Today's news tips:
South Korea’s top regulator dismisses discussion of creating national Bitcoin reserve
Lutnick's firm in talks with Tether to launch $2 billion Bitcoin loan program
Hong Kong ZhongAn Bank launched a virtual currency trading service on its App today
Axie Infinity developer Sky Mavis announces 21% layoffs, affecting around 50 employees
Binance will launch 1000WHY and 1000CHEEMS USDT perpetual contracts
U.S. Bitcoin spot ETFs saw a net inflow of $3.38 billion last week, reaching a new high in weekly net inflows
Solana Network Monthly DEX Transaction Volume Exceeds $100 Billion for the First Time
Data: Tether has minted more than 15 billion USDT so far in November
Regulatory News
South Korea’s top regulator dismisses discussion of creating national Bitcoin reserve
According to Cryptonews, the head of South Korea's top financial regulator has "temporarily" dismissed the idea of establishing a national Bitcoin reserve. Kim Byung-hwan, chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea, made the remarks in a television interview on November 24. Kim Byung-hwan said that Seoul "does not need" to "hoard cryptocurrencies" as promised by US President-elect Donald Trump, and South Korea will wait for other countries to react to Trump's cryptocurrency adoption plan before taking action; our first priority is to study how to better protect (domestic cryptocurrency) investors; the FSC does not believe that BTC and other currencies can bring benefits to the national economy; the regulator will "investigate" this wave of "cryptocurrency fever", "focus on" and "closely monitor" suspected "unfair trading" behavior.
Project News
Trump's Commerce Secretary nominee Lutnick's company is in talks with Tether to launch a $2 billion Bitcoin loan program
According to Bloomberg, Howard Lutnick, the Commerce Secretary nominated by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, is exploring strengthening financial ties with the company that operates the world's largest stablecoin Tether, and plans to launch a $2 billion project to provide dollar loans to customers with Bitcoin as collateral. The report quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that Lutnick's financial services company Cantor Fitzgerald is discussing obtaining Tether's support to help finance the project, which could amount to tens of billions of dollars. Tether reportedly uses Cantor's holdings of billions of dollars in U.S. Treasuries to support the value of its stablecoin, and this relationship helps Lutnick's company earn tens of millions of dollars each year.
Later in the day, news emerged that Lutnick, the nominee for U.S. Secretary of Commerce, plans to hand over Cantor’s Tether business relationship to his colleagues.
Hong Kong ZhongAn Bank launched a virtual currency trading service on its App today
According to Ming Pao, digital bank ZA Bank announced that it has become the first bank in Asia to provide cryptocurrency trading services to retail users. Starting today, it will provide two virtual currencies, Bitcoin and Ethereum, for trading in Hong Kong dollars and US dollars on the App. After opening an investment account with ZA Bank, Hong Kong residents need to complete risk assessment and other processes before they can buy and sell the two currencies on the app. The entry fee is US$70 or HK$600, and the commission for each transaction is US$1.99 or HK$15. The platform fee is 1.5% of the transaction amount (the minimum fee for each transaction is US$1.99 or HK$15). The bank will waive the commission by the end of June next year, and the platform fee will also be reduced to 0.8% of the transaction amount.
Axie Infinity developer Sky Mavis announces 21% layoffs, affecting around 50 employees
According to Techinasia, Axie Infinity developer Sky Mavis announced a 21% layoff. With a global team of about 250 people, this decision will affect about 50 employees. Nguyen Thanh Trung, co-founder of the company, said that financial constraints were not the reason for this decision, and the move was part of a refocus on core products and long-term strategy. Affected employees will receive severance pay and job placement support.
Starknet: Integration phase for STRK staking phase 1 now underway
According to Starknet’s announcement on the X platform, the integration phase of STRK staking phase 1 has now begun. Starknet is deploying the system on the Starknet mainnet and it is expected to be completed within a few hours. Starting tomorrow, validators can start integrating with the staking contract. For users (delegators), you need to be more patient; the delegated UI and dApp will be ready on Tuesday, November 26.
Michael Saylor: MicroStrategy's Bitcoin revenue reached $5.4 billion in the past two weeks
According to Cointelegraph's repost of MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor's interview on the X platform, he said that MicroStrategy's Bitcoin revenue reached US$5.4 billion in the past two weeks, with a daily revenue of about US$500 million.
