Sam Martin

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        <ul>
                <li>BTC retraced despite positive remarks from a congressional hearing on digital assets</li>
                <li>BTC dominance hovered above a critical line of support at 40%</li>
            </ul>
    
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<p>Bitcoin&#8217;s dominance is hovering above 40%, a critical area of support.</p>



<p>The House Financial Services Committee heard from several CEOs of large crypto firms in the US this week in an effort to educate policy makers on the current state of the digital asset industry.</p>



<p>Billionaire Ken Griffin, the man who outbid the ConstitutionDAO during Sotheby&#8217;s auction of a copy of the US Constitution, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-09/ken-griffin-s-son-told-him-you-have-to-buy-the-constitution" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reportedly</a> approached the DAO to share management of the artifact prior to the auction.</p>



<p>NFTs were in the limelight today thanks to news from Pepsi and the Grammys.</p>



<h3><strong>Latest in Macro:</strong></h3>



<ul><li>S&amp;P 500: 4,667, -0.72%</li><li>NASDAQ: 15,517, -1.71%</li><li>Gold: $1,777, -0.04%</li><li>WTI Crude Oil: $70.51, -1.73%</li><li>10-Year Treasury: 1.499%, -0.045%</li></ul>



<h3><strong>Latest in Crypto:</strong></h3>



<ul><li>BTC: $47,511, -5.17%</li><li>ETH: $4,117, -7.02%</li><li>ETH/BTC: 0.0865, -1.62%</li><li>BTC.D: 40.55%, -1.13%</li></ul>



<h3>Congressional meeting on digital assets</h3>



<p>The House Financial Services Committee heard from several CEOs of large crypto firms in the US this week in an effort to educate policy makers on the current state of the digital asset industry.</p>



<p>Despite many positive remarks that came out of the hearing, BTC stumbled <a href="https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitcoin/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">below $47,500</a>. </p>



<p>Some video highlights from the hearing can be found in the following Twitter thread. (The thread contains cherry picked highlights from an anonymous Twitter user with a bias towards cryptocurrencies.)</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The recent Congressional hearing was one of the most bullish events for crypto in all of 2021.<br><br>It represented a clear change in momentum, as legislators begin to understand the true magic of the blockchain…<br><br>In this thread I’ll compile the best highlights from the hearing! 🥐</p>&mdash; croissant (@CroissantEth) <a href="https://twitter.com/CroissantEth/status/1469048148974788616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 9, 2021</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h3>BTC dominance hovers near support level</h3>



<p>BTC&#8217;s dominance, the percentage BTC makes up of the total crypto market capitalization, is hovering above 40%. This has been a long-term support level throughout 2021 as evidenced in the photo below. A breakdown of BTC dominance is indicative of other coins outperforming the world&#8217;s largest digital asset.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="468" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/FGHirH6X0AsM5wL-1024x468.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-12403" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/FGHirH6X0AsM5wL-1024x468.jpg?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/FGHirH6X0AsM5wL-1024x468.jpg?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/FGHirH6X0AsM5wL-1024x468.jpg?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/FGHirH6X0AsM5wL-1024x468.jpg?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/FGHirH6X0AsM5wL-1024x468.jpg?w=2048 2048w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/FGHirH6X0AsM5wL-1024x468.jpg?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/FGHirH6X0AsM5wL-1024x468.jpg?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/FGHirH6X0AsM5wL-1024x468.jpg?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/FGHirH6X0AsM5wL-1024x468.jpg?w=80 80w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Source: @BCBacker</figcaption></figure></div>



<p>Some other bitcoin highlights from the day include:</p>



<ul><li>Microstrategy <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001050446/000119312521352140/d270832d8k.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">filed</a> a form 8-K with the SEC, announcing the company had purchased approximately 1,434 bitcoins for $82.4&nbsp;million in cash, at an average price of roughly $57,477 per bitcoin.</li><li>Illinois Congresswoman Marie Newman <a href="https://twitter.com/StockMKTNewz/status/1468950204313481219?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">filed</a> for her purchase of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).</li></ul>



<h3>ConstitutionDAO update</h3>



<p>Billionaire Ken Griffin, the man who outbid the ConstitutionDAO during Sotheby&#8217;s auction for a copy of the US Constitution, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-09/ken-griffin-s-son-told-him-you-have-to-buy-the-constitution" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reportedly</a> approached the DAO to share management of the artifact prior to the auction. It remains unclear why the DAO&#8217;s core contributors refused to come to a compromise with Griffin to help manage the copy of the constitution.</p>



<h3>Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)</h3>



<p>There was a lot of action today in the metaverse. Some of the highlights include:</p>



<ul><li>Meta, formerly Facebook, announced that it is launching its <a href="https://www.oculus.com/facebook-horizon/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Horizon Worlds</a> virtual world application to everyone in the US, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/09/facebook-opens-horizon-worlds-vr-metaverse-app-.html?utm_term=Autofeed&amp;utm_medium=Social&amp;utm_content=Main&amp;utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1639072874" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to CNBC</a>.</li><li>Bill Gates <a href="https://www.gatesnotes.com/About-Bill-Gates/Year-in-Review-2021" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>, &#8220;Within the next two or three years, I predict most virtual meetings will move from 2D camera image grids—which I call the Hollywood Squares model, although I know that probably dates me—to the metaverse, a 3D space with digital avatars.&#8221; </li><li>Pepsi <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pepsi-announces-first-ever-brand-nft-with-pepsi-mic-drop-collection-301440901.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a> its first brand-based &#8220;Pepsi Mic Drop&#8221; NFT collection.</li><li>An NFT auction to support <a href="https://freerossdao.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">efforts</a> to free Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht raised roughly 2,837 ETH or $11,741,584.86. The art sold for 1,446 ETH or $6.2 million.</li></ul>



<p>Trading data from <a href="https://opensea.io/rankings" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">OpenSea</a> and <a href="https://solanalysis.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Solanalysis</a> of some of the top Solana and Ethereum projects can be found below:</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="335" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-09-at-6.54.39-PM-1024x335.png" alt="" class="wp-image-12408" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-09-at-6.54.39-PM-1024x335.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-09-at-6.54.39-PM-1024x335.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-09-at-6.54.39-PM-1024x335.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-09-at-6.54.39-PM-1024x335.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-09-at-6.54.39-PM-1024x335.png?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-09-at-6.54.39-PM-1024x335.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-09-at-6.54.39-PM-1024x335.png?w=80 80w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-09-at-6.54.39-PM-1024x335.png?w=1224 1224w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Top Ethereum Projects</figcaption></figure></div>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="281" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-09-at-6.54.46-PM-1024x281.png" alt="" class="wp-image-12409" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-09-at-6.54.46-PM-1024x281.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-09-at-6.54.46-PM-1024x281.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-09-at-6.54.46-PM-1024x281.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-09-at-6.54.46-PM-1024x281.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-09-at-6.54.46-PM-1024x281.png?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-09-at-6.54.46-PM-1024x281.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-09-at-6.54.46-PM-1024x281.png?w=80 80w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Screen-Shot-2021-12-09-at-6.54.46-PM-1024x281.png?w=1200 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Top Solana Projects </figcaption></figure></div>



<p>If you made it this far, thanks for reading! I am looking forward to catching up on tomorrow.</p>



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