Bitcoin’s Macroeconomy Blues 😩

Plus, ⚖️ Coinbase chalks up a win, 💰 Pump.fun cashes out more SOL, 🌎 Bitfinex Derivatives finds a new home, and more!

January 08, 2025

Welcome to Wednesday! I’m Juan Aranovich, managing editor of Unchained.

In today’s edition:

  • 📉 Crypto market sheds $711M in BTC-led selloff

  • 🏛️ Coinbase wins latest SEC battle but legal war rages on

  • 🚨 Pump.fun shifts millions to Kraken

  • 🌎 Bitfinex Derivatives relocates

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What’s Poppin’?

By Tikta

Bitcoin Drops Below $97,000 as Liquidations Hit $711M

Only a day after it resumed trading above $101,000, bitcoin has dropped 6% to an intraday low of $95,521.

The negative price action comes amid a broader selloff in risk assets after the ISM Services Purchasing Managers’ Index climbed higher, triggering a spike in Treasury yields as market participants began pricing in fewer rate cuts from the Federal Reserve this year.

Ethereum saw a steeper decline, falling 8.5% in 24 hours, while large-cap altcoins such as UNI, AVAX, and HYPE all saw double-digit percentage point declines.

The wider crypto market selloff triggered around $711 million of liquidations across major exchanges over the last day, according to data from crypto analytics platform CoinGlass.

Of the total sum liquidated, $631 million was from traders betting on higher prices, while shorts saw only $79 million of liquidations.

a computer screen with a bunch of data on it

Coinbase Wins Rare Appeal in SEC Case

Crypto exchange Coinbase has edged ahead in its legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its alleged breaches of securities laws.

Judge Katherine Polk Failla granted Coinbase’s request for an interlocutory appeal on Jan. 7, effectively pausing the ongoing case.

Interlocutory appeals are not frequently granted, as courts generally disfavor the fragmentation of trials and prefer to address issues after trials are complete.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit will now determine whether the SEC’s allegations against Coinbase are valid under the country’s securities laws.

a laptop on a table

Pump.fun Sends $20M SOL to Kraken

Solana memecoin marketplace Pump.fun appears to be cashing out more SOL as its fee account sent $20.49 million SOL to crypto exchange Kraken on Tuesday, according to data from onchain analytics platform Arkham.

The fee account still holds 15,721 SOL and 101,102 JitoSOL with a total value of around $27.2 million.

In addition to a 0.02 SOL issuance fee, Pump.Fun imposes a fee of 0.5% on each trade executed through its platform.

The fee is calculated before any slippage occurs, meaning that the actual amount deducted may vary slightly based on the value of the final trade.

It also does not include any additional fees that may be charged by the Solana network or other costs associated with the Pump.Fun bonding curve.

a group of small black and purple dice

Bitfinex Derivatives Is Moving to El Salvador

The derivatives trading arm of crypto exchange Bitfinex plans to relocate to Bitcoin-friendly El Salvador.

Bitfinex Derivatives announced the move on X, saying that it had secured a new digital asset service provider license in the Central American country.

“This move strengthens our mission to deliver innovative trading solutions, especially to underserved regions in Latin America,” Bitfinex said.

El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as legal tender in September 2021 and has since grown its reserves of the digital currency to 6,010 BTC.

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  • ⚖️ U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Rostin Behnam has announced his resignation, citing years of efforts to close regulatory gaps in crypto markets, including enforcement actions against major players such as FTX.

  • 💼 Sol Strategies has secured a $25 million credit facility, investing in SOL tokens and staking operations as part of its pivot to becoming a leading participant in the Solana ecosystem.

  • 🎮 The SONIC token, tied to Solana’s layer 2 gaming solution, Sonic SVM, launched on major exchanges, reaching a $2.3 billion fully diluted valuation, with trading options on Bybit, OKX, Backpack, and Raydium.

  • 🤝 Arbitrum has deepened its partnership with South Korea’s Lotte Group, aiming to integrate blockchain infrastructure into the Caliverse metaverse platform, expanding the utility of Web3 payments for entertainment services.

Today in Crypto Adoption...

  • 🇨🇿 Czech National Bank Governor Aleš Michl has revealed an interest in adding bitcoin to the country’s reserves as a diversification strategy, but clarified that there are currently no plans for cryptocurrency purchases.

What Do You Meme?

📈 Your Market Update 📉

  • BTC is down 5.5%, trading at $95,049

  • ETH is down 7.7%, trading at $3,350

  • BTC dominance: 54.09%

  • Crypto market cap: $3.48T

*All data as of today, 07:40 am ET. Source: CoinGecko

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