Later in the day, Michael Saylor wrote another article suggesting that he might continue to increase his holdings of BTC.
Andrew Kang: The DeSci field is currently like the DeFi era in early 2019, and has invested in BIO Protocol
Andrew Kang, partner of Mechanism Capital, posted on the X platform in the early morning: "The current decentralized science (DeSci) field feels like the DeFi era in early 2019. Although everything is still in its infancy and very experimental, everyone involved can feel its huge potential. Current projects may not use the same model or products in the future because they are being developed through iterations. Maker, Synthetix, and Aave were also some bulky small-cap projects in 2019, but now they have grown into large protocols. Here are some of the most interesting projects I think: BIO Protocol, Pump Science, GLP1." In addition, Andrew Kang added that he has participated in the latest round of investment in BIO Protocol.
Murad: A Meme project community worth investing in should have six characteristics, including multiple resistance to declines and diamond hands
Meme ecosystem KOL Murad wrote on the X platform that the essence of investing in Meme is actually investing in "people". The key is to find a Meme community with the following characteristics: - People who work hard every day - More than 6 months - Withstood multiple declines - The number of holders increases every month - The target amount exceeds 20 billion US dollars - Large distribution + diamond hands.
ai16z: DAO partners have decided that ai16z and AI Combinator will be completely separated
ai16z announced on the X platform that DAO partners have decided to suspend all distracting AI trader shipping matters in order to focus 100% of their energy on $ai16z and $degenai. ai16z and AI Combinator will be completely separated, and we wish Ryze Labs the best progress in accelerating AI agents. ai16z also stated that its technology is open source and can be used by anyone for free, and it will always be the case.
Fundstrat Digital Asset Strategy Director: The current premium of Korean kimchi is about 0%, which may indicate that BTC still has room to rise
According to Yahoo Finance, Sean Farrell, head of digital asset strategy at Fundstra, said in his latest client report that "friends and family" are starting to ask about cryptocurrencies again. Judging from quantifiable market indicators, the current situation does not show the bubble of the March rebound or the cyclical peak at the end of 2021. For example, the current kimchi premium indicator data in the Korean market is about 0%, indicating that Korean traders lack over-excitement. Normally, if the market reaches its peak, the kimchi premium will soar to more than 10%. The rise in the past week should not be regarded as a purely speculative boom, and Bitcoin may still have room to rise.
CryptoQuant CEO: MSTR Bitcoin holding premium has returned to the level during the 2021 bull market
Ki Young Ju, founder and CEO of CryptoQuant, posted on the X platform: "The premium of MicroStrategy (MSTR) Bitcoin holdings in the US stock market has returned to the 2021 bull market level. Data shows that the MSTR premium peaked in mid-2021, but never fell below zero in the last bear market. In contrast, GBTC fell to a discount price of -48% in the bear market, and eventually triggered a crisis as leverage was unwound. Michael Saylor knows how to deal with leverage. During the 2022 bear market, he kept MicroStrategy stable and effectively managed BTC's market risks." In addition, Ki Young Ju said, "The bull market in 2021 is the world of cryptocurrency novices, while 2024 is the world of traditional finance and cryptocurrency veterans. This is a different game, and absurd events are much less likely to happen."
Vitalik: The crypto industry needs to create some meaningful applications with a lot of user participation, rather than just issuing coins and doing exchanges
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said in an interview with Tencent News (Qianwang) that OpenAI has now become CloseAI. Today, another problem has arisen: First, they sacrificed their open source for security; then this year, they sacrificed their security for profit. Last year, the company and the board of directors clashed, and after the conflict, it seemed that Sam Altman (CEO of OpenAI) won. Recently, they announced that they would change from a non-profit to a for-profit company, and reduce the power of the board of directors - it can be said to be reduced to the level of advisors. This makes me more worried. This reminds me of a sentence from a founding father in the United States: You cannot sacrifice freedom for security. If you do this, you will find that you will have neither security nor freedom. Look at OpenAI's behavior, it seems that this has happened. In addition, for the crypto field, Vitalik said that a problem in the crypto field in the past five years: everyone's dreams and hopes are high, but technology cannot achieve most of the dreams. Regarding how Crypto can save the world, the first possibility may be Crypto + Decentralized AI; the second possibility may be Crypto + a technology that can replace AI. To a certain extent, the prosperity of artificial intelligence in the past two years will cool down the Crypto industry. I have a worry: if the smartest people don't do Crypto, the people who stay in the Crypto field may not have any interesting ideas, and the only application is the financial application that everyone has been doing for many years. This will become a situation - issue a coin, set up an exchange; issue another coin, set up an exchange; issue another coin, and this coin has a cute dog on it - these things are fun, but if they are the only ones in our industry, then this industry has failed. The challenge facing our industry is to make an application that is meaningful and that many people like to participate in. However, this year, the power of Crypto has increased a lot, and many developers have begun to want to make some applications that are meaningful and that many users like to participate in. If the field of Crypto continues to be successful, many people will still choose to participate in Crypto.
