Article reprinted from: PA Daily.
Today's news highlights:
South Korea's top regulatory authority rejected discussions about establishing a national Bitcoin reserve.
Lutnick's company is in discussions with Tether to launch a $2 billion Bitcoin loan project.
Hong Kong's ZA Bank launched virtual currency trading services on its app today.
Axie Infinity developer Sky Mavis announced a 21% layoff, affecting about 50 employees.
Binance will launch 1000WHY and 1000CHEEMS USDT perpetual contracts.
The U.S. Bitcoin spot ETF saw a net inflow of $3.38 billion last week, reaching a historical weekly net inflow high.
Solana network's monthly DEX trading volume exceeds $100 billion for the first time.
Data: Tether has minted over 15 billion USDT so far in November.
Regulatory news.
South Korea's top regulatory authority rejected discussions about establishing a national Bitcoin reserve.
According to Cryptonews, the head of South Korea's top financial regulatory authority temporarily rejected the idea of establishing a national Bitcoin reserve. Kim Byung-hwan, chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), made the remarks during a television interview on November 24. Kim stated that there is 'no need' for Seoul to 'stockpile cryptocurrencies' as promised by President-elect Donald Trump, and that South Korea will wait for other countries to react to Trump's cryptocurrency adoption plan before taking action; our top priority is to research 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 frenzy,' focusing on and closely monitoring behaviors suspected of 'unfair trading.'
Project updates.
Commerce Secretary nominee Lutnick's company is in discussions with Tether to launch a $2 billion Bitcoin loan project.
According to Bloomberg, Howard Lutnick, the Commerce Secretary nominee put forward by President-elect Donald Trump, is exploring ways to strengthen financial ties with Tether, the world's largest stablecoin operator, planning to launch a $2 billion project to provide dollar loans to customers using Bitcoin as collateral. The report cited insiders saying Lutnick's financial services company, Cantor Fitzgerald, is discussing obtaining support from Tether to help fund the project, which could amount to several billion dollars. Tether reportedly uses Cantor's holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds worth billions to support the value of its stablecoin, a relationship that helps Lutnick's company earn tens of millions of dollars annually.
Later news: Commerce Secretary nominee Lutnick plans to hand over Cantor's Tether business relationship to his colleagues.
Hong Kong's ZA Bank launched virtual currency trading services on its app today.
According to Ming Pao, digital bank ZA Bank announced it has become the first bank in Asia to offer cryptocurrency trading services for retail users, starting today allowing the buying and selling of Bitcoin and Ethereum in Hong Kong dollars and U.S. dollars through its app. After Hong Kong residents open an investment account with ZA Bank, they must complete risk assessments and other processes to trade the two cryptocurrencies on the application, with entry fees of $70 or 600 HKD, and transaction commissions of $1.99 or 15 HKD, and a platform fee of 1.5% of the transaction amount (with a minimum transaction fee of $1.99 or 15 HKD); the bank will waive commissions until June of next year, and reduce the platform fee to 0.8% of the transaction amount.
Axie Infinity developer Sky Mavis announced a 21% layoff, affecting about 50 employees.
According to Techinasia, Axie Infinity developer Sky Mavis announced a 21% layoff, affecting about 50 employees. Due to the global team size of about 250, this decision is part of a focus on core products and long-term strategy. Affected employees will receive severance pay and employment placement support.
Starknet: The integration phase of STRK staking phase 1 has now begun.
According to Starknet's announcement on platform X, the integration phase of STRK staking phase 1 has now begun, with Starknet deploying the system on the Starknet mainnet, expected to be completed within several hours. From tomorrow, validators can begin integrating with the staking contract. For users (delegators), a bit more patience is needed; the delegated UI and dApp will be ready by Tuesday, November 26.
Michael Saylor: Over the past two weeks, MicroStrategy's Bitcoin earnings reached $5.4 billion.
According to Cointelegraph's repost of an interview with MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor, he stated that over the past two weeks, MicroStrategy's Bitcoin earnings reached $5.4 billion, with daily earnings of about $500 million.
Later news: Michael Saylor hinted again that he may continue to increase his BTC holdings.
