Bitcoin Breaks Through Another Yearly High, Doge Turns 10 and Spurs Memecoin Rally, and Bitcoin-Linked Altcoins Have Strong Showing With ETF Decisions on the Horizon

Takeaways

• Multiple 2024 tailwinds drive bitcoin higher: Bitcoin reached new annual highs this week driven by multiple tailwinds, including potentially imminent ETF approvals, the upcoming Bitcoin halving, and a possibly lower interest rate environment. Notably, BTC broke above $40k for the first time in over a year on Monday, with no signs of slowing. BTC was hovering around $44k on Friday morning.
• Robust jobs data and upcoming Fed meeting may bring volatility: The November nonfarm payroll numbers released on Friday pointed to continued strength in the job market with 199k new jobs added, above estimates of 190k. Market participants are also waiting on the outcome of the next FOMC meeting on December 13. Following Friday’s job numbers, investors continue to expect rates to remain unchanged until Q1 next year, but any deviation from those expectations could inject volatility ahead of the usual pre-holiday contraction.
• Dog memecoins hit new highs as Doge turns 10: Doge reached its 10th anniversary on Wednesday and celebrated by posting +18% gains over the past 7 days. Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Solana dog token BONK followed suit with gains of +20% and 225%, respectively.
• Expected ETF approvals lift bitcoin-linked altcoins: The market focus on BTC ahead of a potential bitcoin ETF approval has led several altcoins to move higher. Stacks (STX), which enables smart contracts and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications on the Bitcoin network, posted +40% gains this week. Ordinals (ORDI), a BRC-20 token focused on Bitcoin’s ordinals protocol, saw another huge run up this week, adding +140%.
• Societe Generale stablecoin EURCV lists on Bitstamp: SocGen’s crypto division developed the Ethereum-based Euro stablecoin, EURCV, to bridge the gap between traditional and digital assets and help onboard institutional market participants. The move may increase adoption of non-USD backed stablecoins.

Sign up for a Gemini account

The secure way to buy, sell, store and convert crypto. Millions use Gemini to diversify their portfolios.

Get started

Bitcoin Continues March Higher For Eighth Successive Week

Bitcoin (BTC) continued its march higher this week as it looks to post its eighth successive weekly green candle. Despite an already impressive run, BTC showed no signs of slowing down as it broke above $40k for the first time in over a year on Monday morning.

With perhaps a bit of FOMO starting to creep into the market as we edge closer to a possible US spot BTC ETF approval in January, BTC saw another quick surge above $44k on Tuesday, the first time it hit such levels since April 2022. A growing institutional interest in Bitcoin, the imminent ETF approvals, the upcoming Bitcoin halving, along with the potentially lower interest rate environment — all of which are expected during the first half of 2024 — are providing a strong tailwind to the current price action.

On Tuesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced it would open the comment period for its review of applications submitted by asset manager Franklin Templeton and crypto-native firm Hashdex. The news came earlier than expected, and was a surprise to some as the next scheduled deadline for a response from the SEC on the application was more than a month away.

Markets Calm Ahead of Potential Pre-Holiday Volatility

U.S. Indices have remained relatively quiet over the past couple of weeks, with the S&P 500 remaining in a tight range between 4,540 and 4,600. However, upcoming market data could inject some increased volatility before the usual contraction as we head into the December holidays and New Year. November nonfarm payroll numbers released on Friday pointed to continued strength in the job market with 199k new jobs added, above estimates of 190k. Markets reacted mildly to the news in early Friday trading.

The next significant event market participants are tracking is the Federal Open Market Committee's final interest rate decision of 2023, and their updated economic and interest rate projections, to be released on December 13th. Investors are currently expecting rates to remain unchanged at next week's meeting, and a ~50% chance that we see a rate cut in March next year.

Dogecoin Hits New Highs On 10th Anniversary

Dogecoin (DOGE), the original memecoin, reached its 10th anniversary on Wednesday. To celebrate, DOGE price made a run at breaking the $0.1 level, which has posed strong resistance over the past year. DOGE briefly traded as high as $0.106 on Wednesday, before losing steam along with the rest of the market, but still managed to post +18% gains over the past 7 days. In true memecoin style, other popular dog tokens were not left behind with Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Solana’s biggest canine token BONK gaining an impressive 20% and 225% respectively over the past seven days.

Altcoins Linked to Bitcoin Gain Ahead of Anticipated ETF Approvals

With much of the market's focus centered around Bitcoin in the build up to the potential launch of a US spot ETF next month, a number of altcoins linked to the market leader have gained traction recently. Stacks (STX), a project whose goal is to enable smart contracts and decentralized finance (DeFI) applications on Bitcoin, has posted +40% gains this week. In addition, Ordinals (ORDI), a BRC-20 focused on Bitcoins ordinals protocol, saw another huge run up this week adding +140%. The price of ORDI is now trading up +320% over the past month, with the token making the initial move higher following a listing on Binance.

EURCV Launches on Bitstamp To Aid Institutional Adoption

Societe Generale’s (SocGen) Euro stablecoin EUR Coinvertible (EURCV), which was first announced back in April, was launched on Bitstamp this week. SocGen’s crypto division developed the Ethereum-based Euro stablecoin in an attempt to bridge the gap between traditional and digital assets and help onboard more institutional capital. The move may also increase adoption of other stablecoins outside of the currently dominant USD-backed stablecoins.

-From the Gemini Trading Desk