Later in the news, Vitalik said that the crypto industry needs applications such as anoncast that focus on specific functions.
Binance will launch BNBUSDT and SOLUSDT monthly options
According to the official announcement, Binance Options will launch BNBUSDT and SOLUSDT monthly options at 16:00 on November 26, 2024 (Eastern Time 8).
Zircuit’s ZRC token now has trading restrictions lifted
Layer2 project Zircuit announced that its token ZRC will be available for trading today at 18:00 (UTC+8). According to token economics, the total supply of ZRC is 10 billion, of which 21% is allocated to community rewards, including 7% for airdrops in the first quarter, 3% for airdrops in the second quarter, and 2.45% for other activities. The token allocation for the team and investors has a 12-month lock-up period, and then is released linearly over 24 months. The first unlockable ratio is 21.95%, including 10% for airdrops in the first and second quarters, and the rest covers community, ecological development, and foundation purposes.
Binance will launch 1000WHY and 1000CHEEMS USDT perpetual contracts
Binance Futures will launch perpetual contracts at the following times, with a maximum leverage of 75x. 19:30 (ET on November 25, 2024): 1000 WHYUSDT perpetual contracts; 19:45 (ET on November 25, 2024): 1000 CHEEMSUSDT perpetual contracts.
After Binance announced the launch of 1000WHY and 1000CHEEMS USDT perpetual contracts, both WHY and Cheems plummeted by more than 30%.
Financing News
Singapore's Gulf Bank is looking to raise at least $50 million and acquire a stablecoin payments company
According to Bloomberg, people familiar with the matter revealed that Singapore Gulf Bank (SGB), backed by Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat and Singapore's Whampoa Group, is seeking to raise at least US$50 million in a round of financing and plans to acquire a stablecoin payment company next year; the bank obtained a license in Bahrain in February this year and is currently in talks with a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund and other investors, planning to sell less than 10% of its equity by early 2025; the funds raised this time will be mainly used to accelerate product development, enhance the bank's payment network and recruit more employees; the bank plans to acquire a stablecoin payment company in the Middle East or Europe in the first quarter.
Important data
Data: Tether has minted more than 15 billion USDT so far in November
According to data disclosed by Cointelegraph on the X platform, stablecoin issuer Tether has minted more than 15 billion USDT since November 2024.
ETH whale donates 70 ETH to Ethereum Meme distribution platform jump.fun
On-chain data shows that a whale holding more than 2,500 ETH has donated 70 ETH to the Ethereum Meme issuance platform jump.fun; as of now, the donation amount of jump.fun has exceeded 738 ETH. jump.fun is an Ethereum-based Meme issuance platform that aims to inject new solutions into the ETH Meme ecosystem through one-click token issuance and initial 6ETH liquidity loans.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs are expected to surpass Satoshi Nakamoto’s BTC holdings by the end of the year
According to Beincrypto, crypto analyst HODL15Capital said that Bitcoin ETFs currently hold about 1.081 million bitcoins, slightly lower than Satoshi Nakamoto's estimated 1.1 million. In addition, Eric Balchunas, a senior analyst at Bloomberg, said that the spot Bitcoin ETF has now completed 98% of its pace to catch up with Satoshi Nakamoto. He predicted that if the current inflow rate continues, this goal could be achieved by Thanksgiving. In addition, Bitcoin ETFs are also narrowing the gap with gold ETFs, which currently have $120 billion in assets under management (AUM). Balchunas said that Bitcoin ETFs have $107 billion in assets under management and may exceed gold ETFs by Christmas.
