CoinDesk 20 Index: 3,920.07 +7.45%
Bitcoin (BTC): $94,843.89 -0.54%
Ether (ETH): $3,605.55 -0.19%
S&P 500: 6,047.15 +0.24%
Gold: $2,639.49 +0.18%
Nikkei 225: 39,248.86 +1.91%

Bitcoin remained sedate, trading either side of $95,000, frustrating bulls anticipating another attempt at breaking above $100,000. BTC is trading around 0.9% lower in the last 24 hours. The broader digital asset market, as measured by the CoinDesk 20 Index is more than 6% higher following outsize gains from XRP and ADA. The lackluster bitcoin price movement could be a sign of market exhaustion amid suggestions the U.S. government may move to liquidate some of its holdings. The latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data is due today, with expectations that vacancies rose to 7.48 million in November from the previous 7.44 million. A hotter-than-expected number could lift the dollar, lead to reduced bets on a Fed interest-rate cut and put pressure on BTC.

XRP is up nearly 14% in the past 24 hours, outperforming bitcoin and all other crypto majors, CoinDesk data show. The token flipped SOL and USDT in quick succession over the weekend to become the third-largest token by market cap. XRP prices have zoomed 430% in the past 30 days, reaching price levels last seen in 2018. The rise started in early November after the Republican victory in the U.S. election. Large holders are playing a key role in contributing to the move. CryptoQuant data shows whale activity — which tracks movements from large wallets to and from exchanges — has been consistently elevated in the past month, multiples higher than any other period.

The Ethereum blockchain's transactional revenue has increased substantially since Donald Trump's U.S. election victory, Steno Research said in a Monday report. The surge has led to higher staking rewards and more ether being burned via transaction fees, the report said. Steno noted that the amount of USDT on the Ethereum network surpassed supply on the Tron blockchain for the first time in more than two years. This is a clear sign that on-chain activity is booming, resulting in greater demand for ether to facilitate transactions and higher transactional revenue. The number of daily transactions on Ethereum layer-2 networks is also growing, and Steno said it expects this upward trend to continue.

Polymarket bettors are giving only an 11% chance that Microsoft shareholders will approve a motion for the company to buy bitcoin.

Michael Saylor, the founder of MicroStrategy, the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, pitched the MSFT board on the idea, saying its current treasury strategy involves "surrendering" cash.

Bettors on the crypto prediction market Polymarket are not confident that his pitch will be successful.

In October, a proposal from the National Center for Public Policy Research urged Microsoft to add bitcoin to its balance sheet as a diversification investment. The board recommended shareholders vote against it, arguing that crypto lacked the stability to be part of the treasury of a company the size of MSFT.

One Polymarket bettor argued that there wasn't really a point for institutional investors to want Microsoft to add bitcoin to its balance sheet because there are already so many options for gaining bitcoin exposure. That wasn't the case when Microstrategy started buying.

"They're just making their value assessment more difficult by muddying up safe investments (MFST) with volatile ones (BTC)," trader Oxymirin wrote, who holds a position on the 'no' side worth $2000.

- Omkar Godbole