Bitwise CIO: Cryptocurrency Set to See 10x to 20x Growth in the Next Decade

On December 11, Andreessen Horowitz’s (a16z) crypto venture fund, a16z crypto, announced it is expanding its Asia presence by opening a Seoul office and hiring Sungmo Park to lead regional operations. In a blog post, a16z crypto noted South Korea ranks as the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency market. The new office will collaborate with entrepreneurs through activities including forging partnerships, expanding distribution channels, and accelerating regional community growth. Reportedly, Sungmo Park previously served as Head of Asia Pacific at the Monad Foundation and was responsible for market expansion and ecosystem development across East Asia, Greater China, Southeast Asia, and India for Polygon Labs.

On December 11, The Block reported that Loop Crypto announced Tuesday it is partnering with Lead Bank to capitalize on expected stablecoin growth. Lead Bank—a 97-year-old community bank headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri—has recently pivoted its focus to fintech and crypto firms. The institution was acquired in 2022 by a group of tech executives led by Jackie Reses. Earlier this year, it closed a $70 million Series B funding round, pushing its valuation to $1.47 billion. Backers include Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), ICONIQ, Greycroft, Ribbit Capital, Coatue, Khosla Ventures, and Zeev Ventures. Separately, Loop Crypto revealed earlier this year it has raised a total of $6 million, with a16z also participating in the funding.

December 11 According to Coinbob Popular Address Monitor, the "BTC OG Insider Whale" (address 0xb31) added roughly 19,000 ETH to its long position from last night through 8 a.m. ET today—worth approximately $120 million. The whale’s total position now stands at $392 million, with an unrealized profit of $10.1 million (13% return). Its average entry price has climbed from $3,108 (yesterday) to $3,177 (today), and the position has a liquidation level of $2,234. This ETH long size is comparable to the $500 million BTC short the whale opened ahead of the October 11 market crash. Between the night of December 7 and the morning of December 8, the whale transferred $70 million from a Binance wallet to Hyperliquid, then opened a 5x-leveraged ETH long at an average price of $3,048. Yesterday, it added another $50 million in capital, bringing current collateral to $52.5 million. The whale is an OG address that once held over 50,000 BTC, remained dormant for 8 years, and later converte

On December 11, Valora founder Jackie Bona announced in a Wednesday blog post that her team is joining payment giant Stripe—an outfit increasingly diving into blockchain technology and the stablecoin space. Valora is a mobile-first crypto payment app built on Celo, an Ethereum layer 2 network. The startup spun out of cLabs (the development org behind the Celo blockchain) in 2021, raising $20 million at the time. A Stripe spokesperson confirmed the news, noting: “The Valora team’s expertise in crypto wallet infrastructure and on-chain developer tools will be a valuable addition to Stripe’s work in the crypto space.”

**OCC Probe Finds 9 Large U.S. Banks Restricted Crypto, Legal Industries Without Financial Risk Justification** A preliminary report from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released December 11 found that nine of the largest U.S. banks restricted or denied services to businesses in legal industries—including crypto—for reasons unrelated to financial risk. The OCC’s review focused on the business policies of major lenders: JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, First Capital Financial Corporation, PNC Bank, TD Bank, and The Bank of Montreal. At least some of these institutions imposed special restrictions or heightened scrutiny on customers in legal sectors like crypto, the agency noted. OCC official Jonathan V. Gould said the findings reflect the agency’s commitment to “ending the weaponization of finance by regulatory agencies or banks.” He added the OCC intends to hold banks accountable as the probe continues. The OCC emphasize