A blockchain bill called the "Deploying American Blockchains Act" has been passed by the US House Energy and Commerce Committee. The bill will direct the Department of Commerce to "enhance the competitiveness of the United States in the deployment, use, and application of blockchain technology or other distributed ledger technology." The bill has not yet been approved by the full House of Representatives. Experts say that there is currently no corresponding bill in the US Senate, which is a major drawback for most cryptocurrency legislation this year. The Democrat-controlled House of Representatives is not eager to accept any digital asset bills and is generally believed to be unlikely to change its policy. The best option for such bills may be to negotiate and merge them with other efforts into larger and more valued legislation.

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, strongly opposes cryptocurrency and stated, "If I were a government, I would shut down cryptocurrency."

a16z crypto has released a trend list for the cryptocurrency industry in 2024, which includes: entering a new era of decentralization; resetting the future of UX user experience; the rise of modular technology stacks; the combination of artificial intelligence and blockchain; P2E (Play to earn) becoming P+E (play and earn); when artificial intelligence becomes a game maker, cryptocurrency provides guarantees; formal verification becomes more accessible; NFT becomes ubiquitous brand assets; SNARK (succinct non-interactive argument of knowledge) becomes mainstream.

The city of Lugano, Switzerland has announced an expansion of its payment options, allowing for the use of cryptocurrency to pay taxes, invoices, and other community fees. Starting immediately, Lugano will utilize Bitcoin Suisse to accept Bitcoin (BTC) and Tether (USDT) as payment methods for taxes and all other municipal fees through a simple and fully automated process.

A proposal being discussed by Japan's ruling coalition would exempt companies from paying taxes on unrealized cryptocurrency gains if they hold digital assets. Under the proposed tax law change, cryptocurrencies held for purposes other than short-term trading would be exempt from corporate tax based on their market value at the end of each fiscal year.

The total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market surpassed $1.55 trillion on December 5th, with Bitcoin and Ether experiencing significant weekly gains of 14.5% and 11% respectively. Bitcoin's market capitalization surpassed that of Meta, making it the world's ninth-largest tradable asset. Despite the recent bullish momentum, retail demand for cryptocurrencies remains relatively stagnant, with some attributing this to an inflationary environment and decreased interest in credit. The premium of USD Tether (USDT) in China serves as a valuable gauge of retail demand in the crypto market, as there is no dependable indicator to track retail participation in cryptocurrencies. The influx of retail participants in the current cycle remains uncertain, with existing traders potentially migrating from offshore exchanges to Coinbase rather than new enthusiasts entering the market.

Representative Maxine Waters has called for a meeting among US legislators to discuss issues related to cryptocurrency. She hopes to organize a group of legislators to conduct more in-depth research on companies operating in the industry and study how to regulate them.

According to nonprofit research group OpenSecrets, cryptocurrency companies spent $18.96 million on lobbying in the first three quarters of 2023, compared to $16.1 million during the same period in 2022. Despite the meltdown of crypto exchange FTX, which had been a top-ten spender, the industry was on track to hit a new record for federal lobbying spending. Coinbase led the pack again, spending $2.16 million, followed by Foris DAX, which operates Crypto.com, the Blockchain Association, and Binance Holdings. The industry has been expanding in Washington to mend their reputations following a string of scandals last year, and to combat growing regulatory scrutiny, especially from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

A bill introduced by Democratic Assemblyman Herb Conaway, Jr. in New Jersey proposes that all virtual currencies issued and sold to institutional investors be considered securities under state law. The bill would only apply to transactions governed by New Jersey law and would not impact the federal Securities and Exchange Commission. Two other bills are pending in New Jersey that affect crypto, including the "Virtual Currency and Blockchain Regulation Act" which recently passed both houses of the New Jersey legislature and is awaiting action by the governor. The "Digital Asset and Blockchain Technology Act" would require the state Department of Treasury to review and approve a digital payment platform for state-approved businesses.

Data shows that the closing price of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN) was slightly higher than $141, with a 5.5% increase, and has risen 320% since the beginning of the year. Bitcoin miners Marathon Digital (MARA) and Riot Platforms (RIOT) both saw their closing prices rise by more than 8%, with year-to-date (YTD) increases of 337% and 345%, respectively. The daily increase of cryptocurrency investment company Galaxy Digital Holdings (GLXY) was close to 12%, with a cumulative increase of 155% for the year; MicroStrategy (MSTR) saw a daily increase of over 6.5%, with a cumulative increase of 288% for the year. IG Australia market analyst Tony Sycamore said that before the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States, investors will see cryptocurrency stocks as a way to obtain exposure to cryptocurrency risks. As Bitcoin prices rise, it will stimulate enthusiasm and increase trading volume and participation in the entire cryptocurrency ecosystem.