The cryptocurrency market experienced a sell-off throughout the past seven days, with the total capitalization shedding close to $200 billion during that period. Bitcoin’s price tumbled toward $93,000, liquidating hundreds of millions in over-leveraged positions in the process, as the majority of altcoins are also in the red.

Bitcoin’s price trades at a 4.5% decline compared to seven days ago and it’s currently around $93,000. This comes after a week of choppy action, where the primary cryptocurrency attempted to climb toward its peak but was stopped abruptly at around $102,000. As soon as the new week began and the expected economic details started coming in, the market plunged, alongside broader stock markets.

On Tuesday, US jobs data came in hotter than expected, making many investors fear that the ongoing rate cuts from the Federal Reserve won’t last long as inflation has been on the rise. Recall that the chairman of the institution – Jerome Powell – hinted at this as well earlier, saying that 2025 will likely see far less rate cuts.

That said, not all of it is doom and gloom. Although the majority of large-cap cryptocurrencies are in the red, AI agents continue to be the talk of the town. Most of their prices are also down on a seven-days basis but they are pumping at the slightest sign of a recovery, hinting that interest in them is still strong. Binance even listed a few of them today, highlighting the attention this particular narrative is receiving.

That said, Bitcoin’s dominance has exploded by 2% in the past seven days, emphasizing its strength relative to that of the rest of the market.

It’s interesting to see how the rest of the month will shape up, especially given that Trump’s inauguration is set for January 20th – a date watched closely by the entire industry.

Market Data

Market Cap: $3.41T | 24H Vol: $181B | BTC Dominance: 54.5%

BTC: $93,800 (-4.5%) | ETH: $3,260 (-8.7% ) | XRP: $2.29 (-6.5%)

This Week’s Crypto Headlines You Can’t Miss

Bitcoin Price Skyrockets Above $100K as MicroStrategy Announces Latest Purchase. Unlike the previous MicroStrategy purchases announced throughout November and December, the one from this week actually sparked an immediate price surge for BTC, which went to a multi-week peak of $102,000. Interestingly, it was one of the most modest MicroStrategy acquisitions in recent history, as the firm spent ‘only’ $101 million to buy 1,070 BTC.

Arthur Hayes Expects the Crypto Market to Peak in March: Here’s Why. The former BitMEX CEO believes the entire crypto market will go through a real-life rollercoaster once January 20 (inauguration day) approaches. Aside from those expected short-term fluctuations, he predicted that the current bull cycle still has some legs but will likely finish by March this year.

US Govt Cleared to Liquidate $6.5B in BTC from Silk Road, But Don’t Panic. Perhaps the biggest FUD this week came from a few reports claiming that the US had been clear to sell off $6.5 billion seized from Silk Road. Looking at the fine print, though, shows that the authorities might have already disposed of the assets, so no FUD is necessary.

US Entities’ Bitcoin Holdings Reach Massive Record: Details. On a more positive note coming from the world’s largest economy, locally based entities, such as ETFs, exchanges, MicroStrategy, miners, and others, have grown their overall BTC share – a figure that is 65% higher now than non-US-based counterparts.

Ripple Executives Meet Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago Event. With Trump set to assume office in ten days and his multiple positive promises for the crypto industry, reports are coming left and right about crypto execs meeting with the President-elect and his team. The latest to do so were two of Ripple’s chief executive – CEO Brad Garlinghouse and CLO Stuart Alderoty.

Ethereum Outpaces Bitcoin as Long-Term Holders Soar to 74.7%. Long-term holders (LTHs) seem more inclined to hold ETH for a longer period than BTC. Data from IntoTheBlock shows that 74.7% of Ethereum addresses belong to such investors, while the number for BTC’s LTH ratio is at just over 60%. However, this is expected to change if ETH’s price nears its 2021 all-time high of almost $5,000.

Charts

This week, we have a chart analysis of Ethereum, Ripple, Cardano, Binance Coin, and Solana – click here for the complete price analysis.

Solaxy, the first-ever Layer 2 blockchain for Solana, is making big waves in the crypto industry.

With its presale now raising an impressive $9.5 million, Solaxy ($SOLX) is poised to become a key player in solving some of Solana’s biggest challenges. By offering innovative solutions on Solana to enhance scalability, congestion, and transaction efficiency, Solaxy is redefining what’s possible in blockchain technology.

Currently priced at $0.001596 per token, $SOLX presents an exciting opportunity for early investors to join the project at its lowest presale price. As demand continues to grow, the price will increase incrementally, making this a limited-time offer for those looking to capitalize on its potential.

Why Solaxy Stands Out in the Blockchain Space

Solana is a high-performance blockchain renowned for its lightning-fast transaction speeds and low costs. According to Chainspect, Solana also holds the record for processing the highest TPS (Transactions per Second) – recording 7,229 TPS back in 2020.

However, the Solana network has only utilized a small percentage of its theoretical maximum capacity of 65,000 TPS. Solana’s performance is limited due to scalability limitations, and the performance is constrained during periods of high traffic – leading to network bottlenecks and downtime.

Solaxy was designed to address these limitations. Firstly, Solaxy engages in off-chain processing by offloading transactions to the L2 network. This reduces the data burden on Solana’s L1 network – leading to lightning-fast and smooth transactions. By handling transactions off-chain, Solaxy also eliminates downtime, guaranteeing uninterrupted service during network surges.

