The crypto market started the week in the red, with Bitcoin price diving below the key $90,000 support level for the first time in days. This retreat may continue ahead of the upcoming BoJ interest rate hike. This article looks at some of the key crypto news to watch this week.
SEC Roundtable on Privacy Will be the Key Crypto News This Week
One of the top crypto news stories this week will come from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In a statement on Friday, the agency said that it will have a roundtable discussion on privacy coins. Zooko Wilcox, the founder of Zcash, will be one of the panelists at the session.
This roundtable comes at a time when the Zcash price has jumped in the past few months, leading to a surge in other tokens like Monero and Dash. The recently launched NIGHT token has also surged over the past few days.
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Coinbase to Launch Prediction Market as Base Makes a Big Announcement
Coinbase, the biggest crypto exchange in the United States, will also be in the spotlight this week as it launches its predictions market and its tokenized stocks service.
The company hopes its prediction market will help diversify its revenue and profitability over the long term. This is happening as top companies like Kalshi and Polymarket continue to grow and attract billions in valuation.
The company also hopes that its tokenized stocks will help it compete more with companies like Robinhood and Webull. By launching its tokenized stocks, the company will enable customers worldwide to trade and invest in these companies and ETFs.
Meanwhile, Base, a layer-2 network owned by Coinbase, will make a major announcement on December 18. Analysts predict that the company will announce the launch of its BASE token.
Jupiter to Launch its Stablecoin in Collaboration With Ethena
Jupiter, one of the biggest players in the Solana ecosystem, will launch jupUSD, its stablecoin, in collaboration with Ethena.
The stablecoin will initially be backed by Ethena’s USDtb, which short-term treasuries and BUIDL collateralize.
jupUSD will be widely used within the Jupiter ecosystem, with the company planning to replace the USDC/USDT used as collateral.
Lighter May Announce Date of its $LIGHTER Token Launch
Another notable crypto news will come from Lighter, a company that recently raised money at a $2 billion valuation. Lighter has also become one of the best-performing players in the perpetual futures industry, where it has overtaken Hyperliquid and Aster.
Lighter is rumored to launch its $LIGHTER token later this month, which could mean its management will make an announcement on the date later this week. A Polymarket poll shows that the odds are that the LIGHTER airdrop will happen on December 29.
Bank of Japan Interest Rate Hike
The other key crypto news this week will be the upcoming Bank of Japan interest rate decision, with Polymarket odds of a hike rising to 98%.
A hike, which will be its first in 11 months, will have major implications, coming a week after the Fed cut rates. In most cases, crypto prices pull back after the BoJ hikes.
There will be other key crypto news this week, including top token unlocks, the launch of the Synthetix perpetual DEX network on Ethereum, the mETH upgrade by Mantle, and the launch of the MegaETH mainnet.
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