Bitcoin: $46,369.97 | Dominance: 39.4% | Hashrate: 176.161 EH/s

Yesterday's post was the first with this new format and it got great reception so I will provide it again. This is a full look at everything happening through out the day in Digital Assets. This post is updated as news breaks so check back to see what else has happened. 

Saver’s Paradise: Alex Mashinsky

This Just In!
Tether freezes over $1 million worth of USDT belonging to a single address and almost 10% of all Bitcoin now held by companies and ETPs.

Multiple Publications Covered
Yesterday was Bitcoin's Birthday and Former US First Lady Melania Trump has caused quite a stir on Twitter after celebrating the 13th anniversary of the Bitcoin genesis block in a now-viral tweet.

The third-largest Bitcoin whale address added 456 BTC at an average price of $46,363.

A pilot version e-CNY, the mobile wallet for China’s digital yuan, has gone live on iOS and Android app stores in China. In addition, as Macau casinos bid for new licenses, Chinese regulators could use the leverage to introduce experimentation with the digital yuan. Authorities see it as an ideal environment to further test the use of the technology as the introduction of digital payments in casinos as a means of combating corruption.

Below the Fold
Folks, it's important to pay attention to who is talking. When you get Ray Dalio (Video) believing that Bitcoin can reach a $5T market cap, your ears should perk up. Bitcoin (BTC) is in line for "explosive" price action as derivatives markets return to form in 2022, a new forecast states. In addition, the CEO of crypto investment fund Off The Chain Capital Brian Estes predicts that Bitcoin (BTC) will replace many traditional assets and that most Ethereum competitors ultimately be shaken out.

Bitcoin turns in top performance for 2021, outperforming Gold, Commodities and other major asset classes and is projected to keep taking share according to Goldman Sachs.2021 was huge for Bitcoin as countries and companies worldwide embraced it. Bitcoin’s inflation is now more than 3x lower than the U.S. dollar’s. However, on-chain data shows Bitcoin short-term holder MVRV values have dipped below one. This trend has historically been a bear market signal.

What's Next for Bitcoin and Crypto (5 Trends to Watch in 2022):

1. More regulation. Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX CEO, believes that 2022 will bring a more clear regulatory environment for the cryptocurrency industry, not only in the US but as a global trend. In addition, he thinks the crypto industry will enjoy an increased rate of institutional adoption as a result. 
2. Bitcoin ATMs multiply
3. Environmental improvements
4. Continued Bitcoin price volatility
5. Crypto ETF approvals

Will the Crypto market cap double? In a new interview on CNBC’s The Exchange, Ava Labs chief John Wu says he believes that crypto as an asset class can grow over 111% in the next 12 months. Meanwhile, Peter Brandt, a widely followed cryptocurrency analyst well-known for accurately calling bitcoin’s 84% decline in 2018, has revealed he doesn’t believe bitcoin bulls have yet capitulated this cycle as he hasn’t seen a bottom occur with a high volume of panic capitulation. But, don’t write off Bitcoin, says Nexo co-founder Antoni Trenhcev. Every time you do, it significantly outperforms. Nexo co-founder targets Bitcoin at $100K by mid-2022.

Would you believe that after Bitcoin's bad start to 2022, Microsoft, Apple and Tesla have also beaten BTC in the past 12 months? That's okay, the race isn't given to the swift nor the strong but to the one that endures to the end; Bitcoin will get the last laugh.

That said, Bitcoin started a fresh decline from the $48,000 resistance against the US Dollar. BTC remains at a risk of a sharp decline below the $46,000 support zone. But, Bitcoin appears to have created a double-bottom pattern and BTC is trading in a short-term range between $46,300 and $51,750; technical indicators are bullish. So, Bitcoin is for buying and HODLing and experts believe DeFi is for trading.

Evedo, a platform consisting of business-to-business, or B2B, & business to consumer, or B2C, marketplaces, seeks to provide blockchain solutions for businesses and participants involved in organizing events.

