Welcome to Latam Insights Encore, a deep dive into Latin America's most relevant economic and cryptocurrency news from last week. This edition examines the confusing agreement signed by El Salvador and the IMF and how Bukele's actions might jeopardize the disbursement of $1.4 billion for the country.

Metaplanet has doubled down on Bitcoin as it increased holdings to $168 million despite a recent price drop.

The cryptocurrency market is currently experiencing bearish momentum, and Ethereum (ETH) seems to be at the heart of this downturn. A major factor contributing to Ethereum's decline is the actions of Justin Sun, the founder of Tron (TRX), who has been selling off a significant portion of his ETH holdings.

Allo, a real-world assets tokenization platform, has secured $100 million in debt financing to bolster its Bitcoin-backed lending business. On Dec.

Ethereum (ETH) has remained a focal point in the cryptocurrency market, even as its price action continues to lag behind Bitcoin's recent bullish trajectory. Despite failing to secure a new all-time high, Ethereum has shown multiple positive indicators that suggest a strong foundation for future growth.

XRP was amongst the most traded altcoin on Binance this December according to CryptoQuant analyst JA Maartunn. The altcoin recorded a trading volume of more than $116.6 million on Binance Futures, outperforming other altcoins.

A Fed-sparked market rout continued in the cryptosphere, denting investors' hopes of a Santa Claus rally as Bitcoin sank further Monday.

A closely followed crypto strategist says Bitcoin (BTC) is forming a bullish pattern similar to what was witnessed earlier this year before sparking massive surges.

Cryptocurrencies fell this weekend and into today, as investors grappled with a potentially more hawkish Federal Reserve, which could lead to fewer rate cuts than hoped for in 2025.

XRP has been on an impressive growth trajectory since the U.S. elections in November 2024, with a surge of 336%, rising from $0.5035 to $2.21. This increase has reignited optimism in the cryptocurrency community, with many projecting even higher prices for XRP.

Bitcoin (BTC) has experienced a 7% decline over the past week. While this drawdown is partly due to the broader cryptocurrency market weakness, it is primarily driven by a reduction in buying activity from large investors, commonly referred to as “whales.

Besides holding some coins as part of its business of servicing clients' trading needs, the company has no plans to hold BTC.

Fed's cautious tone tempers post-election euphoria.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has raised alarms over a potential quantum computing threat to Bitcoin (BTC), describing it in a recent article as “a time bomb waiting to explode.

Kalshi users currently see a 70% chance of a Magnificent 7 company buying Bitcoin before the end of 2025.

XRP, the native token of Ripple Labs, is making waves amid ongoing market uncertainty. Over the past few days, the overall cryptocurrency market has faced downside momentum. XRP Current Outlook Despite this, XRP has held its crucial support level at the $2.15 mark for the last five trading days.

Currently, Solana ($SOL) struggles to keep the $180 range, while Ripple ($XRP) struggles to maintain a $2 price point in the recent period. Adding to the intrigue, Solana's descent from $260 to $180 has seen it surpassed by $XRP in market capitalization, a development that has shocked the entire crypto community.

An analyst has explained how Bitcoin could see a top beyond the $168,500 mark based on the historical trend in this indicator. Bitcoin Mayer Multiple Could Reveal Location Of Next Price Top In a new post on X, analyst Ali Martinez has discussed where the BTC top could lie based on the Mayer Multiple.

Nasdaq-listed business intelligence firm MicroStrategy has announced the acquisition of an additional 5,262 bitcoin at an average price of $106,662 per BTC, with the purchase costing the firm around $561 million in total.

Senator Ted Cruz, a staunch champion for crypto reaffirmed his support for bitcoin while speaking at the Turning Point Americafest Conference. In his words, “We are going to unleash crypto. I am proud to stand with bitcoin. I am the only member of the U.S. Senate who is a bitcoin miner.

XRP price has faced a notable downturn, dropping more than 8% over the past seven days after reaching its highest levels in six years on December 17. The recent decline has brought XRP closer to a critical support level at $2.17, a key price point that could determine its short-term trajectory.

Bitcoin could correct roughly 30% based on historical patterns.

Solana GameFi network Sonic will airdrop free tokens to TikTok users for joining its crypto game.

Satonomy has launched a beta platform designed to simplify the management of Bitcoin-native assets like UTXOs, Ordinals, Runes, and rare sats to address long-standing barriers to adoption, according to a Dec. 23 statement shared with CryptoSlate.

Cryptocurrency markets are trading lower on a low-volume Monday. Cryptocurrency Price Gains +/- Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) $92,996.64 -3.2% Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) $3,313.40 -0.3% Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) $184.82 +0.9% XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) $2.16 -4% Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) $0.3108 -2.5% Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) $0.00002168 -1% Notable Statistics: IntoTheBlock data shows large transaction volume decreasing by 20.6% and daily active addresses falling by 0.02%.

