Layer-1 blockchain Solana (SOL) led the way in 2023 in terms of token price gains, with other altcoins Avalanche (AVAX), Stacks (STX) and Helium’s (HNT) following closely behind. Solana, which began its sharp increase in mid-October, has risen over 700% since the start of the year. HNT also made considerable gains, climbing 500%. Most of the advance came this month, following the company’s move into the mobile space. For Avalanche, there have been a number of institutional partnerships that helped lift the token some 300% year-to-date. Looking forward, analysts pointed to tokenization of real-world assets as a booming segment to watch. Chris Newhouse, a former derivatives trader and the founder of Infiniti Labs, said the “Decentralized Physical Infrastructure (DePIN) narrative” will continue to be a hot topic, with tokens such as RNDR and HNT recently outperforming the market. DePINs use cryptocurrency tokens to incentivize building of real-world infrastructure.

Solana yearly price chart (CoinDesk)

More than $1 billion in assets belonging to the founders of the bankrupt crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) have been frozen by a British Virgin Islands court, according to the firm's liquidators, Teneo Restructuring. The worldwide court order, issued Monday, applies to founders Su Zhu and Kyle Davies as well as Davies' wife, Kelly Chen, Teneo said in an email. 3AC filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in July last year after the collapse of stablecoin issuer Terra caused irrecoverable losses. Teneo has been seeking $1.3 billion and included Chen in the order to use all available avenues to maximize returns to creditors, whose claims total more than $3 billion. Zhu, jailed for four months in Singapore in September for failing to help wind up 3AC, is expected to be released this month for good behavior.

Bitcoin (BTC) neared the $44,000 level early Thursday and reversed some losses, which were caused by the sudden drop in U.S. stocks on Wednesday. The S&P 500 index fell 1.42% Wednesday, hurting riskier assets such as bitcoin. Some analysts pointed out that a correction was overdue as market indications were in overbought territory and the expiry of a certain type of options created selling pressure. Bitcoin and trending tokens such as Solana’s SOL and Avalanche’s AVAX took a hit after the broader market plunge but climbed in early Asian hours on Thursday. SOL extended gains to 15% in the past 24 hours, and the advance from a multiweek rally to over 55%.

The January launch of a bitcoin (BTC) spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) is expected to face subdued demand initially, which could lead to a "sell the news" scenario, Singapore-based QCP Capital wrote in a recent note. This could result in short-term volatility for bitcoin, which will shift the focus towards ether (ETH).

“It is likely that the actual demand for the bitcoin spot ETF at the start will fall short of market expectations,” QCP wrote. “We expect topside resistance for bitcoin in the $45k-$48.5k region and a possible retracement to 36k levels before the uptrend resumes.”

QCP writes that ether is seen as a potential secondary investment option with an anticipated market shift from bitcoin, and speculative interest in a forthcoming ether spot ETF could drive the ether price higher, even before the ETF’s actual launch.

- Lyllah Ledesma