Key Insights
- Crypto market news has been especially interesting today, with three major developments.
- Arthur Hayes, the co-founder of BitMEX and CIO at Maelstrom believes that the crypto market will peak earlier than expected in March.
- Rostin Behnam, the chairman of the CFTC has announced his resignation.
- Ripple and Chainlink have partnered to improve the adoption of the adoption of its Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin
Crypto news today has turned up some interesting tidbits, from news to new developments.
Here are bite-sized breakdowns of some of the crypto market’s news.
Arthur Hayes Predicts Crypto Market Peak in March 2025
Many analysts who make crypto news predictions, expect the current bull run to continue until the end of 2025.
However, Arthur Hayes, the co-founder of BitMEX and CIO at Maelstrom believes something entirely different will happen.
Hayes noted in a recent blog post that the crypto market will experience a dramatic rise, followed by a crash by Q1.
He believes that the crypto market will not peak at the end of the year, but will instead complete its run by March 2025.
What’s more, this trend will be driven by macroeconomic factors like U.S. dollar liquidity dynamics.
He pointed out that the Federal Reserve’s quantitative tightening (QT), which removes $60 billion in liquidity monthly will be a key driver.
Hayes also believes that by mid-March, $180 billion will be withdrawn from the market.
At the same time, he also notes that the market will experience a temporary boost in liquidity due to adjustments in the U.S. Federal Reserve’s Reverse Repo Facility (RRP).
This will likely inject $237 billion into the economy, according to Hayes.
Going forward, crypto market news is likely to turn up more developments as Hayes’ deadline approaches.
Rostin Behnam’s Departure Leaves Crypto Regulation Unresolved
Rostin Behnam, Chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), will step down on 20 January after a four-year tenure.
The CFTC took action against some of the most high-profile crypto firms like FTX and Celsius under his tenure.
However, the CFTC often relied on enforcement and operated in a regulatory gray area during his tenure.
This is despite Behnam’s efforts to push for federal guidelines on digital asset regulation.
Behnam is speculated to be replaced by Brian Quintenz, a former CFTC commissioner and advocate for clearer crypto regulations.
The appointment of Quintenz, along with Donald Trump’s inauguration and Paul Atkins leading the SEC could pave the way to a more crypto-friendly regulatory environment.
Ripple Partners with Chainlink to Boost RLUSD Stablecoin Adoption
Per reports, Ripple has joined forces with Chainlink to expand the adoption of its Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin.
Within the partnership, Chainlink’s decentralized oracle network will provide the price data for stablecoin transactions on Ethereum and the XRP Ledger.
RLUSD, which is designed for institutional DeFi applications is aimed at connecting with Dapps while maintaining compliance.
Ripple’s move comes just as European exchanges delist USDT over non-compliance with MiCA regulations.
This shift will likely open opportunities for other compliant stablecoins like RLUSD to gain market share in Europe.
So far, early adoption data shows that adoption is growing in the new stablecoin, with tens of thousands of transactions already recorded.
Overall, as institutional interest in crypto and its innovation grows, partnerships between entities like Ripple and Chainlink show how quickly finance is moving with crypto.
However, major determinants of the future include regulatory clarity and market dynamics.