Bitcoin has surged past the $41,000 mark, reaching an 18-month high and briefly touching $42,000, reminiscent of pre-Terra levels. The cryptocurrency recorded an impressive $815 billion market capitalization, accompanied by a substantial increase in trade volume, surging by 100% over the past 24 hours to $35 billion. This significant uptick in Bitcoin’s value has led to the liquidation of over $200 million in short positions, signaling a dynamic and rapidly changing market landscape.
El Salvador’s Bitcoin holdings have become profitable, prompting President Nayib Bukele to slam critics and doubters on the social platform X.

President Bukele emphasized the country’s commitment to the long-term vision of Bitcoin adoption and clarified that there is no intention to capitalize on the current profits. The profitability of El Salvador’s Bitcoin holdings adds to the positive sentiment surrounding the cryptocurrency market, fostering renewed hope as the ETF approval looms on the horizon.
Brazil’s biggest bank wants a piece of the pie!
On December 4, Brazil’s largest financial institution, Itau Unibanco, announced the launch of a cryptocurrency trading service for clients on its investment platform.
This marked its entry into the digital asset exchange market alongside other local players. Initially, the newly introduced service will enable clients to trade Bitcoin and Ethereum, the two leading cryptocurrencies, before integrating additional cryptocurrencies in the future.

Guto Antunes, the Head of Digital Assets at Itau, revealed, “It starts with Bitcoin, but our overarching strategic plan is to expand to other crypto assets in the future.” This signals
a strategic move to compete in Brazil’s dynamic and competitive cryptocurrency landscape dominated by both local and global players.
Is this the second coming of Solana?
Solana has surpassed major Ethereum L2 solutions, including MATIC and Optimism, in daily trading volume. Solana achieved an impressive $331 million in daily trading volume, passing Polygon at $129.42 million and Optimism at $48 million within the same timeframe.

Additionally, Solana showcased its dominance in decentralized applications (dApps) with a substantial $669 million net value locked (TVL), surpassing rival Avalanche (AVAX) at $660 million. 

The surge in Solana’s popularity can be attributed to its role in hosting popular offerings like Ordinals’ “SolScriptions” and various meme coins, contributing to increased token minting on the network.
Solana’s popularity is further fueled by active engagement in liquid staking protocols such as Jito and Marinade Finance, which attract new users and enhance liquidity.

The decentralized exchanges on the Solana network, including Raydium and Orca, have also experienced a significant rise in popularity and usage, further contributing to the platform’s flourishing ecosystem.
Top gainer of the week:  Near Protocol (NEAR) up by 26.82%⬆️

Opinions:
Fundamental Analysis:
The Near Blockchain witnessed a significant surge in daily transactions, surpassing 13.935 million on December 1. Additionally, the Near Chain achieved a remarkable milestone by generating a record-breaking $173,000 in transaction fees on the same day
Technical Analysis:
The moving average has acted as support through the rally-up. It is likely that NEAR shall test 2.15 once it undergoes market correction. The buying activity suggests that NEAR is overbought and shall correct before continuing its path up.
Oscillator indicators: 1 bearish, 8 neutral, 2 bullish
Moving average indicators: 0 bearish, 1 neutral, 14 bullish
Biggest loser of the week: Uniswap (UNI) down by 1.97%⬇️

Opinions:
Technical analysis: The moving average has acted as support through the rally. We expect UNI to attempt a breakout at 6.26. UNI could test the support region of 5.9 if current levels fail to hold.
Oscillator indicators: 1 bearish, 9 neutral, 1 bullish
Moving Average indicators: 0 bearish, 1 neutral, 14 bullish
Conclusion
The cryptocurrency market was marked with important events. The markets rallied hard, with Bitcoin reclaiming 42k after 18 months. Solana continues to impress, and Brazil’s biggest bank is venturing into the crypto rounds up the highlights of the week. There is a bullish sentiment as Bitcoin is expected to continue its trajectory upwards.
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