Synopsis
- Tether records highest market cap of $90B
- Swiss City Lugano to accept crypto for municipal taxes
- Solana x NFT – A Christmas Miracle?
- Biggest winner and loser of the week
Key Observations
Analysis
Tether sets landmark as USDT records highest-ever market cap
Tether has seen it all. The speculation, euphoria, market meltdowns, and everything in between. USDT has remained steady and pegged to the USD, making it the favored choice of transaction medium across all of crypto.
Over the last few years, it has seen some competition from USDD, USDC, and even some algo-stablecoins. Despite FUD that USDT is not backed 1:1 and far-fetched speculation that an investigation into USDT shall result in the death of crypto markets as we know, Tether has finally recorded its all-time high with a market cap of $90B.
Stablecoins are usually an indicator of crypto market health, and their recent performance lays the foundation for the bull narrative currently unraveling in the industry. This upward trend can be interpreted as a leading indicator of improving liquidity on-chain, suggesting an environment with more capital for deployment.
The Swiss City of Lugano makes a sensational ruling
On December 5, 2023, Lugano, a Swiss City, announced the incorporation of the cryptocurrencies Bitcoin (BTC) and Tether (USDT) for tax and other municipal fee payments.
According to the released statement, Lugano citizens and companies can now make payments through their preferred mobile wallets using BTC and USDT.
Lugano was not the first Swiss city to adopt this. The Canton of Zug and the municipality of Zermatt have already implemented the system. Switzerland has been ahead of the curve in adopting crypto assets for some time.
Last month, one of the largest Swiss banks, St. Galler Kantonalbank, announced BTC and ETH trading and custody services for several clients.
Solana x NFT – The Revival
Solana has been in the news for a few years. It has been dragged through the mud since the FTX collapse, with its price seeing massive volatility in the past year alone. The tide has turned, with Solana now seeing a 440% growth in 2023 alone. The activity on the network has also gone up, as expected.
After successfully surpassing Ethereum in on-chain activity, Solana outshines its rival in another important metric, NFT sales. ETH has long remained the undisputed leader in terms of NFT activity, with over $41B done in sales alone.
Figure 3: The surge in NFT sales on Solana
Solana has been challenging for the NFT throne after it recorded $16M in sales in the same window, with Bitcoin and Ethereum trailing behind.
Solana’s ascent reflects investors and developers recognizing its potential. The industry might be witnessing a significant turning point as Solana gains ground.
Top gainer of the week: Avalanche (AVAX) up by 85.82% ⬆️
Opinions:
Fundamental Analysis:
Despite a broader crypto downtrend with Bitcoin down 6%, AVAX has stood strong, experiencing a remarkable 79% surge. Analysts credit AVAX’s resilience to strategic partnerships with financial giants JPMorgan and Citi, particularly in the realm of real-world asset tokenization. The Avalanche network’s total value locked has seen a striking 82% increase, reaching $894 million, accompanied by a staggering 2436% surge in trading volume over the past three months.
Technical Analysis: Avalanche has reclaimed May 2022 levels, and the moving average is acting as support in light of this price rally. The increased buying activity suggests that AVAX is in the overbought region, which should signal an upcoming correction.
Oscillator indicators: 0 bearish, 8 neutral, 3 bullish
Moving average indicators: 0 bearish, 1 neutral, 14 bullish
Biggest loser of the week: Kaspa (KAS) down by 14.51% ⬇️
Opinions:
Technical analysis: KAS is likely to break through the resistance at 0.12 as the moving average is acting as the point of resistance. It is also increasingly likely that KAS should test levels of 0.113 if current levels fail to hold.
Oscillator indicators: 1 bearish, 6 neutral, 4 bullish
Moving Average indicators: 7 bearish, 1 neutral, 7 bullish
Conclusion
The cryptocurrency market was marked with important events. The markets stumbled, with Bitcoin retracing to $42k after its run past $44k. Solana’s NFT frenzy and Stablecoin recovery, aided by USDT, rounds up the highlights of the week. There is a bullish sentiment as Bitcoin is expected to continue its trajectory after its recent correction.
