The cryptocurrency sector's valuation hit a new all-time high of $3.5 trillion on Monday. Bitcoin Dominance (BTC.D) fell to a three-month low of 57%, showing investors are leaning towards altcoins. Cryptocurrency market liquidations on Monday reached $647.46 million, of which $428 million in long liquidations accounted for 66% of the losses.
Altcoin market updates: TON rises to the top as BTC rise puts pressure on altcoins
Bitcoin price failed in another attempt to break above $100,000 on Monday as investor attention remains biased towards the altcoin market. Microstrategy, despite another big purchase from Ethereum (ETH), Ri
ple (XRP) and Litecoin (LTC) all outperformed BTC within the daily time frame.
Ripple (XRP) price reaches its first peak in 3 years
On Monday, XRP price rose more than 20%, passing the $2.7 milestone for the first time since 2021. The rise in XRP prices was driven by WisdomTree, a major asset management company, which officially filed with the SEC for a spot XRP exchange. Traded funds (ETFs).
Ripple (XRP) price trend December 2, 2024
Amid the rally, XRP's market capitalization exceeded $150 billion, overtaking Solana and USDT to become the third-largest cryptocurrency.
Litecoin (LTC) price also rose 16% on Monday, driven by positive sentiment surrounding WisdomTree's XRP ETF filing.
With President Trump poised to replace Gensler with a crypto-friendly candidate, investors are making long-term bets on assets with ETF applications in progress, including XRP, LTC, and SOL.
Ethereum (ETH) price fell 3%, falling below the $3,600 support as investors shifted their funds to better-performing altcoins.
Chart of the Day: Privacy Coin Reaches $7 Billion Market Cap After TornadoCash Ruling
A recent U.S. appeals court decision overturning sanctions against Tornado Cash has reignited interest in privacy-focused cryptocurrencies. A US appeals court has declared the US Treasury overstepped its authority by sanctioning Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixer accused of facilitating money laundering, according to Reuters.
The ruling emphasized that Tornado Cash's immutable smart contracts are not “property” under federal law, setting a precedent for distinguishing between decentralized protocols and traditional assets in the regulatory framework. The decision was hailed as a victory for advocates of decentralized finance and privacy rights in cryptocurrencies.
Privacy Coin Sector Performance | December 2, 2024 | Source: Coin Gecko
In response to this ruling, privacy-focused cryptocurrencies rose sharply. The sector's market capitalization rose 10.2% within 24 hours to more than $7 billion.
This shows that investors are increasingly interested in assets that prioritize anonymity and trading privacy. Tornado Cash (TORN) led the way with a 25.2% increase, showing renewed confidence among privacy coin enthusiasts.
Among the best-performing privacy coins, Monero (XMR), Zcash (ZEC), and Dash (DASH) stood out. Monero, a privacy-focused blockchain technology pioneer, rose 6.6% in the past 24 hours, reflecting solid use cases and a $3.18 billion market cap.
Zcash rose the fastest among the top coins, rising 24%, driven by advanced privacy features such as zero-knowledge proofs. Dash also posted a 17.5% increase, supported by strong trading volume of $756 million. Taken together, these assets highlight the growing demand for privacy-protecting cryptocurrencies in the wake of regulatory clarity.
Latest crypto news:
European Central Bank (ECB) releases second progress report on digital euro
The European Central Bank (ECB) has published its second progress report on the digital euro, highlighting progress on the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) framework and the unified payments system across the euro area.
The report outlines updates to the Digital Euro Scheme rulebook and highlights efforts to streamline CBDC payments to improve interoperability within the euro area.
Furthermore, the ECB is in the process of selecting potential providers for key components of the Digital Euroinfrastructure, an important step towards operational readiness.
To strengthen user adoption and capabilities, the ECB actively conducts user research and forms innovation partnerships.
These efforts aim to explore advanced features such as conditional payments that could expand the use cases of the digital euro.
The ECB plans to publish key insights from these studies by mid-2025, demonstrating its continued commitment to ensuring a digital euro meets the needs of both consumers and businesses.
Marathon Digital (MARA) issues $700 million in bonds and buys more BTC
MARA Holdings announced plans to issue $700 million in zero-coupon convertible bonds due in 2031.
The offering is open to qualified institutional investors and is intended to fund strategic expansion, including the repurchase of existing convertible notes and the acquisition of additional Bitcoin.
The company also offered initial purchasers the option to obtain up to $105 million in additional notes, reflecting its confidence in the demand for the offering.
MARA Holdings plans to allocate up to $50 million of its net proceeds to repurchase a portion of its outstanding bonds, with the remaining funds to support the expansion of Bitcoin reserves and general corporate initiatives. .
Japanese cryptocurrency exchange DMM Bitcoin goes into liquidation after $320 million hack
Japanese cryptocurrency exchange DMM Bitcoin has announced its decision to liquidate following a devastating loss of $320 million due to a private key hack in May.
The breach resulted in the theft of over 4,500 Bitcoins, and despite extensive efforts, the exchange was unable to recover the stolen funds.
As a result, DMM Bitcoin has decided to cease operations and end its business.
