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- > Bitcoin brushes off the dust
- > 21Shares unveils Bitcoin/Gold exchange-traded product in London
- > New York City ex-Mayor Eric Adams’ crypto project crashes
- > South Korea pushing to greenlight institutional crypto investment
Bitcoin brushes off the dust
2025 registered as Bitcoin’s first year of negative performance since 2022, with the project sinking as low as $84k USD. With December a month categorised by stalling trading volumes, macroeconomic uncertainty and weak sentiment, the market was an interesting watch as it moved into the new year.
The first verse of 2026 is currently being written, and, so far, it’s been a hit for Bitcoin and friends. BTC has climbed 11% YTD in pursuit of the $100k USD price milestone, while Ethereum (13%), XRP (16.6%) and Solana (18%) have delivered strong results.
There are a few catalysts behind the early-year push, from both a macroeconomic and industry lens. Institutional flows into spot Bitcoin ETFs swung positive this week, while US inflation data landed largely as expected, with some economists suggesting inflation may have peaked.
And of course, it wouldn’t be a Monday in the crypto world without Michael Saylor’s Strategy announcing a new Bitcoin purchase – this time to the tune of $1.25 billion USD.
The question many analysts will ponder over the coming weeks is whether the current uptrend is a relief rally, or if it has legs to carry through Q1 2026.
21Shares unveils Bitcoin/Gold exchange-traded product in London
Fund manager 21Shares has listed a new type of investment product, being one of the first institutions to offer a fund comprising both Bitcoin and a traditional asset.
The weighted Gold/BTC product was made available on the London Stock Exchange earlier this week, aligning with a bump in the overall crypto market. The product will be actively managed every month depending on the performance and volatility of Gold and BTC. Essentially, the fund will prioritise exposure to the less-volatile asset, which according to 21Shares, yields 5-7% better performance compared to a static 50/50 split.
The convergence marks another milestone for the digital asset industry, further inking Bitcoin’s status as a serious investment option for the TradFi world. BOLD, the ticker for the fund, is already listed on several European stock exchanges. But given the London Stock Exchange is one of the biggest financial markets in the world, the international community will watch with interest to see investor appetite for such a product.
New York City ex-Mayor Eric Adams’ crypto project crashes
Earlier this week, ex-NYC Mayor Eric Adams unveiled his new crypto project, labelled NYC Token. Targeting younger local residents, the purpose of the project was to educate the city’s children around blockchain technology, while providing an additional source of income to assist with local initiatives. According to Adams, the coin was also intended to help ‘fight anti-semitism’ within the city. It’s worth noting that no official New York representative is affiliated with the project.
Uptake for the coin’s release was strong. In a matter of hours, the project’s market cap had soared to nearly $600 billion USD. However, not long after take-off, many in the community began crying foul as founding liquidity was pulled from the trading pair, as the token plummeted 80+%.
The management team behind NYC Token has denied any involvement in a ‘rug pull’, instead suggesting the liquidity transactions were a necessary rebalancing due to high investor uptake.
South Korea pushing to greenlight institutional crypto investment
South Korea has long been one of the stricter nations when it comes to crypto trading – at least for institutions. It’s been almost a decade since the nation’s financial regulators banned corporate investment in digital assets, with some estimating this resulted in hundreds of billions of money leaving the nation.
However, it was revealed this week that South Korean financial authorities are looking to allow institutional investment in digital currencies. The nation may support listed firms and professional investors exposing up to 5% of their capital into cryptocurrencies.
The framework will be tightly guarded, with only the top 20 digital assets sorted by market capitalisation available for purchase.
Like much of the world, South Korea has been slowly edging toward more clarity around digital asset trading – especially from the lens of TradFi institutions. Earlier in 2025, the nation began allowing entities to sell their crypto holdings.
It is expected the new changes to institutional crypto holdings will be enacted in the first half of 2026.
Ben Knight
