Investing.com-- Bitcoin rose on Friday, extending a recovery from a price rout seen over the new year holiday as traders sought more clarity on the U.S. regulatory outlook under incoming President Donald Trump.
Stablecoin Tether was a main point of focus this week, as it logged its worst decline in market capitalization since the 2022 FTX crash after the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets law came into full effect in late-December. Several European exchanges, as well as Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN), pulled the stablecoin from their platforms over compliance concerns.
Broader crypto markets were battered by a wave of selling in the final week of 2024 as traders locked in a stellar run of profits through the year. But some caution also crept into markets, especially on the notion that U.S. interest rates will fall at a slower pace in 2025.
Still, the prospect of friendlier regulations under Trump kept crypto markets relatively upbeat, with Bitcoin also staging a recovery from its year-end lows.
Bitcoin rose 1.2% to $96,852.7 by 23:41 ET (04:41 GMT), briefly rising past $97,000 earlier in the day.
Tether hit by MiCA implementation
USDT clocked a 1.4% drop in market capitalization over the past week to about $137 billion, with the decline coming largely after the implementation of MiCA in the EU.
The law establishes strict regulations for stablecoin issuers within the bloc, including new requirements for capital reserves and liquidity. The law also requires stablecoin issuers to gain a license to operate in the EU.
USDT is by far the world’s biggest dollar-pegged stablecoin, and is an integral part of the crypto market in that it facilitates a bulk of transactions. This exposure could mitigate the overall impact of MiCA on USDT, given its prevalence in the crypto market.
Crypto price today: altcoins rise after stellar 2024
Broader crypto prices extended their recent recovery into Friday, with most major altcoins logging strong gains after a weak start to the year.
But despite their year-end losses, most major altcoins were sitting on stellar gains through 2024, as investors bet that friendlier regulations under Trump will draw more capital into cryptos beyond Bitcoin.
World no.2 crypto Ethereum rose 1.1% to $3,454.56, while world no.3 crypto XRP rose 1.6% to $2.4405.
Solana, Cardano and Polygon rose between 0.4% and 2%, while among meme tokens, Dogecoin added 2.1%.