Altcoins To Watch

A mix of technical, macroeconomic, and on-chain indicators point toward a price rally in the Ethereum market this quarter; $5,000 Q1? $FTM and $NEAR are the most significant gainers on a daily scale with impressive 20% price pumps. In fact, $NEAR Protocol’s native token has soared to a new all-time high above $17 amid bullish competition between various layer-1 networks - while a bullish inverse head and shoulders chart pattern suggests that FTM price could see extended upside. Austin Barack, co-founder of VC heavyweight CoinFund, explains why he is optimistic about Fantom (FTM) blockchain. 

Meanwhile, the Solana ($SOL) blockchain has reportedly suffered another distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. Total value secured in the Chainlink network exceeded $75B in 2021 and Chainlink has more than 1,000 partnerships and integrations today. The three main growth areas in 2022 are CCIP, staking and the abstraction layer for enterprises. Also, according to the data provided by analytics bot, two big ETH whales have scooped up $11.3 million worth of Chainlink ($LINK.) Uniswap has become the first decentralized app running on the Ethereum blockchain to cross $1 billion in yearly revenue. Seven under-the-radar Altcoins explode 75% or more over past week while Bitcoin and Ethereum consolidate: $FXS $TSHARE $TOMB $DPX $PLEX $RAIL $LIT. $RBN price targets a new all-time high after its V2 launch and recent support for AVAX.

Analyst's Corner
Market analyst Krüger predicts a bullish momentum in January for Bitcoin and Pundits believe the streak of profit-taking is coming to an end. Traders are anticipating a bullish year for Bitcoin given the cyclical nature of the asset. In a new video, the analyst known as Guy tells his 1.83 million YouTube subscribers that a bear market will begin but only if one or a combination of several key factors comes to pass: Spot Bitcoin-ETF and Regulation. The pseudonymous trader known as Cantering Clark tells his 99,000 Twitter followers that Bitcoin‘s recent price action looks similar to when it was trading near $30,000 before it ultimately more than doubled in price in less than three months. Pseudonymous crypto analyst Capo tells his 229,500 Twitter followers that he expects an upcoming “spring” movement from Bitcoin, the largest crypto asset by market cap; also thinks $LUNA and $HTR will do well.

CNBC’s Brian Kelly is bullish on $MANA, $AXS, and $SAND. Pseudonymous crypto strategist Pentoshi tells his 453,500 Twitter followers that he’s looking for a deep pullback on smart contract platform Solana after its explosive run from $1.51 in January 2021 to its current price of $168.32. However, Michael Van de Poppe tells his 159,000 YouTube subscribers that layer-1 altcoins such as Solana ($SOL) and Avalanche ($AVAX) had a “massive” 2021, and he expects the crypto sector to continue growing in 2022; also $ATOM $DOT $CRV. Speaking of Curve, CRV has broken out from a descending resistance line and there is support and resistance at $5.95 and $8.60 CRV is in wave three of a five wave upward movement.

Alfred Chuang, the general partner at venture capital firm Race Capital, has said the entity is bullish on Bitcoin and decentralized finance platform Solana ($SOL) stating that the two assets fall in the categories that will continue driving excitement in cryptocurrency trading.Benjamin Cowen doubts Bitcoin will have a parabolic Q1, predicting that the top crypto asset will be “somewhat range-bound for a while. Cardano, Ethereum Have Taken On NFT Space and Are Moving Forward: Bloomberg Expert Eddie van der Walt.

Doggie-Coin Watch
Shiba Inu fights FTX token in battle for biggest Whale holding as close to 10 million Shiba Inu coins was burned in the past 24 hours, making it slightly over 41 percent of the total supply burned already. Meanwhile, 110 billion Shiba Inu (SHIB) tokens have been purchased by a prominent Ethereum whale. As part of the Shiba Inu (SHIB) burn effort, nine companies have decided to collaborate in order to burn a specific percentage of profits or a specified monetary amount into the official SHIB burn wallet. Shiba Inu finally wants to drop the MemeCoin tag with the launch of its own Blockchain as adoption rate wobbles. Shiba Inu or Dogecoin? UFC Superstar Chuck Liddell Reignites Memecoin Rivalry.

Mining

China’s crackdown on crypto mining has allowed Kazakhstan to quickly fill the void by offering cheap fuel and a welcoming business environment.

