Bitcoin Bulls March on, Avalanche's Unwavering Climb, and DOG(E) Drama

• Bitcoin bulls charge beyond $44k, printing a fresh yearly high
• DOGE surged on xAI filing but lost steam after Elon confirmed not currently raising money
• IEEE to issue blockchain skill certificates on Avalanche in India

Bitcoin's crescendo and Avalanche's trailblazing overture

The cryptocurrency markets witnessed a significant uptrend this week led by a notable rally in bitcoin. The overall market capitalization of the cryptocurrency universe surpassed $1.5 trillion, with bitcoin dominance hovering just below 54%. Among the blue chip names, bitcoin showcased remarkable strength by registering a robust 15.6% gain, while ether also posted a solid weekly increase of 9.9%. Bitcoin notably printed a fresh yearly high, breaching the $44,000 mark. Coinglass data revealed that the open interest in bitcoin options has surged beyond $20 billion, an approximately 65% skew towards call options. This data underscores a prevailing bullish sentiment among investors, indicating a strong inclination towards anticipating upward price movements in bitcoin.

Among the prominent Layer 1 (L1) blockchain projects, NEAR and AVAX demonstrated a remarkable performance by leading the pack with an impressive 27% and 24.3% rally for the week respectively, while DOT (Polkadot) and ADA (Cardano) also posted substantial weekly gains of 16.9% and 15.9% respectively. Transactions on the NEAR Protocol blockchain experienced an unexpected surge between the 1st and 2nd of December, as reported by Near Blocks. The NEAR Protocol blockchain introduced its version of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) with the launch of NEAT inscriptions in November 2023, marking a recent development in the platform's capabilities and offerings.

Avalanche, the blockchain platform behind AVAX, continued to generate positive news with strategic partnerships. In a noteworthy collaboration, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) joined forces with Avalanche Blockchain to issue immutable certificates for educational milestones in India. This initiative aims to bolster the verification process for IEEE’s extensive trainee and user base by leveraging blockchain technology. The certificates, which are tamper-proof, instant, and secure, will be managed through LegitDoc, a credential lifecycle management system developed by Zupple Labs and deployed on Avalanche's C-Chain. According to a Cointelegraph report, India boasts the second-largest membership base for IEEE outside the United States, comprising over 75,000 members.

DOG(E) drama duet

Among the meme coin majors, both Shiba Inu and Dogecoin demonstrated significant rallies of 18.1% and 17.7% respectively this week. On Tuesday, Shibarium executed a hard fork, necessitating all nodes and users to upgrade to the latest version of the protocol's software. As a part of this development, the underlying Layer 1 of Shibarium's PuppyNet, the beta testnet, underwent migration from the Goerli Network to the Sepolia Network, a strategic move aimed at aligning the protocol with other scalable and efficient infrastructures.

The surge in DOGE's value was notable, particularly on Tuesday. The surge was prompted by a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing revealing xAI's consideration of raising up to $1 billion, having previously already secured $134.7 million in funding. xAI is also known as X.AI in legal documentation.

However, this positive momentum reversed during the morning hours in the US on Wednesday after Elon Musk clarified that his artificial intelligence startup, xAI, was not actively "raising money". This scenario reflects a market phase where positive cues trigger exuberant reactions, emphasizing the sensitivity of the market to any favorable developments.

Macro pulse 

This week, within traditional financial assets, Oil futures experienced a substantial decline of 10.9% as concerns about global fuel oversupply intensified following US data revealing a larger than expected increase in gasoline inventories. Concurrently, there is accumulating evidence of a cooling US labor market, reinforcing the argument for a more accommodative stance from the Federal Reserve. The midweek report from ADP indicated a contraction in hiring across various sectors in November, with manufacturers reducing their workforce to levels not seen since early 2022. The October figures were also revised downward. Additionally, data released on Tuesday indicated a decline in job openings. The 10-year US Treasury yields continued their contraction, experiencing a decrease of 15 basis points this week. US equities remained largely unchanged while the US Dollar index demonstrated strength with a 1.4% rally. Conversely, the Gold & Silver index recorded a week on week 2.5% decline.

*Note: Weekly (7 calendar day) performance figures are as of 8am SGT on December 7, 2023 

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