😅 A Massive Debut 💥
Plus, 🌊 a flood of stablecoins, ⚔️ the battle of wrapped bitcoin providers, 🤝 Andy Barr’s crypto promise, and more!
Happy Wednesday! I’m Juan Aranovich, managing editor of Unchained.
In today’s edition:
🔝Bitcoin hits new all-time high
👋 Coinbase drops WBTC
💧 Stablecoins surge to $174.7B
🚀 A pro-crypto agenda
🌐 USDS lands on Solana
🔗 BlackRock’s BUIDL gets a DeFi boost
With over 20 licensed or regulated assets on-chain and a global ecosystem of 400k+ ramps, Stellar is the network of choice for real-world asset tokenization.
What’s Poppin’?
By Sage D. Young, Veronica Irwin and Tikta
Bitcoin Hits New All-Time High as IBIT’s First-Day Options Trading Volume Nears $1.9 Billion
Bitcoin rallied to a new record high of $94,000 on Tuesday after options trading for a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) saw a big first day of trading.
BlackRock’s bitcoin ETF — the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) — was the first to be cleared and approved for options trading. After going live, the fund’s first day of options traded “just shy of $1.9 billion in notional exposure” via 354,000 contracts, said James Seyffart, Bloomberg ETF analyst, on X.
“This included 289,000 Call options and 65,000 Put options, resulting in a Call-to-Put ratio of 4.4:1,” he said. These options played a role in bitcoin’s move to a new all time high, he added.
Options trading for other bitcoin funds is expected to come later this week. Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley said options trading on the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) would begin on Wednesday — the same day that options trading on the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) goes live.
Coinbase to Delist WBTC Next Month
Crypto exchange Coinbase plans to delist the wrapped bitcoin (WBTC) token from its platform on Dec. 19.
The decision was due to the token not meeting the exchange’s “listing standards” after a recent review, said Coinbase in a post on X.
WBTC, now under a multi-jurisdictional custody agreement overseen by BitGo and its new key stakeholder Justin Sun, has a market capitalization of around $13.5 billion and is the largest tokenized version of bitcoin on Ethereum.
Coinbase recently launched its own wrapped bitcoin token, cbBTC, which has amassed a market capitalization of $1.4 billion.
“We regret and are surprised by Coinbase’s decision to delist WBTC,” said the WBTC team in a statement, urging Coinbase to reconsider its decision to suspend trading.
“We have maintained active communication and full cooperation with all due diligence processes, including with Coinbase, to ensure that our product meets all compliance standards,” the team added
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Stablecoin Supply Hits Record $174.7 Billion, Boosting Crypto Liquidity to All-Time High
The supply of stablecoins — tokens designed to stay pegged to the value of another asset, typically the US dollar — reached a record high on Tuesday, boosting the liquidity of the crypto industry.
Liquidity refers to the ease with which a trader can buy or sell an asset, such as a cryptocurrency, without substantially impacting the asset’s price.
Since Election Day, the market cap of stablecoins has increased by roughly 6% from $164.8 billion to $174.7 billion, according to data from blockchain analytics firm Artemis.
Andy Barr’s Pitch for Financial Services Committee Chair Reaffirms Support for Crypto
This week, Kentucky Republican Representative Andy Barr began distributing a pamphlet that describes what his policy priorities would be as House Financial Services Committee Chair.
In it, Barr promises to advance legislation which would “foster innovation in fintech and digital assets” within his first 100 days.
Sky Launches USDS Stablecoin on Solana
Sky, formerly known as Maker, has launched its USDS stablecoin, formerly known as DAI, on the Solana blockchain.
“As the first major DeFi-native stablecoin on Solana, USDS unlocks new opportunities for lending, borrowing and trading across the ecosystem's top DeFi platforms,” said Sky in an X announcement.
Sky is offering up to $500,000 of USDS in weekly rewards and incentives to boost adoption.
The stablecoin will be available on various Solana platforms, including Kamino Finance, Drift Protocol, and Save Finance.
USDS is being made multichain with the help of Wormhole's native token transfer framework. The Wormhole bridge will allow USDS holders to transfer their tokens to Solana, with an additional $100,000 USDS in incentives for this process.
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Securitize and Elixir Launch DeFi vaults for BlackRock’s Tokenized Fund BUIDL
Securitize and Elixir are launching a liquid staking token (LST) for tokenized securities, including BlackRock’s onchain money fund “BUIDL,” according to an announcement on Nov. 19.
Elixir’s deUSD RWA Institutional Program unlocks enhanced yield opportunities for real world assets, said Securitize in a press release.
The DeFi vaults will be based on the Ethereum network's ERC-4626 standard, which will allow BUIDL and other RWA holders to access decentralized finance (DeFi) using deUSD as the primary currency.
BUIDL is a tokenized fund that invests primarily in short-dated U.S. Treasury bills and similar low-risk, interest-bearing securities. It is currently the largest fund of its kind, with approximately $540 million in assets under management.
Daily Bits… ✍️✍️✍
🏀 Basketball star Shaquille O’Neal agreed to an $11 million settlement in a class action lawsuit over his promotion of Astrals NFTs, which plaintiffs claimed were unregistered securities.
🇰🇷 South Korea plans to enforce a 20% crypto gains tax in 2025, while significantly raising the exemption limit from $1,795 to $35,919 to address prior criticisms.
🏛️ Trump has chosen Howard Lutnick, the CEO of financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald and who is known for backing Bitcoin and stablecoins, to lead the Commerce Department, signaling potential crypto-focused economic strategies.
🎰 BIT Mining settled bribery charges by paying $10 million to US authorities after admitting to illicit payments for a Japanese casino bid, reflecting financial struggles after shifting to crypto mining.
🤖 Community uproar hit ai16z’s ecosystem after competing Eliza-themed AI tokens launched, causing market confusion, price crashes, and accusations of insider trading by key players.
Today in Crypto Adoption...
🇸🇻 El Salvador’s first tokenized U.S. Treasuries offering opens doors for locals to invest in T-Bills, expanding crypto integration into traditional finance.
The $$$ Corner…
📊 OpenLayer, a blockchain startup by ex-Robinhood engineers, raised $5 million to build AI-powered data sharing tools that bypass Web2 restrictions, enabling more personalized and decentralized apps.
💱 Barter secured $3 million to enhance its DeFi AppChain, aiming to streamline liquidity and trade settlements for decentralized finance platforms.
What Do You Meme?
📈 Your Market Update 📉
BTC is up 1.4%, trading at $92,569
ETH is down 1.5%, trading at $3,091
BTC dominance: 57.02%
Crypto market cap: $3.24T
*All data as of today, 07:48 am ET. Source: CoinGecko
Recommended Reads
Fortune: The SEC's Gary Gensler must refrain from doing more harm to crypto on his way out the door
CoinDesk: After Binance's $4.3B Lesson, Do Rival Crypto Exchanges Risk Running Afoul of U.S. Rules?
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