This Week in Crypto: Investors Starting to Eye Crypto, Regulatory Turbulence

In Q3, the U.S. economy outpaced expectations, experiencingrobust growth with an annualized GDP growth of 5.2%.

This surpassed the estimate by Dow Jones of 4.9% by a good margin and should be good for overall sentiment in the equities markets.

However, the driving force behind the growth was primarily the surge in government spending.

In contrast, there was a downward revision in consumer spending, now standing at 3.6% as opposed to the initial 4%.

Credit Card Debt at All-Time Highs

Despite the downward revision in consumer spending, credit card debts are off the roof, currently above $1.08 trillion.

The pressing question to this is, what will happen should this trend continue? One thing that’s obvious is that credit will continue to be expensive with the Fed’s “higher for longer” policy on interest rates.

Crypto Funding Activity Gains Momentum

The positive investor sentiment for the crypto markets has reignited the trigger willingness of venture investors; deployment of capital has increased significantly month-on-month.

• Venture funding in the blockchain sector experienced a 96% month-over-month increase, reaching its highest point in six months.
• In the past week alone, digital asset investment products attracted inflows totaling $346 million, marking the most substantial weekly influx in this ongoing streak of nine consecutive weeks.

CZ Blocked From Leaving the U.S. until February

This week, a U.S. judge issued a ruling stating that former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) will be required to stay in the U.S. until February 23, 2024, when a final ruling will be made on his charges.

This should be quite a surprise for team Binance, who were expecting to see CZ return to his residence in UAE.

In the filing submitted on November 24th by the U.S. DOJ, it is stated that a maximum prison sentence would be as much as ten years.

Noteworthy Mentions

• Major Crypto Adoption Trends of 2023

  It's no secret that the majority of 2023 has been relatively quiet for the crypto market. However, despite the tough market conditions, there were still some notable adoption trends and paradigm shifts. In our latest research article, we cover the major crypto adoption trends of 2023 in detail. Here is the full link to the article.

Industry Shakers

• Genesis and DCG Reach Repayment Agreement

  Digital Currency Group (DCG) and Genesis Global, its subsidiary, have outlined a repayment plan in a recent bankruptcy filing to settle their ongoing lawsuit. DCG has already paid Genesis around $227.3 million and plans to clear the remaining $324.5 million debt by April through U.S. dollars and Bitcoin installments. An additional $275 million will be paid to Genesis by April, with DCG offering Grayscale Trust shares as collateral.

• Coinbase May Be Forced to Share Data With CFTC

  Coinbase exchange has communicated to an undisclosed number of users regarding the reception of a subpoena. This legal directive may lead to the disclosure of customer account information to the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). While Coinbase has refrained from making public statements on the issue, indications suggest that the subpoena is linked to Bybit.

• U.S. Treasury Seeks Amplified Powers to Chase Crypto Overseas

  The U.S. Department of the Treasury is urging legislators to grant the government enhanced powers, seeking unprecedented enforcement and sanctions authority over the cryptocurrency sector. This includes the capability to extend influence beyond U.S. borders and engage in transactions not directly involving American citizens. The written proposal describes it as "a set of common-sense recommendations to expand our authorities and broaden our tools and resources to address illicit activities in the digital asset space."

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