In this article…

Good morning. Crypto starts pumping again, then Trump bombs Venezuela. Ffs. Let’s talk about what just happened.

• Degen Play of the Day – the US vs. Venezuela.

• Chart of the Day – the Crypto Total Market Cap because it just broke its 3‑month downtrend.

• Trade of the Day – Ethereum after that banger of a daily close.

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Chart of the Day

The Crypto Total Market Cap just broke the descending trendline after its 3‑month downtrend. This shows early signs of rotation into altcoins, as well as bullish momentum for a Bitcoin relief rally. The last time this happened, crypto rallied by 60 %. Will history repeat again?

Current crypto total market cap: $3.03 trillion (with a wick down to $2.74 trillion on November 22nd acting as a bottom for now). Flipping the $3.19 trillion level from resistance to support is the level to watch from here.

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Trade of the Day

Ethereum has potential after breaking above $3,100 on Friday. ETH posted a solid daily close above the 50‑day SMA – the first in almost three months.

• The last three times ETH has pushed above the 1‑day SMA with RSI in an upward trendline, the price has rallied at least 50 %.

• A retest of the $3,000‑$3,050 zone could happen first; if ETH holds this level, it will likely confirm the next leg up.

• A daily close above the 200‑day EMA at $3,400 would mean ETH is officially back.

If ETH continues to show positive momentum, the initial target is $3,500, turning previous resistance into support.

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Alpha Leaks

• Terawulf (WULF) – price target raised from $9.50 to $24 by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW) based on undervaluation of its BTC‑mining‑to‑HPC pivot.

• Trump Media (DJT) – planning to launch a new rewards token to shareholders in partnership with Crypto.com; tokens will be distributed based on stock holdings.

• Bitfarms (BITF) – has completely exited the Latin American market after selling its mining facility in Paraguay for $30 million; proceeds will be reinvested into AI and HPC infrastructure.

• Coinbase (COIN) – CEO Brian Armstrong posted on X the top three priorities for 2026: (1) grow the “everything exchange” globally, (2) scale stablecoin and payments, (3) bring the world on‑chain through Base.

• Tesla (TSLA) – overtaken by BYD as the world’s number‑one EV seller; BYD sales rose ~28 % to 2.26 million units in 2025, while Tesla deliveries fell 8 % year‑on‑year to 1.64 million.

• Aave – announced a new governance proposal to share off‑protocol revenue with AAVE token holders; the AAVE price jumped over 10 % following the news.

• Bitmine Immersion (BMNR) – staked another $259 million worth of ETH; CEO Tom Lee is urging shareholders to approve a “dramatic” increase in the number of shares to 50 billion to allow for more ETH purchases. The share price jumped 14 % on Friday.

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News Roundup

US Attacks Venezuela

The US launched a large‑scale strike early Saturday morning. President Trump confirmed on Truth Social:

• Successful strike carried out.

• Venezuelan leader Maduro and his wife captured.

• More details to follow at an 11 AM Mar‑a‑Lago press conference.

The timing (Friday PM / Saturday AM) gives markets roughly 48 hours to absorb the news. BTC is acting as a frontrunning sentiment indicator; at the time of writing Bitcoin is down less than 1 % and remains above its 21‑day moving average.

Potential implications:

• If the operation was purely a targeted raid, crypto markets may stabilize quickly.

• If the motive is oil‑related, further market moves (including possible oil‑price drops) could follow.

Memecoins Are Pumping Again

Memecoins added $3 billion in market cap on Friday, with several tokens posting double‑digit daily gains:

• PEPE: +23.62 %

• PENGU: +11.73 %

• FLOKI: +10.98 %

• BONK: +10.18 %

These gains pushed the total memecoin market cap back to a two‑week high of $39.45 billion. BTC dominance fell—the largest single‑day dominance drop in over a month.

Notable drivers:

• Ethereum co‑founder Vitalik Buterin changed his X profile picture to a Milady NFT, sending the collection’s floor price up ~50 %.

• Crypto trader James Wynn promoted PEPE during the holidays.

Take‑profit aggressively and protect capital with stop‑losses; the market is essentially a game of musical chairs.

Tether Becomes 5th Largest BTC Owner

Tether added another 8,888 BTC (≈ $780 million) on New Year’s Eve, closing 2025 with more than 96,000 BTC in its wallet. The company routinely uses up to 15 % of its earnings to buy BTC each quarter.

With this purchase, Tether is now the fifth‑largest BTC holder behind Binance, Robinhood, and Bitfinex, and ranks second among privately held corporate BTC treasuries.

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Degen Play of the Day

Given the US‑Venezuela situation, a quick‑profit opportunity exists on Polymarket:

Will the US invade Venezuela by…

• January 2026: 12 %

• March 2026: 15 %

Why this is likely not an “invasion” under market rules:

• The operation was a targeted raid to capture and extract Maduro.

• No reports of US forces seizing or holding territory, establishing control, or beginning occupation.

• Trump frames it as an arrest operation, not regime installation.

The market’s current 12 % “Yes” probability suggests some risk of escalation, but with a < 50 % chance, buying “No” offers a better expected return (≈ $14 profit per $100 wagered). Monitor for any follow‑up announcements that could shift odds.

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