Andrew Kang: The DeSci sector currently feels like the early DeFi era in 2019, having invested in BIO Protocol.
Mechanism Capital partner Andrew Kang stated on platform X in the early hours that the current decentralized science (DeSci) sector feels like the early DeFi era in 2019. Although everything is still in its infancy and highly experimental, those involved can sense its enormous potential. Current projects may not follow the same model or product in the future as they are undergoing iterative development. Back in 2019, Maker, Synthetix, and Aave were also cumbersome small-cap projects, but now they have developed into large protocols. Here are some of the projects I find most interesting: BIO Protocol, Pump Science, GLP1.” Additionally, Andrew Kang noted that he participated in the latest round of investment in BIO Protocol.
Murad: A worthwhile Meme project community should possess six characteristics, including multiple resistances to downturns and diamond hands.
Meme ecosystem KOL Murad stated on platform X that investing in Memes essentially means investing in 'people'; the key is to find Meme communities with the following characteristics: - People who work hard every day - More than 6 months - Withstood multiple downturns - Increasing number of holders each month - Target amount exceeding $20 billion - Large distribution + diamond hands.
ai16z: DAO partners have decided that ai16z and AI Combinator will be completely separated.
ai16z announced on platform X that DAO partners have decided to pause all distracting AI trader shipping matters to focus 100% of their energy on $ai16z and $degenai. ai16z and AI Combinator will be completely separated, wishing Ryze Labs the best progress in accelerating the AI agent field. ai16z also stated that its technology is open-source, available for free use by anyone, and will always be so.
Fundstrat Digital Asset Strategy Director: Currently, the Korean kimchi premium is about 0%, which may indicate that BTC still has room to rise.
According to Yahoo Finance, Fundstrat Digital Asset Strategy Director Sean Farrell stated in the latest client report that 'friends and family' have started inquiring about cryptocurrencies again. From quantifiable market indicators, the current situation does not show the bubble seen in March's rebound or the seasonal peak at the end of 2021, as the current kimchi premium indicator in the Korean market is about 0%, indicating a lack of excessive excitement among Korean traders. Typically, when the market peaks, the kimchi premium soars above 10%, and the recent week's rise should not be viewed simply as speculative boom; Bitcoin may still have room to rise.
CryptoQuant CEO: MSTR's Bitcoin holdings premium has returned to levels seen during the 2021 bull market.
CryptoQuant founder and CEO Ki Young Ju stated on platform X that MicroStrategy's (MSTR) Bitcoin holdings premium has returned to levels seen during the 2021 bull market. Data shows that MSTR's premium peaked in mid-2021 but never fell below zero during the last bear market. In contrast, GBTC fell to a -48% discount during the bear market, ultimately triggering a crisis as leverage unwound. Michael Saylor knows how to handle leverage, keeping MicroStrategy stable and effectively managing BTC's market risks during the 2022 bear market. Additionally, Ki Young Ju stated, 'The 2021 bull market was dominated by crypto newcomers, while 2024 will be the domain of traditional finance and crypto veterans. This is a different game, and the likelihood of absurd events occurring is much lower.'
Vitalik: The crypto industry needs to create meaningful applications with significant user participation, not just issue tokens and create exchanges.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin stated in an interview with Tencent News (Periscope) that OpenAI has now become CloseAI. Today, another problem arises: First, they sacrificed their open-source for safety; then this year, they sacrificed their safety for profit. Last year, there were conflicts between the company and the board, and after the conflicts, it seems that Sam Altman (CEO of OpenAI) won. Recently they announced they would transition from a non-profit to a profit-making company, reducing the board's power—one could say to the level of an advisor. This concerns me. It reminds me of a saying from one of America's founding fathers: You cannot sacrifice freedom for safety; if you do, you will find that you have neither safety nor freedom. The behavior of OpenAI seems to reflect this. Additionally, regarding the crypto field, Vitalik mentioned a problem in the last five years: everyone's dreams and hopes are high, but the technology cannot achieve most of those dreams. One possibility for how crypto can save the world is Crypto + Decentralized AI; the second possibility is Crypto + technology that can replace AI. To some extent, the boom in artificial intelligence over the past two years may cool down Crypto, and I have a concern: if particularly wise people don’t engage in Crypto, those remaining in the Crypto field may not have interesting ideas, and the only applications will be the financial applications we have been doing for years. This could lead to a situation where we issue a token, create an exchange; issue another token, create another exchange; issue yet another token with a cute dog—these things are fun, but if they are the only things we do in our industry, the industry is a failure. The challenge our industry faces is to create applications that are both meaningful and widely participated in. However, this year, the power of Crypto has increased significantly, and many developers are starting to want to create applications that are both meaningful and widely participated in. If the Crypto field continues to succeed, many will still choose to participate in Crypto.
