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Top news of the week
SEC Rejects Bid for Spot Solana ETF – Report
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plans to reject Solana’s application for an exchange-traded fund (ETF).
According to Fox News reporter Eleanor Terrett, the agency has notified at least two of the five issuers seeking approval for the Solana ETF.
“The consensus is that the SEC will not accept new cryptocurrency ETFs under the current administration,” Terrett said on December 6.
Several asset managers have recently applied for the SOL ETF to provide investors with direct exposure to the Solana market.
VanEck was the first asset manager to file a 19b-4 application with the agency on June 27, followed shortly by 21Shares on June 28 and Canary Capital in late October. After Donald Trump won the US presidential election on November 6, Bitwise and Grayscale also applied for the SOL fund.
Ethereum price returns to $4,000 for first time since March
Ethereum price has surpassed the $4,000 price level after months of poor price performance. This is a return to levels not seen since March 2024.
Ethereum prices rose 2.8% on the day and 10.7% last week, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
Ether’s positive performance follows several months of trading below the 200-day exponential moving average, a dynamic support level. Currently, the relative strength index is around 71, entering overbought territory.
From August to early November, Ethereum experienced sideways price movements until the current rally began on November 6th due to Donald Trump’s election victory.
Analysts believe that the price of Ether could reach $7,000 during the current market cycle. This is driven by record inflows of exchange traded funds and a strong ecosystem of developers built on the Ethereum blockchain.
Bitcoin price surpasses $100,000 for the first time in history.
The price of Bitcoin has reached $100,000 for the first time in history, marking a milestone for the cryptocurrency market after a year of significant growth.
According to TradingView, Bitcoin hit a price of $100,000 on December 5, breaking the psychological level just a few weeks after reaching $90,000 on November 12.
Bitcoin also hit a new all-time high of $104,000 at 3:08 a.m. UTC. This is about 90 minutes after it surpassed $100,000.
In April of this year, along with supply shortages due to Bitcoin’s fourth halving, there was a net inflow of more than $31 billion into U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.
Republican Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election in early November, increased speculation about a strategic Bitcoin national reserve, and increased corporate adoption of Bitcoin led by MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor. Contributed to the rise in coin prices.
Trump nominates Paul Atkins to replace Gensler as SEC chairman
US President-elect Donald Trump has nominated cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins as the new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, replacing Gary Gensler.
In his Dec. 4 announcement, Trump highlighted Atkins’ career and experience as a former SEC commissioner. Trump wrote on Truth Social:
“Paul is the CEO and founder of Patomak Global Partners, a risk management consulting firm. Since 2017, he has been participating in and researching the digital asset industry as co-chair of the Digital Chamber’s Token Alliance. “As a former SEC Commissioner from 2002 to 2008, Paul was a strong advocate for transparency and investor protection.”
Nominating a pro-crypto SEC member to replace Gensler was one of the promises Trump made to cryptocurrency voters during his campaign and was a highlight of his keynote address at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee.
Hawk Tuah memecoin sold 90% in response to launch controversy
The launch of viral influencer Haliey Welch’s Hawk Tuah memecoin sparked outrage across social media as the newly launched token was briefly pumped and then quickly abandoned following a controversial distribution involving alleged shooters and insider wallets.
Welch denied any insider selling or activity on behalf of his team or affiliates.
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The Hawk Tuah memecoin was launched at 10 PM UTC on December 4 and quickly rose to a peak market capitalization of $490 million.
The token’s price plummeted, trading at a value of $41.7 million at the time of issuance, down 91% in less than three hours, according to DEX Screener data.
winners and losers
Bitcoin this weekend (BTC) It’s in $100,573; ether (ETH) to $4,024 and XRP to $2.44. The total market capitalization is $3.69 $1 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap.
Among the 100 largest cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are the Curve DAO token. (CRV) 129.67%, Hedera (HBAR) 106.03% and JasmyCoin (Jasmi) 88.70%.
The top three altcoin losers this week are Raydium. (ray) 12.23%, BONK (bonk) 8.17%, Stellar (XLM) 6.31%. For more information on cryptocurrency prices, read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.
most memorable quotes
“We apologize if you misunderstood our cryptocurrency cynicism as a declaration of support for tradfi. Because we hate it too.”
Bryce ElderAlphaville city editor, Financial Times
“As head of the SEC, Paul Atkins will bring common sense back to the agency.”
