Don't look now – Bitcoin’s gaining fast

Political leaders in Washington, D.C. are signaling a $900 billion stimulus package is coming. Around the same time news of an imminent this-time-for-real agreement was breaking, Bitcoin burst through the $19,500 barrier. BTC shot up to nearly $19,800 as of Wednesday morning (EST). That's a 2.5% gain over 24 hours and the hour-to-hour moves are in the holiday spirit – evergreen.

Bitcoin, back in the saddle, riding high on a ridge – it’s just a lasso-toss away from snagging $20,000 horns.

CoinDesk data has pegged BTC's all-time high at $19,920, reached on Dec. 1.

Here’s an early-morning tweet that caught our eye (and Decrypt's) – TheCryptoDog, barking, “It's going to be a big day.”

A snowstorm was bearing down on America’s Eastern Seaboard and temperatures were plummeting. Meanwhile, several altcoins, packing up like pensioners, have bolted south. Although, the largest of the coins not called Bitcoin is trending to the north. Ethereum being up 2% was an exception as mid-week doldrums set in for Cardano, Stellar and XRP, all down over the past 24 hours. Litecoin and TRON are dead flat.

XRP is particularly subdued. Its price has declined nearly 10% since the snapshot-start of the just-finished airdrop of Flare Network's Spark (FLR). No, XRP isn't above $0.55; nor, sadly, is it above $0.50. However, as of Wednesday morning (EST), the price of the token that is closely associated with Ripple was above $0.45. Barely.

You know LINK and DOT, YFI and UNI, SUSHI and PICKLE, AAVE and DAI; but do you recall ... the most impressive DeFi coin of all? Over the past 24 hours, that distinction goes to UMA which has surged by about 30% to about $9.30.

UMA enables DeFi developers to build synthetic assets.

Last month, a new program, "Developer Mining," went live, paying out rewards to developers who launch successful products i.e. those that gain traction.

UMA is looking to attract talented blockchain developers, by fostering an environment conducive for what the project refers to as the “bootstrapping of protocols.”

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has today announced a temporary registration regime for crypto firms. It’s being called the Temporary Registration Regime.

If you are running a crypto company in the UK – and have already applied for the FCA’s permission to continue to do so, but have not heard back yet – as of Jan. 9 (provided your new temporary paperwork had been made permanent) you are formally deemed as being in an ongoing-assessment phase set to end on July 9, 2021, at which time the TRR is replaced by some new regime; or; alternatively; a new temporary one.

If you are running a UK-domiciled crypto company – but failed to meet the Dec. 15 deadline to be part of the TRR – you have about two weeks to shut it all down.

The moves cap a year in which the FCA has continued to pursue an agenda of strict crypto regulatory actions.