10x Research: Upbit’s daily trading volume reached $14 billion last weekend, comparable to the South Korean stock market
10x Research noted in its market analysis that South Korean exchange Upbit, which accounts for 80% of the local market share, had a trading volume of $14 billion on both Saturday and Sunday, up 48% from its 7-day moving average, which typically includes higher weekday trading volumes. In contrast, the trading volume of all South Korean stocks was $14 billion. This is different from the speculative boom observed in March, when South Korean retail trading volume reached $16.2 billion in a single day, and the current market is experiencing several consecutive days of abnormally high trading volumes.
Musk's net worth hits record high, reaching $348 billion
Tesla CEO Elon Musk's net worth hit a record $347.8 billion on Friday, according to financial reports, partly because Tesla's stock price continued to rise, and partly because his artificial intelligence startup xAI's valuation rose to $50 billion in a new round of financing. Since Trump's re-election as US President, Musk has squeezed into the core circle of politics with the halo of his so-called "first best buddy", and the valuations of many of his companies have soared. Tesla's stock price rose 3.8% on Friday, reflecting the market's continued optimism that the Trump team's plans for autonomous driving and electric vehicle subsidies will give the company an advantage over its peers. Tesla has risen 45% since November 4, the day before the election, and the company's market value has increased by about $350 billion. Meanwhile, xAI's valuation has more than doubled since its financing in May, and Trump's victory has stimulated more investor interest. Trump also watched the SpaceX launch with Musk on Wednesday. People familiar with the matter said the company is in preliminary discussions about a private placement of shares, and the valuation is expected to increase to about $255 billion. As the world's richest man, Musk's wealth has surged 35% since the day before the election.
U.S. Bitcoin spot ETFs saw a net inflow of $3.38 billion last week, reaching a new high in weekly net inflows
According to SoSoValue data, last week's trading day (November 18 to November 2, Eastern Time), Bitcoin spot ETFs had a net inflow of $3.38 billion last week. Among them, Grayscale ETF GBTC had a weekly net outflow of $52.85 million, and the current historical net outflow of GBTC is $20.33 billion. The Bitcoin spot ETF with the largest weekly net inflow last week was BlackRock ETF IBIT, with a weekly net inflow of $2.05 billion, and the current total net inflow of IBIT is $31.33 billion. The second is Fidelity ETF FBTC, with a weekly net inflow of $773 million, and the current total net inflow of FBTC is $11.54 billion. As of press time, the total net asset value of the Bitcoin spot ETF was US$107.488 billion, the ETF net asset ratio (market value as a percentage of the total market value of Bitcoin) was 5.48%, and the historical cumulative net inflow has reached US$30.843 billion.
CoinShares: Digital asset investment products saw a net inflow of $3.13 billion last week
According to the latest weekly data from CoinShares, digital asset investment products recorded the largest weekly inflow of funds last week, reaching $3.13 billion, bringing the total inflow since the beginning of the year to a new high of $37 billion. Among them, Bitcoin-related products inflowed $3 billion, while investment products that shorted Bitcoin also attracted $10 million in funds. Since the first interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September, the total inflow has reached $15.2 billion.
Solana outperformed Ethereum, recording $16 million in inflows last week, while Ethereum only recorded $2.8 million. However, looking at year-to-date data, Solana still lags significantly behind Ethereum. Among other altcoins, XRP, Litecoin and Chainlink recorded inflows of $15 million, $4.1 million and $1.3 million respectively.
The US market led inflows, totaling $3.2 billion, while Germany, Sweden and Switzerland saw outflows of $40 million, $84 million and $17 million respectively due to profit-taking at highs. Australia, Canada and Hong Kong markets saw inflows of $9 million, $31 million and $30 million respectively. Multi-asset investment products saw outflows for the second consecutive week, totaling $10.5 million.
Data: IMX, ADA, APEX and other tokens will be unlocked in large amounts next week, of which IMX unlocks about 40.5 million US dollars
Solana Network Monthly DEX Transaction Volume Exceeds $100 Billion for the First Time
According to The Block, the trading volume of Solana network decentralized exchanges (DEX) exceeded $100 billion for the first time in November, reaching $109.8 billion. This figure is close to twice the monthly DEX trading volume of Ethereum mainnet ($55 billion), an increase of more than 100% compared to $52.5 billion in October. Solana currently has 107.5 million monthly active addresses, and is expected to break the record of 123 million set in October by the end of the month. In addition, the main platforms on Solana, Pump.fun and Raydium, set new highs in transaction fee income this month, reaching $71.5 million and $182 million respectively.
