Doohyun Hwang

Spot Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) listed on US stock exchanges recorded net inflows for a fourth consecutive trading day. However, inflows, which had topped $100 million the previous day, shrank sharply, suggesting a pause to catch its breath. According to SosoValue on the 13th (local time), the nine spot Ethereum ETFs trading in the US saw total net inflows of $26.69 million. BlackRock’s spot Ethereum ETF (ETHA) drew $32.39 million, and another product from the same manager, ETHB, took in $216. Combined, the two funds directed a total of $34.55 million into BlackRock. By contrast, Fidelity’s FETH, which had led inflows the day before, posted net outflows of $7.86 million, marking an opposing trend. The remaining six products—Grayscale’s legacy trust (ETHE) and mini trust (ETH), as well as Bitwise (ETHW), VanEck (ETHV), Franklin (EZET) and Invesco (QETH)—saw no inflows or outflows. The spot Ethereum ETF market has extended its net-inflow streak to a fourth day, but the pace of inflows has visibly weakened. Data show that daily net inflows, which started at $12.59 million on the 10th and climbed to $57.01 million on the 11th and $115.85 million on the 12th, plunged to $26.69 million on the day.

World Liberty Financial (WLFI) has decided to grant investors who have staked large sums the right to communicate directly with the project’s operating team. According to Reuters on the 13th (local time), World Liberty Financial recently held a governance vote and passed a proposal to provide “guaranteed direct access” to team members for investors who stake the company’s tokens worth $5 million for six months. The company said 99% of the 1,786 participants voted in favor. Under the plan, investors who lock up 50 million WLFI tokens (about $5 million) for 180 days will be classified as top-tier “Super Nodes.” They will receive voting rights on decision-making and gain access to a channel that enables priority communication with the WLFI team for discussions such as partnerships. In addition, those who participate in governance votes at least twice will receive an extra 2% annual yield paid in tokens. Responding to criticism that the move introduces tiered benefits for large investors, diverging from the project’s early emphasis on universal access to finance, World Liberty spokesperson David Waxman said, “The benefits granted to Super Nodes are communication privileges with the business development and compliance operating team, not with any specific founder.” On the recent removal of Eric, Donald Jr., and Barron Trump from the list on the team page of the website, he also said, “The website is constantly being updated, and this is part of routine revisions,” drawing a line. The policy shift has also drawn market attention to World Liberty’s revenue structure. The project is designed so that 75% of proceeds from new token sales are allocated to President Trump’s family. Regarding this business structure, White House counsel David Warrington said, “The President does not engage in business transactions that carry constitutional responsibilities and is carrying out his duties ethically.” He added that Steve Witkoff, the Middle East envoy who had been listed as a co-founder of the project, “is strictly complying with public-official ethics rules and has already divested his stake in World Liberty.”

U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) extended net inflows for a fifth consecutive trading session. After briefly losing momentum the previous day, inflows rebounded sharply again, led by BlackRock. According to SosoValue on the 13th (local time), the 12 spot Bitcoin ETFs trading in the U.S. recorded total net inflows of $180.33 million. BlackRock’s IBIT drove the day’s inflows. IBIT took in $143.59 million in a single day, accounting for about 80% of total net inflows. Fidelity’s FBTC drew $23.24 million, VanEck’s HODL $8.05 million, Bitwise’s BITB $3.09 million, and ARK Invest–21Shares’ ARKB $2.36 million. No outflows were recorded from Grayscale’s legacy trust product, GBTC. The remaining seven products—including Grayscale Mini Trust (BTC), Invesco (BTCO), and Valkyrie (BRRR)—also posted zero net flows. The spot Bitcoin ETF market is showing a clear recovery. While net inflows the prior day had shrunk to $53.87 million, suggesting a slowdown, inflows more than tripled day over day, reaffirming solid buying appetite among institutional investors. The streak of consecutive net inflows that began on the 9th extended to a fifth day.

The Ethereum Foundation on the 13th (local time) released a document titled the “EF Mandate,” codifying the foundation’s role and the core principles of the Ethereum ecosystem. Through the declaration, the foundation defined Ethereum’s ultimate raison d’être as protecting “user self-sovereignty”—meaning users should be able to participate in the digital world without relinquishing final authority over their assets, identity and choices. To uphold this, the foundation set out four core principles it says must be safeguarded under the banner of “CROPS”: censorship resistance, open source, privacy and security. The foundation said “these conditions are absolute fundamentals that can never be compromised for convenience,” adding that “resistance to value extraction and a seamless user experience are also essential requirements.” In particular, the foundation drew a clear line around its position and authority within the Ethereum ecosystem. The board said, “We are not Ethereum’s parent, ruler, or final decision-maker,” stressing that “our role is simply to help Ethereum keep its early promises.” It added, “The Ethereum ecosystem is like a garden tended by a diverse set of participants,” and said it “hopes that the ecosystem’s principles will continue to be sustained organically even if the foundation disappears in the future.”