It further improves scalability through transaction bundling, which groups transactions together for more efficient processing. With its modular infrastructure, Solaxy allows developers to design customized dApps and optimize their performance. Its enhanced scalability is particularly suited to handle the high transaction volumes generated by meme coins and similar use cases.

These innovations will make Solana better equipped to handle growing demand across DeFi, gaming, and NFTs.

A Bridge Between Solana and Ethereum

Another important feature of Solaxy is that it offers multi-chain interoperability – combining the benefits of both Solana and Ethereum under one roof.

While Solana offers unmatched speed and cost efficiency, Ethereum offers unmatched versatility and security. It powers a vast ecosystem, including DeFi, NFTs, and Web3 platforms, making it the backbone of the decentralized internet.

Thus, Solaxy’s vision extends beyond improving Solana – as it aims to connect blockchain ecosystems. Solaxy leverages Ethereum’s liquidity and security while maintaining Solana’s performance advantages. This dual-chain approach expands Solaxy’s reach, allowing developers and investors to benefit from the best of both ecosystems.

Generate Up to 367% Annual Yield

One of the standout features of Solaxy is its staking mechanism, which allows investors to earn a lucrative annual percentage yield (APY) of up to 367%. Already, more than 3.1 billion $SOLX tokens have been staked, highlighting the strong confidence the community has in the project.

By staking $SOLX, investors not only earn passive income but also contribute to reducing the circulating supply, which supports price stability. This dual benefit positions staking as a cornerstone of Solaxy’s long-term value proposition.

Can $SOLX Explode? Analysts are Bullish

Meme coins have become a major force in the crypto space, with a market cap of $115 billion as of 2024. Solana itself has seen explosive growth in its meme coin market, now valued at over $90 billion.

Therefore, Solaxy is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the growing popularity of both these markets – as it offers a scalable Layer 2 network that supports high transaction volumes and creates a robust ecosystem for both traditional DeFi projects and emerging meme coins.

Some crypto analysts are optimistic about Solaxy’s potential to deliver significant returns. ClayBro, a popular YouTuber with over 134,000 subscribers, recently praised Solaxy’s innovative approach and strong presale performance.

Firstly, the YouTuber highlighted that Solaxy is raising as much as $250,000 – $300,000, on a daily basis through the ongoing presale. According to ClayBro, such a successful presale performance combined with Solaxy’s utility can make it one of the most demanded meme coins in 2025.

While this makes us wonder if a price pump could be a probability, Solaxy is also a high-risk investment. Due to the volatility that such new projects face, they may be better suited for investors with a high-risk appetite.

How to Secure $SOLX on Presale

Currently priced at $0.001596, $SOLX tokens can be purchased through the official Solaxy presale website. Additionally, Best Wallet, a leading non-custodial crypto wallet, features $SOLX in its “Upcoming Tokens” section, making it easy for investors to secure and monitor their holdings.

Payments are accepted in ETH, BNB, USDT, and even via credit card, ensuring accessibility for all types of investors. Solaxy’s rigorous audits by Coinsult ensure its smart contracts are secure, providing peace of mind for investors.

Interested investors can stay updated on Solaxy’s progress by joining its community on X and Telegram.

Visit Solaxy Presale

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Bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX has responded to recent claims by Backpack regarding the acquisition of its European arm, FTX EU, and the repayment of customer funds.

In a statement released on January 8, the failed crypto firm clarified that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court has not approved the sale of FTX EU to Backpack, nor has it been authorized to manage fund distributions to creditors.

Misleading Statement

On January 7, global crypto-trading platform Backpack announced through social media that it had acquired FTX EU and would handle creditor repayments for European customers as part of a court-approved bankruptcy process. Further, founder Armani Ferrante emphasized that the firm was committed to working with all relevant parties to prioritize the return of customer funds in the bloc.

With a presence in over 150 countries, the exchange also claimed that the acquisition had received approval from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) with plans to expand through crypto derivative services such as spot, margin, and futures trading across the EU.

However, FTX denied these claims, stating that Backpack’s press release and related website contained multiple potentially misleading information. It clarified that its subsidiary, FTX Europe AG, still holds 100% of the share capital of FTX EU.

The company also said that although a prior agreement was made under court supervision to transfer FTX EU shares to former insiders of FTX Europe, this transfer has not yet occurred. It claimed that the indirect transfer of the former to Backpack, arranged by these insiders, was done without its knowledge or the court’s approval.

Backpack Has No Role in Fund Redistribution

Further, the statement stressed that Backpack has no authorization to make distributions to any creditors or customers, including former European clients. The defunct exchange reiterated that FTX EU itself remains solely responsible for returning funds to its customers.

“FTX will not be responsible for the repayment of any funds owed by FTX EU to its former customers and expressly disclaims any responsibility for such repayment by FTX EU,” read the disclosure.

It also explained that the amounts owed by its subsidiary to its customers have also not been determined by the relevant entities.

In a related update, the outfit confirmed the effectiveness of its Chapter 11 plan of reorganization on January 3, 2025, with an initial distribution record date set for the same day. Pending regulatory compliance, distributions to convenience class claimants are expected within 60 days.

Elsewhere, on January 2, another troubled crypto firm, Celsius, filed an appeal challenging a previous ruling that had dismissed its $444 million claim against FTX. The defunct crypto lender had claimed that FTX officials had undermined its reputation, making “unsubstantiated and disparaging statements” that contributed to its downfall in 2022, asking for up to $2 billion in damages.