🚨🚨Crypto Market News You Can’t Miss! (28/12/23) 🚨🚨

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28 Dec 2023

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The crypto market is always full of surprises and developments that can affect the prices and sentiments of investors. In this article, I will cover some of the most important and interesting news that happened in the 28 December 2023. These include:

Worldcoin’s launch in Singapore after pausing in India
Trump’s massive sell-off of Ethereum after a failed NFT venture
MicroStrategy’s continued accumulation of Bitcoin, reaching $5.9 billion
ARK Invest’s switch from GBTC to a Bitcoin ETF
Argentina’s new law that allows citizens to regularise their undeclared crypto assets

Let’s dive into each of these stories and see what they mean for the crypto industry and the investors.

Worldcoin Launches In Singapore After Pausing In India

Worldcoin, the decentralised identity project co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has announced that it has launched its identity verification services for residents of Singapore. The project aims to create a global database of biometric identities that can be used to access various services and benefits, such as universal basic income, healthcare, education, and voting.
To verify their identity, users need to scan their irises using Worldcoin’s spherical devices, called orbs, which are distributed by local partners. In exchange, users receive a share of the project’s native cryptocurrency, also called Worldcoin.

According to the project’s website, there are currently five locations in Singapore where users can find the orbs and verify their identity. These are:

The Hive, a co-working space in the central business district
The Hub, a social innovation centre in the downtown core
The Bridge, a community hub in the east coast
The Node, a tech incubator in the west coast
The Vault, a crypto lounge in the north-east region

The project stated that it has partnered with Tools for Humanity (TFH), a Singapore-based organisation that aims to empower people with blockchain and crypto solutions. TFH has also joined two of the most prestigious startup and tech associations in Singapore: ACCESS and the Singapore Fintech Association (SFA).

The launch of Worldcoin in Singapore comes shortly after the project faced some challenges and controversies in other countries. Earlier this month, the project announced that it had paused its operations in India, citing regulatory uncertainty and operational difficulties. The project also ended its registration services in Brazil and France, following criticism and backlash from privacy advocates and human rights activists.
Despite these setbacks, the project claims that it has verified over 200,000 identities in 15 countries, and that it plans to expand to more regions in the future.

Source: https://www.theblock.co/post/269413/worldcoin-launches-in-singapore-after-pausing-in-india

Trump Dumps Millions in Ethereum After Disastrous NFT Redux

Former U.S. President Donald Trump seems to have lost his interest and faith in Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation. According to Arkham Intelligence, a blockchain analytics platform, Trump has sold off $2.4 million worth of ether in the last three weeks, sending it to Coinbase, a popular crypto exchange.

The sell-off coincides with the poor performance and reception of Trump’s second attempt at launching his own NFT collection, called Trump Redux. The collection, which featured 100 digital artworks depicting Trump’s presidency and legacy, was released on Dec. 1 on the Ethereum-based platform OpenSea. However, unlike his first NFT venture, which raised over $1.6 million in October, Trump Redux failed to attract much attention and demand from the crypto community. The collection only sold 12 NFTs, generating less than $30,000 in total sales.
Arkham Intelligence also revealed that Trump still holds $2.2 million worth of various cryptocurrencies, including:

$1.4 million worth of ETH
$649,000 worth of WETH, a wrapped version of ETH that can be used on other blockchains
$167,000 worth of MAGA coin, a pro-Trump cryptocurrency that aims to “make America great again”
$340 worth of Pepecoin, a meme-based cryptocurrency inspired by the Pepe the Frog character
$145 worth of JESUS, a religious-themed cryptocurrency that claims to be “the currency of God’s Son”

It is unclear what Trump plans to do with his remaining crypto holdings, or whether he will continue to explore the NFT space in the future.
Source: https://decrypt.co/211064/trump-dumps-millions-in-eth-after-disastrous-nft-redux

MicroStrategy Buys $615M Worth Additional BTC, Pushing Holdings to $5.9B

MicroStrategy, the business intelligence and software company led by Michael Saylor, has reaffirmed its bullish stance on Bitcoin, the largest and most dominant cryptocurrency by market capitalisation. The company has announced that it has purchased another 14,620 BTC at an average price of $42,110 per Bitcoin over the past 40 days, spending $615 million in total.
With this purchase, MicroStrategy now owns 189,150 BTC, worth $5.9 billion at the current market price. The company’s average buy price for its entire Bitcoin stash is $31,168 per BTC, meaning that it has already made a profit of over $2 billion on its investment.

