It was all going so well.
Bitcoiners were feeling the euphoria Monday when the biggest digital coin was trading above $100,000 per coin for the first time so far in 2025, at one point touching a high of $102,290, according to CoinGecko.
But then America’s central bank had to do what it always does: remind markets that it still runs the show. The Federal Reserve on Wednesday released its December meeting minutes, showing that its members were likely to pause on cutting interest rates in 2025 over concerns about sticky inflation brought about by the incoming Trump administration.
More bad news came on Friday, when jobs data coming out of the world’s biggest economy showed that unemployment was low, which economists generally agree means more inflation. The asset dropped as low as $91,914 on Friday.
It has since recovered somewhat, and is now priced at $94,400 per coin. Over a seven-day period, it has dropped nearly by 4%. It’s now significantly below its December 18 all-time high of over $108,000.
Calling it a volatile week is an understatement. Here's a look back at the biggest Bitcoin news.
American ETF action
After a day of monster inflows to the American ETFs on Monday, investors started pulling cash out of the vehicles—and fast.
On Wednesday, speculators pulled the most amount of money since December from the funds. Data from Farside shows that a total of over half a billion was cashed out that day—leading the price of the coin to dip.
Bitcoin and Ethereum Drop to 2025 Lows as Investors Cash Out of ETFs
After hitting a new all-time high last month, Bitcoin is back down again and touched its lowest level in weeks Thursday morning as investors cashed out of the crypto ETFs. CoinGecko data shows that the biggest cryptocurrency dropped below $92,000 per coin at 9am ET, hitting a 2025 low of $91,925. It's now up and is trading for about $93,700. Still, over a seven-day period, the asset is down by 3.5%. Investors are pulling out of the American Bitcoin ETFs, which started were approved one year ago...
Other factors are impacting Bitcoin, but the biggest ETFs trading on the world’s biggest stock exchanges in the world’s biggest economy are naturally having an significant impact.
Silk Road sale?
Over 69,000 Bitcoin seized from the Silk Road dark web marketplace—that's $6.5 billion worth now—could be headed to sale after a U.S. judge refused to block the forfeiture of the assets.
This doesn't mean that the assets will immediately be sold, as there are more steps ahead before reaching that potential outcome, but that kind of sell pressure could impact Bitcoin's market price in the future.
US Court Greenlights Sale of $6.5B in Seized Silk Road Bitcoin
The U.S. government has secured final approval in the Northern District Court of California to liquidate crypto's largest-ever federal seizure, signaling the closure of a complex four-year legal battle over billions in Bitcoin tied to the infamous Silk Road marketplace. Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg denied a motion to block the forfeiture of 69,370 Bitcoin, clearing the Department of Justice to sell the $6.5 billion assets, according to a court document filed December 30. Judge Seebo...
It also throws a wrench in the plans of folks pushing for a national Bitcoin strategic reserve, such as President-elect Donald Trump and Senator Cynthia Lummis, as seized assets could make for an ideal starting point for a proposed U.S. stash. But we'll see how quickly they move on establishing such a fund, and whether Silk Road's billions are liquidated before that happens.
Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Is Now on the Table—Here's How It Could Work
Now that Donald Trump is set to become the next president of the United States, a strategic Bitcoin reserve is in the cards. The idea was teased by Trump and several other U.S. politicians in July and early August, but lost steam following a Bitcoin price crash. One of those prominent voices is that of Senator Cynthia Lummis, a Republican from Wyoming who has been called the “Bitcoin Senator” for her vocal support of the crypto industry. She shared strategic reserve plans at the Bitcoin conferen...
More states consider reserves
On Friday, two more states—North Dakota and New Hampshire—made moves towards considering a strategic Bitcoin reserve. New Hampshire's filed legislation doesn't specifically mention Bitcoin, but BTC is the only asset that currently meets its market cap requirements. Meanwhile, North Dakota legislators introduced a resolution that serves as a precursor to a potential bill.
'Live Free or Die': New Hampshire the Latest State to Consider Bitcoin Reserve Bill
New Hampshire Rep. Keith Ammon (R) proposed a bill Friday that would enable the state’s Treasury to invest a portion of public funds into digital assets and precious metals. Not only would the move insulate the Granite State from the threat of runaway inflation, but it would also dovetail with some of New Hampshire’s cultural values, Ammon told Decrypt. “The ethos in New Hampshire is ‘Live Free or Die’—leave me alone, and don’t burden me with too many regulations,” he said. “We’re tied to the U...
Such plans would allow the local government coffers of the states to hold the coin as a reserve asset, with the hopes of, simply put, combating inflation and getting richer. Right now, a total of five states have such a plan under formal consideration: Ohio, Texas, Pennsylvania, North Dakota, and New Hampshire.
North Dakota Considers Crypto Reserve as State Bitcoin Treasuries Gain Momentum
North Dakota is the latest U.S. state to consider including Bitcoin in its balance sheets. On Friday, the North Dakota State Legislature introduced a resolution aimed at investing “select state funds in digital assets and precious metals.” Resolution 3001 aims to curb the impact of inflation on North Dakota's finances by diversifying the assets the state invests in. North Dakota Representatives Nathan Toman, Matthew Heilman, Jared Hendrix, Daniel Johnston, SuAnn Olson, and Todd Porter, along wit...
More public companies want Bitcoin
It’s not just U.S. states, either: Publicly traded companies are also keen to add the biggest virtual coin to their balance sheets.
Social media marketing company Thumzup Media announced Tuesday that it bought roughly $1 million in Bitcoin, while aerospace and defense company KULR Technology Group added another $21 million in Bitcoin to its balance sheet.
More Countries to Establish Bitcoin Reserves in 2025, Fidelity Says
Financial services giant Fidelity Digital Assets predicts several countries will begin stockpiling Bitcoin this year, bringing about broader adoption of the world's oldest crypto. Several nations could establish strategic Bitcoin reserves in 2025 to hedge against “debilitating inflation, currency debasement, and increasingly crushing financial deficits,” the firm wrote in a report on Monday. That’s because global leaders are warming up to the crypto following the U.S.’s touted plans to embrace B...
And on Friday, Nasdaq-listed spirits firm Heritage Distilling announced a Bitcoin "HODL" strategy—subject to approval from the board—that will allow it to both hold Bitcoin and take BTC payments from customers.
Bitcoin landfill saga ends
In one of the longest-running Bitcoin sagas, an engineer who lost a hard drive full of Satoshi-era mined coins received some bad news: a UK court dismissed his bid to use a team to find the “digital gold” in a Wales landfill.
UK Court Halts Hunt for Lost $750 Million Worth Bitcoin in Council Dump
James Howells, an IT engineer from Newport, Wales, has lost his long-running legal battle to recover a hard drive containing 8,000 Bitcoin valued at over $750 million. The Newport City Council has consistently denied access to the landfill where the hard drive was accidentally discarded in 2013, citing environmental concerns. In the latest setback, Judge Keyser KC dismissed Howells’ case, ruling it had “no realistic prospect” of success at trial, according to a BBC report. Howells mined the B...
James Howells lost 8,000 Bitcoin—today worth $756 million—when his ex-girlfriend threw out the device (on his orders), and has been in a legal battle with the local authority since to dig through the dump and recover the hard drive.
I lost, they won.
Might appeal.
See what happens.
It is what it is.
End of story…
For Now!!! 🤬
— James Howells (@howelzy) January 9, 2025
Despite the setback, Howells told local media he wouldn’t give up just yet—and may even launch a new cryptocurrency based on the lost coins.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
