Stay in the loop with our weekly crypto digest as we get you up to speed on the hottest trends and events in the crypto space.
Here’s what happened in crypto this week:
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse Says The “Trump Bull Market Is Real”
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse expressed confidence that Donald Trump’s election as President of the United States will boost the cryptocurrency industry, including Ripple.
Garlinghouse also pointed to the “Trump bull market,” which he believes offers a positive outlook for cryptocurrencies like XRP. He further mentioned that the “Trump effect” is already revitalizing the crypto space, both through his campaign and the Administration’s early priorities.
Pro-crypto Lawyer John Deaton Offers To Probe Operation Chokepoint 2.0
Pro-crypto lawyer John Deaton is calling for an investigation into the revival of Operation Chokepoint.
He believes that the controversial initiative is being resurrected under a new guise and highlights the potential for financial institutions to discriminate against crypto-related businesses, stifling innovation and progress in the sector.
Operation Chokepoint was originally launched by the US Department of Justice in 2013 and aimed to target businesses deemed as “high-risk” by cutting off their access to banking services.
Phantom Wallet Denies Rumors Of Token Launch Or Airdrop
Phantom Wallet, a popular non-custodial wallet on Solana, recently ended rumors about a potential token launch. Many influencers have been speculating about an upcoming airdrop for users, but Phantom has clarified that it has no plans to launch a token.
While acknowledging the excitement around the token idea, the wallet emphasized improving the user experience rather than creating its own token.
Polymarket Users Wager Correctly On Canadian Prime Minister’s Resignation
Prediction market Polymarket accurately predicted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s resignation on January 6th, with odds of 80% before the official announcement. Rumors of Trudeau stepping down had circulated over the weekend, fueled by local media reports, but Trudeau confirmed the decision in a press conference, stating that the Liberal Party would choose its next leader through a nationwide process.
Polymarket also gave a 91% chance that Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre would succeed Trudeau as prime minister. Poilievre, known for his pro-crypto stance, gained attention during the Canadian truckers’ protest amid COVID-19 lockdowns.
Korea’s Jeju To Issue NFT Tourist Cards To Boost Gen Z Visitors
The island of Jeju in South Korea has announced that starting in the second half of 2025, it will offer visitors new “resident cards for digital tourism” in non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
According to Maeil Business Newspaper, Korean tourists visiting Jeju can enjoy various benefits thanks to the new NFT tourist cards.
This move is to attract the attention of Gen Z visitors, and the Island plans to increase the rate of revisitation thanks to the use of digital tourist identity cards for residents.
Microstrategy Kicks Off 2025 With 1,070 Bitcoin Purchase Announcement
MicroStrategy has announced a fresh purchase of 1,070 Bitcoin made in the last two days of 2024.
The company revealed the purchase on Jan. 6, stating that it spent approximately $101 million in cash between December 30th–31st, 2024.
The acquisition was made at an average price of roughly $94,004 per BTC, according to a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
Nvidia’s Mini ‘Desktop Supercomputer’ Is 1,000 Times More Powerful Than A Laptop
Nvidia ($NVDA) has introduced the Project Digits personal computer, priced at $3,000, offering performance approximately 1,000 times greater than that of a typical laptop.
At its core, this powerful system features the Nvidia GB10 Grace Blackwell Superchip, designed to enhance data transfer efficiency by integrating multiple components into a single chip.
The superchip combines an Nvidia Blackwell graphics card, an Nvidia Grace processor, 128GB of memory, and 4TB of SSD storage, providing cutting-edge computing capabilities.
Decentralized finance (DeFi) and Web3 applications demand strong real-time data processing and analytics infrastructure. The superchip’s advanced features could help these platforms scale and perform seamlessly.
The computational power of the Nvidia Grace Blackwell Superchip is ideal for executing complex smart contracts, especially those that require substantial computations, such as financial derivatives or large-scale NFT ecosystems.
With its performance being 1,000 times greater than typical laptops, Project Digits has the potential to speed up blockchain validation, mining, and transaction processing, which is especially important for high-throughput blockchains and advanced consensus mechanisms.
Czech National Bank Considers Bitcoin For Reserve Diversification
The governor of the Czech National Bank, Aleš Michl, has shown interest in Bitcoin as one of the components of the bank’s foreign exchange reserves.
Speaking to CNN Prima News, Michl suggested purchasing “a few Bitcoin” could be done as part of diversification. Any such move would have to be approved by the CNB’s seven-member board.
Eventually, bank board member Janis Aliapulios added that, while there are no plans to purchase Bitcoin, at least for the time being, the governor will not rule it out in principle.
Court Calls ‘Time Out’ On SEC’s Lawsuit Against Coinbase
District Judge Katherine Polk Failla has granted a Coinbase motion for an interlocutory appeal in their lawsuit against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a January 7th ruling.
Judge Failla claimed that the parties seek clarity on an “important legal issue,” although they “tussle” over which court has the proper tools to clarify.
As a result, Coinbase can now appeal the SEC accusations to the Second Circuit of the US Court of Appeals. Court proceedings will remain halted until a decision comes out on whether an investment contract requires an actual contract.
Ripple Partners With Chainlink To Boost RLUSD Stablecoin In DeFi Markets
Ripple’s blockchain-based payment platform has formed a partnership with Chainlink. According to a press release, the move is expected to boost the Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin’s utility and access to decentralized finance (DeFi).
The new partnership would link Chainlink Price Feeds to offer a more secure and accurate source of RLUSD pricing information on the Ethereum mainnet. This would allow developers to seamlessly integrate the stablecoin into their DeFi applications for various use cases, including trading and lending.
It is also worth mentioning that Chainlink’s infrastructure has been battle-tested by large financial institutions. Notably, its transaction value now amounts to $18 trillion.
US DOJ Cleared To Sell $6.5B In Bitcoin Seized From Silk Road
The United States Department of Justice has reportedly approved the sale of over 69,000 Bitcoins seized from the dark web site ‘Silk Road.’
A Twitter/X user named db (@tier10k) quoted a US government official saying, “Today, the US government received approval from the Department of Justice to sell $6.5 billion worth of Bitcoin seized from Silk Road.”
As the possibility of a large-scale Bitcoin sell-off from the United States increased, the price of Bitcoin also plummeted.
Terra Founder Do Kwon’s Trial Set For 2026
Korean crypto mogul Kwon Do-hyeong will stand trial on criminal fraud charges in the US in January next year as the co-founder of Terraform Labs has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Kwon allegedly orchestrated schemes to defraud purchasers of Terraform cryptocurrencies from 2018-2022. According to his indictment, the 2022 crash of Terraform’s cryptocurrencies erased over $40 billion in losses to numerous investors in the United States and around the world.
Final Thoughts
So that’s it for this week!
To stay ahead of the game with the freshest crypto news and insights delivered straight to your inbox, consider subscribing to UseTheBitcoin’s newsletter today.
Have a fantastic week ahead!