MicroStrategy is widely regarded as one of the most influential and vocal corporate supporters of Bitcoin, having started its Bitcoin buying spree in August 2020. The company has also issued several convertible bonds and senior notes to raise funds for its Bitcoin purchases, demonstrating its confidence and commitment to the cryptocurrency.

The company’s latest Bitcoin acquisition comes ahead of the expected approval of Spot Bitcoin ETFs by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Jan. 10, 2024. Spot Bitcoin ETFs are exchange-traded funds that track the actual price of Bitcoin, rather than its derivatives or futures contracts. Many analysts and investors believe that the approval of Spot Bitcoin ETFs will boost the demand and adoption of Bitcoin, as well as its price and market value.

Source: https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2023/12/27/microstrategy-buys-615m-worth-additional-btc-pushing-holdings-to-59b

ARK Sells Remainder of GBTC Holdings, Invests $100M In Bitcoin ETF

ARK Invest, the institutional asset management firm led by Cathie Wood, has made a significant shift in its exposure to Bitcoin, the largest and most dominant cryptocurrency by market capitalisation. The firm has announced that it has sold its remaining holdings of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), worth $200 million, and used half of the proceeds to buy shares of the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO).

GBTC is a trust that holds Bitcoin and issues shares that trade on the over-the-counter market. GBTC is one of the oldest and largest ways for institutional investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin, having launched in 2013. However, GBTC has faced some challenges and criticisms in recent times, such as its high fees, its lack of liquidity, and its persistent trading at a discount to its net asset value (NAV).

BITO, on the other hand, is a Bitcoin ETF that tracks the price of Bitcoin futures contracts, rather than the actual price of Bitcoin. BITO is one of the first Bitcoin ETFs to be approved and launched in the U.S., having debuted on Oct. 19, 2023. BITO offers several advantages over GBTC, such as lower fees, higher liquidity, and closer alignment with the NAV.
ARK Invest has also reduced its holdings of Coinbase, the largest and most popular crypto exchange in the U.S. The firm has sold 148,885 shares of Coinbase, worth $27.5 million, from its ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW), following its sale of its GBTC holdings. Coinbase is one of the main platforms that facilitates the trading of GBTC and other crypto-related products.

The moves by ARK Invest indicate that the firm is adjusting its portfolio to reflect the changing landscape and dynamics of the crypto industry, as well as its own preferences and strategies.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/ark-sells-gbtc-holdings-invests-100m-bitcoin-etf

Argentines Will Be Given a Chance To ‘Regularise’ Undeclared Crypto

Argentina, the South American country that has been plagued by economic and political instability for decades, has introduced a new law that could have a significant impact on the crypto industry and the investors. The law, called the Law of Bases and Starting Points for the Freedom of Argentines, is a 351-page bill that covers various aspects of the country’s social and economic reforms, such as taxation, pensions, health, education, and public services.
One of the most notable and relevant sections of the law for the crypto community is the one that deals with the regularisation of undeclared crypto assets. According to the law, Argentines who own crypto assets that have not been reported or taxed by the authorities will be given a chance to “regularise” their situation, by declaring their holdings and paying a one-time fee of 5% of their value.

The law states that the regularisation process will be open for six months, starting from Jan. 1, 2024, and that the fee will be calculated based on the market price of the crypto assets on the day of the declaration. The law also states that the regularised

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