcoin price to surge in 2025 due to ‘demand shock’ — Sygnum

A December 12 report from Sygnum Bank, an asset manager specializing in cryptocurrencies, said a surge in institutional inflows could lead to a Bitcoin “demand shock” in 2025 and potentially send BTC prices skyrocketing.

Institutional capital flows are already having a “multiplier effect” on BTC’s spot price, with $1 billion worth of net inflows into spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) driving price movements of about 3-6%, Sygnum said in the cryptocurrency. This was revealed in the market outlook. 2025 report.

Sygnum expects this dynamic to accelerate in 2025 as large institutional investors, including sovereign wealth funds, endowments, and pension funds, add to their Bitcoin allocations.

“With improved regulatory clarity in the U.S. and the growing likelihood of Bitcoin being recognized as a central bank reserve asset, institutional participation in cryptocurrency assets could accelerate dramatically in 2025,” Martin Burgherr, chief customer officer at Sygnum, said in a statement. “There is,” he said.

FUD of the week

Dogecoin flaw exploited by hackers causes 69% of nodes to crash

Hackers exploited a critical vulnerability in the Dogecoin network, resulting in 69% of nodes being taken down.

On December 12, Andreas Kohl, co-founder of Bitcoin sidechain Sequentia, claimed that he had taken down 69% of the Dogecoin network. Cole said he used an old laptop in El Salvador to run the crash.

Before the vulnerability was exploited, Dogecoin had 647 active nodes, according to data from Blockchair. At the time of this writing, Dogecoin had 315 active nodes.

Kohl said he used a vulnerability discovered by researcher Tobias Ruck to crash the node.

On December 4, an X account called “Department Of DOGE Efficiency” publicly disclosed a vulnerability in the Dogecoin network that could cause the entire chain to crash. According to the account, the “DogeReaper” vulnerability allows anyone to remotely crash a Dogecoin node.

Australia proposes stricter cryptocurrency regulations to curb financial crime

Australia has proposed stricter anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF) rules to strengthen oversight of the cryptocurrency industry to combat financial crime.

The proposed rules introduced by the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (AUSTRAC) follow on from amendments to the AML/CTF Act passed by Parliament last November.

The updated framework aims to close regulatory gaps, improve oversight of high-risk sectors, strengthen customer due diligence measures, enforce stricter reporting obligations and implement stricter rules for businesses.

The draft rules will be open for public consultation until February 14, 2025, as AUSTRAC asks industry stakeholders, particularly those in cryptocurrency and financial services, to provide feedback to inform the final version of the framework.

Australia fines Kraken operators $5 million for regulatory violations

Australia’s Federal Court has fined the Australian operator of US-based cryptocurrency exchange Kraken A$8 million ($5.1 million) after siding with the country’s corporate regulator.

In his decision on December 12, Justice John Nicholas ordered Bit Trade, which operates Kraken Australia, to pay the fine and cover court costs within 60 days. The court found that Bit Trade failed to comply with its design and distribution obligations and acted as a credit facility without a license.

The fine is less than the $12.8 million sought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, which Nicholas described as “excessive”. Nonetheless, it exceeded Bit Trade’s request to limit the fine to $2.5 million, which the judge found was “insufficient.”

“We are grateful that the court recognized our compliance efforts, but we are disappointed with the outcome of this case,” a Kraken spokesperson told Cointelegraph.

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