Bitcoin led a crypto market correction early Monday, taking BTC to the $92,762 level and putting it down over 12% over the last seven days.

Japanese investment firm Metaplanet announced another Bitcoin buy on Monday as the firm accelerates its BTC treasury strategy.

Peter Schiff's "USA coin" proposal challenges Bitcoin's decentralized model, sparking debate over the role of government-backed digital currencies.

According to data provided by CryptoQuant analyst JA Maartunn, XRP is the most traded alternative cryptocurrency on the Binance exchange this December.

In a sea of noise, the real winners of Web3 will be those who turn raw on-chain data into actionable signals for sustainable growth.

On Monday, Bitcoin treasury company MicroStrategy announced that it had spent roughly $561 million to acquire additional Bitcoin as it remains uber-bullish on the world's largest and oldest cryptocurrency. This marks its seventh consecutive week of Bitcoin purchases.

Terawulf Inc., a bitcoin miner and digital infrastructure provider, has signed agreements to deliver over 70 megawatts of data center infrastructure to Core42, a subsidiary of G42 specializing in artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud services.

Bitcoin has endured days of underwhelming price action, retreating from its all-time high of $108,364 to a local low of $92,100. Despite this sharp pullback, the price structure remains bullish, fueling optimism among analysts and traders who believe Bitcoin's rally could resume at any moment.

Hyperliquid's HYPE, following its billionaire airdrop, surged to a new all-time high on December 21 before entering a steep correction. Meanwhile, RENDER, the leading AI-focused token, has seen a sharp 20% decline over the past week, with its market cap falling to $3.7 billion.

Bitcoin's (CRYPTO: BTC) volatile trading around the $100,000 mark has left investors puzzled about its prospects for the next weeks. What Happened: Jim Bianco of Bianco Research highlighted this phenomenon in a post on X on Sunday by quoting an old Wall Street adage: "Markets will do what confuses the most people.

Bitcoin remains under pressure, but the bulls are expected to defend the $90,000 support.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) looks likely to approve a Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF) under Donald Trump's administration. With this Solana ETF approval looking imminent, there are tokens that are ready to enjoy a 5x price increase once this happens.

The CLO asked the soon-to-be Trump administration to fix the problems caused by William “Bill” Hinman. The new crypto-friendly chair of the SEC, Paul Atkins, must first focus on rebuilding confidence.

Crypto ETFs saw substantial outflows last week while Bitcoin and Ethereum prices dipped, but such products still ended the week in the green.

The cryptocurrency market is exploding with fast-growing crypto coins. Several standout projects are getting praised by investors due to the potential of the coins for massive gains. With Ripple's CEO praising the nomination of a crypto-friendly SEC chair, the potential for regulatory clarity has reignited optimism across the industry.

As we head into Christmas, the crypto sector faces brutal price action—a sharp reversal from the euphoria that marked the start of December.

The XRP lawsuit against Ripple has important court dates coming up. The U.S. Court of Appeals has set deadlines for the case. Ripple must submit a mediation questionnaire by December 23, 2024, and an opening brief by March 6, 2025. Ripple must respond to the brief by April 7, 2025. However, a potential U.S.

Bloomberg's chief commodity strategist Mike McGlone in a latest X post has shared why the Bitcoin price has reversed and went way below its recent all time high of $108,268 and has dropped even further to $93,000, at the moment.

Bitcoin (BTC) is fluctuating wildly between $92,500 to $94,000 range over the few hours, touching $92,800 earlier this morning, ahead of the largest bitcoin options expiry in history. Scheduled for this Friday, $14 billion in bitcoin options open interest (OI) is set to expire.

Deribit CEO Luuk Strijers has pointed to $84,000 as the “max pain” level for Bitcoin ahead of a significant December options expiry, suggesting the market could be pulled down to this level before finding new equilibrium. Strijers' analysis highlights the unique dynamics of the upcoming quarterly expiry, which accounts for 44% of all outstanding Bitcoin options, making it the largest options expiry this year.

A large movement of Ripple (XRP) tokens from the project's main wallet to an unknown recipient is raising eyebrows within the crypto community as it could result in further weakness in the token's price down the road. A total of 90 million XRP tokens were sent to wallets rGBvEZnsKB7EvqA2ZZEXRgdwDMn9G9aBk2 and rDK26ASe17eR4ZJafRzgJxeSJNwAhziAee on December 21.

"These types of things never go on forever and often end poorly," Steve Sosnick said of MicroStrategy's leveraged bitcoin bet.

MicroStrategy Chairman Michael Saylor announced today that his firm purchased another 5,262 Bitcoin. This buy cost $561 million and continues his plan of steady BTC acquisition.