Legendary Wall Street investor Stanley Druckenmiller forecast that blockchain and stablecoins will lead the global payments system within the next decade. He was, however, skeptical about cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) functioning as stores of value. On the 13th (local time), Druckenmiller said in an interview with Morgan Stanley that “blockchain-based tokens, especially stablecoins, are enormously useful in maximizing productivity in payments.” He added, “In 10 to 15 years, I expect all of our payment systems to be replaced by stablecoins,” saying, “Stablecoins are far more efficient, faster and cheaper than existing payment networks.” Behind the forecast is distrust in the traditional financial system. In May 2021, appearing on CNBC, Druckenmiller said, “A lack of trust in central banks around the world, including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, is the fundamental problem,” adding that “a blockchain-based system could replace the U.S. dollar payments network.” In fact, major traditional payment companies such as Western Union, MoneyGram and Zelle have lent momentum to the shift, rushing to announce plans to adopt stablecoin payment systems after passage of the so-called GENIUS Act, which clarified the stablecoin regulatory framework, in July last year. Druckenmiller, however, voiced a negative view of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. He criticized Bitcoin as “a solution created in search of a problem,” calling it “an invention that was never needed in the first place,” and said it was “deeply regrettable” that cryptocurrencies emerged. Still, he added that “crypto has already become a brand many people love,” and that “for some, it will function as a store of value.”

Tron (TRX) has officially joined Mastercard’s ‘Crypto Partner Program.’ On the 13th (local time), Tron announced the news via its official X account. The partnership was reportedly signed based on a shared vision that ‘the next stage of on-chain payments is built through collaboration.’ Mastercard’s Crypto Partner Program, launched on the 11th, is a global initiative aimed at connecting digital assets with the real-world payments ecosystem. More than 85 digital-asset-related companies, along with payment service providers and major financial institutions, are currently participating. Companies that join the program will work with Mastercard going forward to jointly explore the design and development direction of future payment products and services. In particular, they plan to focus on developing innovative solutions that seamlessly integrate digital assets’ fast transfer speeds and programmability (such as smart contract functionality) with existing card payment systems and global commerce flows.

Anthony Scaramucci, founder of SkyBridge Capital, offered an upbeat outlook that Bitcoin’s (BTC) market capitalization could grow over the next 15 years to roughly $35 trillion—on par with gold. He argued that advances in artificial intelligence (AI) technology and a generational shift will explosively drive long-term demand for Bitcoin. On the 12th (local time), Scaramucci appeared on the PBD Podcast and said he has “recently increased” his Bitcoin holdings, adding that “Bitcoin is currently the largest position in my portfolio.” He pointed to the rise of autonomous AI as a key growth driver for Bitcoin. “In the near future, AI will independently carry out economic activity,” Scaramucci said, predicting that “AI systems that cannot open traditional bank accounts will ultimately adopt blockchain and Bitcoin as a means of transaction.” He also cited eroding trust in the traditional fiat-currency system as a factor boosting Bitcoin’s value. “People are losing faith in fiat currencies,” he said, assessing that “Bitcoin, with a strictly capped total supply, will establish itself as a powerful store of value and medium of exchange.” He added, “In 10 to 20 years, when younger generations—around the same age as my children now—begin directly managing Wall Street’s vast pools of capital, Bitcoin will become a mainstream asset on a massive scale.” Based on this, he projected that Bitcoin’s market capitalization, currently around $1.5 trillion, will over the long term grow to roughly $35 trillion, gold’s market cap. “I’m convinced Bitcoin can grow about 20 times from where it is today and catch up to gold’s market size,” Scaramucci said, while noting, “That won’t happen overnight. It will take about 15 years to reach the target.”

U.S. spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) posted net inflows for a third consecutive trading day. Fidelity in particular led the market, drawing more than 70% of total inflows. According to SosoValue on the 12th (local time), the nine U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs recorded total net inflows of $72.37 million for the day. The inflows were driven by Fidelity (FETH). Fidelity ranked first with $52.02 million in one-day inflows, followed by BlackRock (ETHA) with net inflows of $18.68 million. Bitwise (ETHW) saw $885,000 in inflows, and Franklin (EZET) recorded $781,000. The remaining five products—Grayscale’s existing trust (ETHE) and Mini Trust (ETH), as well as VanEck (ETHV), Invesco (QETH) and 21Shares (TETH)—saw no inflows or outflows on the day.