Later news: Vitalik stated that the crypto industry needs applications focused on specific functionalities, such as anoncast.
Binance will launch BNBUSDT, SOLUSDT monthly options.
According to the official announcement, Binance options will launch monthly options for BNBUSDT and SOLUSDT on November 26, 2024, at 16:00 (East Eight Time).
Zircuit's ZRC token has now lifted trading restrictions.
Layer2 project Zircuit announced that its token ZRC will be listed for trading today at 18:00 (UTC+8). According to the token economics, the total supply of ZRC is 10 billion, with 21% allocated for community rewards, including 7% for the first quarter airdrop, 3% for the second quarter airdrop, and 2.45% for other activities. The team and investors' token allocations are subject to a 12-month lock-up period, followed by a linear release over 24 months. The first unlockable proportion is 21.95%, including 10% for the first and second quarter airdrops, with the remainder covering community, ecosystem development, and foundation purposes.
Binance will launch 1000WHY and 1000CHEEMS USDT perpetual contracts.
Binance's contract platform will launch perpetual contracts at the following times, with a maximum leverage of 75 times. November 25, 2024, 19:30 (East Eight Time): 1000WHYUSDT perpetual contracts; November 25, 2024, 19:45 (East Eight Time): 1000CHEEMSUSDT perpetual contracts.
After Binance announced the launch of 1000WHY and 1000CHEEMS USDT perpetual contracts, both WHY and Cheems fell over 30%.
Financing news.
Singapore's Gulf Bank is seeking to raise at least $50 million and acquire a stablecoin payment company.
According to Bloomberg, insiders revealed that Singapore Gulf Bank (SGB), supported by Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat and Singapore's Huangpu Group, is seeking to raise at least $50 million in a financing round and plans to acquire a stablecoin payment company next year; the bank obtained a license in Bahrain in February and is currently negotiating with a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund and other investors, planning to sell less than 10% of its shares by early 2025; the funds raised will mainly be used to accelerate product development, enhance the bank's payment network, and hire 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 over 15 billion USDT so far in November.
According to Cointelegraph's disclosure on platform X, as of November 2024, stablecoin issuer Tether has minted over 15 billion USDT.
ETH whales donated 70 ETH to the Ethereum Meme issuance platform jump.fun.
On-chain data shows that a whale holding over 2,500 ETH has donated 70 ETH to the Ethereum Meme issuance platform jump.fun; as of now, the donation amount on jump.fun has exceeded 738 ETH. jump.fun is a Meme issuance platform based on Ethereum, aiming to inject new solutions into the ETH Meme ecosystem through one-click token issuance and an initial 6 ETH liquidity loan.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs are expected to surpass Nakamoto's BTC holdings by the end of the year.
According to Beincrypto, crypto analyst HODL15Capital stated that Bitcoin ETFs currently hold about 1.081 million Bitcoins, slightly below Satoshi Nakamoto's estimated 1.1 million. In addition, Bloomberg senior analyst Eric Balchunas stated that spot Bitcoin ETFs have now completed 98% of the pace to catch up with Satoshi. He predicts that if the current inflow rate continues, this goal could be achieved by Thanksgiving. Furthermore, Bitcoin ETFs are also narrowing the gap with gold ETFs, which currently manage assets totaling $120 billion. Balchunas stated that the Bitcoin ETF manages assets worth $107 billion and could exceed gold ETFs by Christmas.
