Today in crypto, Michael Saylor has tipped crypto miner MARA Holdings to be next in line among Bitcoin firms to join the Nasdaq 100, Thailand’s former Prime Minister says Thailand should explore crypto to remain competitive and Coinbase has been slapped with a $1 billion lawsuit.
Saylor expects MARA to be ‘the next’ Bitcoin firm to join Nasdaq 100
MicroStrategy founder and Bitcoin bull Michael Saylor has tipped crypto miner MARA Holdings to be next in line among Bitcoin firms to join the Nasdaq 100.
“Thanks Fred. I expect $MARA will be the next,” Saylor said in a Dec. 14 X post, responding to MARA Holdings’ chairman and CEO Fred Thiel, who congratulated Saylor on MicroStrategy’s inclusion in the Nasdaq-100 Index, announced on Dec. 13.
MicroStrategy is expected to join before the trading day begins on Dec. 23.
“Congratulations to $MSTR and @saylor for being the first Bitcoin treasury company to join the Nasdaq 100,” Thiel said.
Thiel said MARA is “working hard to get there.” The crypto miner has spent more than $600 million on Bitcoin in the last two months, according to a Dec. 2 filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
Being included in the Nasdaq 100 means the company is one of the 100 biggest on the Nasdaq by market capitalization. MicroStrategy closed the trading week on Dec. 13 with a market cap of $94.77 billion, according to Financecharts data.
Meanwhile, MARA clocked a market cap of $7.32 billion.
Former Thailand PM says country should explore crypto
Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Prime Minister of Thailand, said that Thailand should explore cryptocurrencies and continue its sandbox experimentation due to the global trend toward digitization and the proliferation of digital currencies.
The former PM added that protectionist trade policies from the incoming Trump administration, and Trump’s proposed idea of paying the national debt with Bitcoin were also reasons to explore alternative currencies. In a translated statement, Shinawatra said:
“There are already many cryptocurrencies. Some people say that in the future, we will have more currencies than countries. Today, Thai people must think and understand this.”
Thailand has been exploring various efforts to digitize its economy, including a crypto regulatory sandbox in August 2024 and a cross-border tokenization program with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).
Coinbase slapped with $1 billion lawsuit
BiT Global Digital Limited has sued cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase for undermining the market for Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC)
According to the lawsuit, which was filed on Dec. 13, BiT Global alleges that Coinbase’s decision to delist WBTC was a back-handed attempt to promote its own competing product, known as cbBTC. Coinbase is accused of attempting to monopolize the wrapped Bitcoin market and using predatory practices to undermine WBTC.
Coinbase delisted WBTC on Nov. 19, claiming that the product failed to meet its listing standards.
The lawsuit takes exception to the fact that Coinbase delisted WBTC while at the same time adding speculative memecoins to its platform.
“We believe this decision sets a terrible precedent for everyone in the cryptocurrency space,” said attorney Kevin Kneupper. “If an exchange of Coinbase’s size can delist a cryptocurrency just as it plans to launch its own competing product, who’s safe? And who’s next?”
The lawsuit is seeking damages of more than $1 billion.
