This week, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies soared in value as pro-crypto President-elect Trump’s inauguration looms, Canada could get a pro-crypto PM as Justin Trudeau announces his resignation, the EU’s final phase of MiCA went live, the National Bank of Cambodia allowed financial institutions to offer certain types of crypto services, and a Syrian NGO proposed a crypto regulation regime to help the country rebuild its war-stricken economy.
To find out more about these stories, read on.
Crypto markets surge as Trump’s inauguration approaches
Bitcoin once again broke the $100K barrier in token value, reaching $102K, on January 6, 2025.
While the so-called ‘January effect’— when traders return from the end-of-year break and flood the markets with investment capital — played a part, this surge is also due to the anticipation of pro-cryptocurrency US President-elect Donald Trump’s impending inauguration.
Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have also flourished in the new year, receiving $908M of inflows on January 3. Meanwhile, several other major cryptocurrencies have risen in value, including Ether (2%), Solana (2.4%), Dogecoin (1.5%), Cardano (2%).
Bitcoin’s surge has also increased crypto stock values. The crypto exchange Coinbase shares grew by 6.3%, while the business intelligence company, MicroStrategy, purchased 1,070 coins for $101M on January 6, and saw its shares rise 5.5%.
During his election campaign, Trump promised to make the US a hub for crypto mining and investment and establish Bitcoin as a reserve asset. He will officially take office at his inauguration on January 20.
Find out more about this story at Yahoo Finance.
Canada’s top PM candidate is pro-crypto
Justin Trudeau announced his decision to step down as both Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the ruling Liberal Party on January 6, 2025. This has paved the way for the Conservative Party opposition leader, the pro-crypto Pierre Poilievre, to take the country’s top job with a polled advantage over the outgoing PM of 24.1%.
Poilievre, who once promised a plan that would “enable Canada to become the blockchain and crypto capital of the world,” has advocated for building the country’s crypto industry several times.
His pro-crypto activities included buying a shawarma with Bitcoin at an event in March 2022, vowing to stop the Bank of Canada from launching a central bank digital currency, which he described as “risky,” in April of that year, and declaring his ownership of Purpose Bitcoin ETFs in an asset disclosure form the following month.
Trudeau, meanwhile, has faced personal and professional criticism during his tenure and has been accused of being resistant to crypto adoption. Federal elections are set to be called no later than October 2025.
Find out more about this story at Cointelegraph.
MiCA crypto regulations’ final phase is implemented
The European Union’s final phase of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) was implemented on December 30, 2024. This makes the EU the first major economic region in the world to institute a fully comprehensive cryptocurrency regulatory framework.
Since the MiCA strives for transparency and security in the EU economic region, this final iteration now covers aspects of crypto asset-related business which were not previously accommodated by existing regulations.
Specifically, the MiCA has introduced an EU-based licensing, supervisory, and compliance regime for crypto asset service providers (CASPs) and stablecoins such as asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) and e-money tokens (EMTs), as well as others.
The timing of the EU’s world-first MiCA milestone is striking: The world is steadying itself for the inauguration of Donald Trump for his second term as US President, as he has vowed to make the US a global epicenter of the crypto asset industry.
Find out more about this story at Globalgovernmentfintech.
Cambodia allows banks to offer crypto services in nod to crypto regulation
The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) will now allow commercial banks and payment service companies to offer certain crypto services. The announcement came in the form of a directive issued by the NBC on December 26, 2024.
The range of services which eligible institutions may offer are limited to so-called ‘Group 1’ digital assets, which are essentially fiat-backed cryptocurrencies or stablecoins. However, institutions must get prior permission from the NBC to start exchanging crypto for fiat, making crypto transfers between accounts, and offering custodial services.
The NBC directive is a step on Cambodia’s path towards regulating business done via cryptocurrencies and thereby falling in line with global trends around digital assets.
Find out more about this story at Khmer Times.
Syrian NGO proposes new crypto regulation regime for post-Assad Syria
The Syrian Centre for Economic Research (SCER), a non-governmental organization (NGO), has proposed a cryptocurrency policy bill for the country’s interim government. The proposal is aimed at helping to rebuild the country’s economy after years of war and the ousting of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024 and includes launching a digital Syrian Pound.
Amongst the proposals were:
- Creating a regulatory framework for governing crypto business dealings, aligned with local and global laws.
- Implementing a regulated digital Syrian Pound pegged to US Dollars, gold, and Bitcoin.
- Exploiting Syria’s low energy costs to allow the mining of Bitcoin and other digital assets.
- Allowing financial institutions, commercial banks, money exchange service providers, and start-ups to offer crypto asset-related services within clear regulatory guidelines.
The SCER also noted that it is not a part of the Syrian interim government, adding that “the transitional government has neither approved nor considered this proposal, and we do not expect them to do so anytime soon. They likely have more pressing issues to address at this time.”
Find out more about this story at Intellinews.