10x Research: Upbit's daily trading volume reached $14 billion over the weekend, comparable to the Korean stock market.
10x Research pointed out in its market analysis that the Korean exchange Upbit occupies 80% of the local market share, with trading volumes of $14 billion on both Saturday and Sunday, marking a 48% increase compared to its 7-day moving average, which usually includes higher trading volumes on weekdays. In comparison, the trading volume of all Korean stocks was $14 billion. This contrasts with the speculative fever observed in March when the daily retail trading volume in Korea reached $16.2 billion, while the current market is experiencing several days of unusually high trading volumes.
Musk's wealth reached a record high of $348 billion.
According to Financial Times, Tesla CEO Musk's net worth hit a record $347.8 billion on Friday, partly due to the continuous rise in Tesla's stock price and the valuation of his AI startup xAI soaring to $50 billion in a new round of financing. Since Trump was re-elected as President of the United States, Musk has entered the core political circle, which has seen the valuations of many of his companies soar. Tesla's stock rose 3.8% on Friday, reflecting market optimism that the Trump team’s plans regarding autonomous driving and electric vehicle subsidies will give the company an edge over its peers. Tesla's stock has risen 45% since November 4, the day before the election, expanding the company’s market value by about $350 billion. Meanwhile, xAI's valuation has more than doubled since financing in May, with Trump's victory sparking more investor interest. On Wednesday, Trump also watched the SpaceX launch with Musk. Insiders revealed that the company is in preliminary discussions to issue targeted shares, with valuations expected to rise to about $255 billion. As the world's richest person, Musk's wealth has surged by 35% since the day before the election.
The U.S. Bitcoin spot ETF saw a net inflow of $3.38 billion last week, reaching a historical weekly net inflow high.
According to SoSoValue data, the Bitcoin spot ETF had a net inflow of $3.38 billion last week (from November 18 to November 2, EST). Among them, Grayscale ETF GBTC saw a net outflow of $52.85 million, with GBTC’s historical net outflow currently at $20.33 billion. The Bitcoin spot ETF with the highest net inflow last week was BlackRock ETF IBIT, with a weekly net inflow of $2.05 billion, bringing its historical total net inflow to $31.33 billion. Next was Fidelity ETF FBTC, with a weekly net inflow of $773 million, currently holding a historical total net inflow of $11.54 billion. As of the time of writing, the total net asset value of Bitcoin spot ETFs is $107.488 billion, with the ETF net asset ratio (market cap compared to Bitcoin's total market cap) reaching 5.48%, and historical cumulative net inflow has reached $30.843 billion.
CoinShares: Last week, digital asset investment products saw a net inflow of $3.13 billion.
According to CoinShares' latest weekly report, last week saw the largest weekly inflow into digital asset investment products, reaching $3.13 billion, bringing the total inflow for the year to a record high of $37 billion. Among them, Bitcoin-related products saw an inflow of $3 billion, while short Bitcoin investment products attracted $10 million. Since the Fed's first rate cut in September, the total inflow has reached $15.2 billion.
Solana outperformed Ethereum last week with an inflow of $16 million, while Ethereum only recorded $2.8 million. However, year-to-date data still shows Solana significantly lagging behind Ethereum. Among other altcoins, XRP, Litecoin, and Chainlink recorded inflows of $15 million, $4.1 million, and $1.3 million, respectively.
The U.S. market dominates 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 experienced outflows for the second consecutive week, totaling $10.5 million.
Data: Tokens such as IMX, ADA, and APEX will see significant unlocks next week, with IMX unlocking worth approximately $40.5 million.
Solana network's monthly DEX trading volume exceeds $100 billion for the first time.
According to The Block, Solana network's DEX trading volume exceeded $100 billion for the first time in November, reaching $109.8 billion. This figure is nearly twice that of Ethereum's monthly DEX trading volume ($55 billion), marking an increase of over 100% compared to October's $52.5 billion. Currently, Solana's monthly active addresses number 107.5 million, expected to break October's record of 123 million by the end of the month. Additionally, major platforms on Solana, Pump.fun and Raydium, have set new records for fee income this month, reaching $71.5 million and $182 million, respectively.