COMPASS MINING’S NEW OPERATIONS MANAGER ON HOME BITCOIN MINING, POWER AGREEMENTS AND S9 LEASING

Follow Dat Money
Blockchain gaming community raises $1.4MM to help typhoon victims in the Philippines. Binance Labs leads $12M round for DeFi platform WOO Network. Crypto infrastructure startup Cion Digital raises $12MM in seed funding. NFT-focused holding company Metaversal raises $50MM Series A. Crypto funds attracted $9.3B in inflows in 2021 as institutional adoption grew.

Regulation
Former CFTC chair, J. Christopher Giancarlo, proposes a means for unifying crypto regulation from divided SEC and CFTC. The total number of jurisdictions with an absolute ban or severe restrictions on crypto has more than doubled over the past three years, and there are few signs that this trend is slowing down. Case in point, a bill aimed at providing a legal foundation for the cryptocurrency market has been submitted to the Peruvian Congress, which will now debate the plenary legislation to approve it. Following a recommendation from the Technical Committee on "Emergency Measures for Energy Supply," Kosovo's minister of Economy has decided to ban crypto mining. But, the Estonian Ministry of Finance has issued a statement and FAQ to calm fears of a crackdown on cryptocurrencies within the country. El Salvador could approve bill package to support Bitcoin bonds. MPs in the UK are calling for a more comprehensive regulatory framework for crypto assets and the Advertising Standards Authority is set to issue crypto advertisement guidelines. The MPs want crypto to be included in the review of the 2005 Gambling Act.

Exchange Talk
Coinbase chief product officer Surojit Chatterjee is the latest to publish his predictions for the crypto industry in 2022, and he foresees major advances in the scaling of Ethereum. That's not all, Coinbase CEO reportedly buys LA mansion for $133M. The commercial for the crypto exchange (Crypto.com) has been airing since late October. Some people are just now noticing - are you? Grayscale, which is owned by crypto deca-unicorn DCG, said that it would remove Bancor and UMA from the index and add AMP. Bitcoin exchange balances trend back to historic lows as BTC withdrawals resume in January. Cardano's Asset REVU Debuts On CEX Heavyweights KuCoin and Gate.io.

Lightning Speed: Taproot And The Lightning Network, A Match Made In Heaven

Web 3
Game Industry Will Rapidly Adopt NFTs Despite Backlash: Sandbox COO Sebastien Borget. NFTs continue to roar as data shows that OpenSea has generated more than $700 million ($13B Valuation) in sales this year, putting the NFT marketplace on track for another record month; in fact Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), a collection of coveted non-fungible tokens (NFTs), has now generated more than $1 billion in total sales.

Chinese Tech Giant Baidu is Launching its Own Version of the Metaverse. Consumer electronics manufacturer Netgear is adding NFT support to its Meural smart frame, through an integration with crypto wallet MetaMask. DeFi Platform Dot.Finance Migrating to Polkadot Parachain.

It's not normal to find people willing to pay someone $10K to adopt an NFT but it just happened and Pomp highlights it on The Best Business Show. Design studio Daz3D is tackling the metaverse's lack of inclusion with Non-Fungible People, a collection of 8,888 utility-packed avatars. Also, Crypto Memes in 2021: Remembering, Crying and Laughing. Would you believe, you can create your own Cryptocurrency (Token) without a single line of code? 

DeFi lending platforms continue to attract capital in 2022. ADALend, a pioneering decentralized lending protocol that leverages Cardano (ADA) blockchain for instant loans, is now indexed by CardanoCube. The co-founder of MakerDAO, Rune Christensen, has called Terra's UST and MIM solid Ponzi schemes that will turn into nothing as market conditions change.

Lastly, Bogdanoff crypto-meme twins pass away at age 72 and indicted Republicans and a dead Belarusian — what happened to Organic Fresh Coin? Angel investor pays off victims of alleged Bitcoin Ponzi Africrypt.

Top 3 Podcast: 
The Wolf of All Streets: The Richest Person In Crypto Gives His 2022 Predictions | Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX
The Breakdown: 13 Years On, The Significance of ‘Chancellor on the Brink of Second Bailout for Banks’
Blockworks Empire: 2022 Crypto Predictions with Santiago and Yano

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