Brad GarlinghouseRipple Labs CEO
“So if you are an asset that will trade and act in a memetic style, who knows how you will value it?”
Murad MahmudovMemecoin Evangelist
“The big, breathtaking claim to regulatory dominance over the entire industry that was prophesied hasn’t happened, but they complain about that too.”
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
“We did our best to keep shooters at bay with high fees in the early days of Meteora launch.”
harley welchinternet influencer
“In fact, ARK Invest believes that Bitcoin is a much bigger idea than gold.”
cathy woodARK Invest Founder and CEO
Predictions of the Week
Ethereum to surpass Bitcoin: Bybit
Ethereum has surpassed Bitcoin in cryptocurrency spot and derivatives markets since the US presidential election on November 5 and continues to gain momentum, according to a December 2 report from cryptocurrency exchange Bybit.
In a November 2024 “Volatility Review” co-authored by market research firm Block Scholes, Bybit said in November that Ether “gained significant traction against BTC, reflected in a sharp decline in the ratio between spot prices.”
Bybit said in a statement that the growing demand for ETH options “indicates that
Ethereum’s outperformance accelerated after U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler announced his plans to resign on November 21, bringing “additional momentum and attention” to the cryptocurrency, according to the report. Since then, “
Bybit said ETH’s increasing dominance is “most evident in the field,” according to TradingView. According to TradingView, the ETH to BTC ratio increased from around 0.0325 on November 21st to over 0.04 as of December 6th.
FUD of the week
The FDIC has asked banks to ‘pause’ cryptocurrency activities. — Court documents
Court documents filed in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) show that the U.S. regulator has asked certain financial institutions to cease cryptocurrency financial activities.
In papers filed Dec. 6 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the court disclosed “cease and desist letters” sent by FDIC staff to the boards of several U.S. banks, the names of which were redacted.
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According to a letter sent in 2022, the FDIC asked the agency to “pause all crypto asset-related activities” in response to uncertain regulation of digital assets.
“The FDIC will later notify all FDIC-supervised banks once a decision has been made regarding supervisory expectations for cryptocurrency-related activities, including the need for regulatory filings,” the letter reads in part.
Potential charges Haliey Welch could face if the SEC investigates the launch of HAWK
The disastrous launch of influencer Haliey Welch’s Hawk Tuah (HAWK) memecoin this week saw the token plummet 91% in just three hours due to sniping and insider trading allegations.
Welch denied the claims and authorities have not announced any investigation.
But Welch and her team could face significant legal scrutiny if the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or the Department of Justice (DOJ) decides to investigate the controversial launch.
The SEC could file civil charges for securities fraud alleging misrepresentation or fraud in the sale of securities if HAWK qualifies as a security under the Howey test, according to Yuriy Brisov, a partner at law firm Digital and Analogue Partners. The Department of Justice may consider criminal charges, such as wire fraud or money laundering, especially if there is evidence of intentional fraud or financial misconduct.
On December 4, Welch launched the HAWK memecoin, which briefly soared to a high of $490 million before plummeting more than 90% to $30 million in a matter of hours.
Sky is being investigated over a potentially $756 million exploit flaw.
Sky, formerly known as MakerDAO, has faced criticism for relying on Externally Owned Accounts (EOA) to manage its $756 million USD coin reserves within its Light Peg Stability Module (PSM).
User Critics argue that this management model leaves funds vulnerable to potential abuse or insider misuse.
With the recent rebranding to Sky and concerns about the ability to implement freeze functionality in the future, the risk of breach or misuse of these EOA managed funds could further impact the protocol’s reputation and user trust.
Magazine Story of the Week
‘Normie degens’ goes all in on sports fan crypto tokens for rewards.
“Many people spend hours on social media or playing Candy Crush. I spend some time on Fan Tokens. “What’s the problem?” asks one sports token enthusiast.
‘China’s MicroStrategy’ Meitu Sells All Bitcoin and Ethereum: Asia Express
‘Asia’s MicroStrategy’ Meitu sold all of its 940 Bitcoin and 31,000 ETH holdings, transferring ownership to Japan’s Metaplanet, which holds 1,100 BTC. Asia Express
2025 Comeback: Is Ethereum Ready to Catch Up to Bitcoin and Solana?
Roadmap headwinds and FUD have delayed Ethereum’s price performance in 2024, but there are signs that it could reverse course in the new year.
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Cointelegraph Magazine writers and reporters contributed to this article.