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First Mover Americas: Optimism’s OP and Solana Rally
The latest price moves in crypto markets in context for Dec. 22, 2023.
Updated Mar 9, 2024, 5:43 a.m. Published Dec 22, 2023, 1:01 p.m.
This article originally appeared in First Mover, CoinDesk’s daily newsletter, putting the latest moves in crypto markets in context. Subscribe to get it in your inbox every day.
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Solana’s SOL neared $100 early Friday as hype for the blockchain’s speedy transactions, cheap fees and a lottery of meme coin issuances extended into a third week. Metrics show Solana has possibly been the strongest draw among on-chain traders, with trading volumes and network fees crossing those of Ethereum – which is usually the highest – on a seven-day rolling basis. Value locked on Solana applications grew in tandem, rising to $1.3 billion worth of tokens from November's $400 million to reach levels previously seen in July 2022. Also gaining was layer 2 Optimism’s OP token, which climbed 23% over the past 24 hours. Optimism’s total value locked (TVL) is approaching $900 million according to data from DeFi Llama. Bitcoin was down slightly on the day.
Hong Kong regulators said they are ready to consider applications for spot crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs). In a joint statement, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said the virtual asset environment has changed since 2018, when the SFC formulated a "professional-investors only" regulatory approach. Hong Kong has been loosening its approach to crypto this year, and the regulators' opinion on retail exposure to digital assets has shifted. In October, the SFC updated its rule book to allow a broader range of investors to engage in spot-crypto and ETF investing. Then, last month, SFC Chief Executive Officer Julia Leung said the regulator was moving toward allowing retail amid investors to buy spot crypto ETFs and would "welcome proposals using innovative technology that boosts efficiency and customer experience" provided any risks were addressed.
Crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) said it received registration as a Virtual Asset Services Provider in France, allowing it to offer a "full suite of retail, institutional, and ecosystem products and services" in the country. The registration with the Financial Markets Authority (AMF) was announced the same day as stablecoin issuer Circle said it was granted conditional registration by the regulator as France looks to attract crypto businesses. Coinbase is the third-largest crypto exchange by trading volume, according to CoinGecko, surpassed only by Binance, which is also registered in the country, and Bybit. Registration allows it to offer custody of digital assets, buying and selling of digital assets for fiat currency and trading of digital assets, Coinbase said
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What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
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Traders mull the bottom as bitcoin returns to week's lows below $86,000
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What to know:
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- Precious metals continue to get bid, with silver rushing to yet another new record and gold closing in on an all-time high.
- One analyst cautioned against reading too much into the current bitcoin price action due to year-end positioning and tax considerations.
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