The U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) market is regaining stability as funds have flowed in for four consecutive sessions. However, the size of daily net inflows showed signs of slowing. According to Sosovalue on the 12th (local time), the 12 spot Bitcoin ETFs traded in the U.S. recorded total net inflows of $53.87 million on the day. By issuer, BlackRock’s IBIT led the overall inflows, drawing $46.15 million. It was followed by Fidelity’s FBTC with $15.30 million, Grayscale Mini Trust’s BTC with $4.99 million, and ARK Invest·21Shares’ ARKB with $3.03 million in net inflows. In contrast, the legacy Grayscale (GBTC) fund saw $9.88 million in outflows, while Bitwise (BITB) posted net outflows of $5.72 million. The remaining six products—including VanEck (HODL), Invesco (BTCO) and Valkyrie (BRRR)—saw no inflows or outflows.

Global asset manager ARK Invest said that advances in quantum computing pose a long-term challenge for Bitcoin (BTC) security, not an imminent, direct threat. On the 12th (local time), ARK Invest said in a jointly published report with Unchained, a digital-asset (cryptocurrency) financial services firm, that "today’s quantum systems are markedly lacking in the capability to compromise the elliptic-curve cryptography (ECC) that secures Bitcoin wallets." The report projected that even if quantum computing reaches a level that could threaten Bitcoin, the risk would emerge gradually and would require attackers to incur enormous costs. It added that "if a major breakthrough in quantum computing occurs, broader internet security infrastructure would fail before Bitcoin," and that "before the threat reaches Bitcoin, a global coordinated response by governments, technology companies, and financial institutions would come first." In the market, concerns have persisted that quantum computers could use formidable computing power to break Bitcoin’s cryptographic system. Earlier this year, Jefferies strategist Christopher Wood advised cutting Bitcoin allocations by 10% and adding gold, citing the quantum-computing threat—stoking market jitters. ARK Invest estimated that about 35% of the total Bitcoin supply is held in legacy addresses that could, in theory, be exposed to future quantum attacks. This includes 1.7 million BTC believed to be lost and 5.2 million BTC that could be moved to more secure wallets. About 1 million BTC reportedly held by Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, also falls into this vulnerable category. However, ARK Invest said a so-called "Q-Day" (Q-day)—when the cryptographic system is suddenly breached—will not arrive all at once without warning. While expert estimates for the first attack range from before 2030 to decades later, it said the Bitcoin community would have enough time to upgrade the network to quantum-resistant cryptography and move assets to safer addresses. The report said, "The fortunate thing is that we already know how to defend against quantum attacks," adding, "More than half of the Bitcoin supply is already stored in addresses that are resilient to quantum attacks, and the remainder would only be at risk upon reaching the third stage—when a quantum computer (CRQC) capable of cracking 256-bit ECC keys emerges."

As geopolitical risks in the Middle East intensify, an analysis suggests that large pools of global investment capital are rapidly moving out of gold—a traditional safe haven—and into Bitcoin. On the 12th (local time), crypto-asset (cryptocurrency) derivatives exchange BitMEX said in a recently published report that a confluence of geopolitical instability, institutional inflows and supply tightness will lift Bitcoin to $84,000 in the short term. BitMEX highlighted that since the recent Iran military conflict, price moves in gold and Bitcoin have clearly diverged. After tensions escalated on the 24th of last month, Bitcoin rose 8.09%, while gold fell 0.42%. The report said that "the Strait of Hormuz crisis has blocked logistics routes, making the transport of heavy, bulky physical gold riskier," adding that "as Bitcoin’s convenience—real-time transfer without border constraints—comes into sharper focus, institutional investors are choosing Bitcoin as an alternative safe-haven asset." Massive inflows via U.S. equities are also a key driver of the rally. With large amounts of money steadily flowing into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), aggressive fundraising by U.S. company MicroStrategy—often dubbed a 'Bitcoin whale'—is leading the market. According to BitMEX, the company has secured funds to buy up to $180 million worth of Bitcoin in just the past two days, creating strong buying pressure. Bitcoin’s structural scarcity is also bolstering investor sentiment. Bitcoin was designed with a hard cap of 21 million coins, and cumulative mining output has recently surpassed 20 million. The analysis says the arithmetic constraint that only 1 million coins remain available for new supply is fueling a race among investors to buy in early. Based on these macro trends, BitMEX set an initial price target of $84,000. As an investment strategy, it recommended the $67,000–$71,000 range as the optimal entry point offering the best risk-adjusted return. However, it advised an immediate stop-loss if the key support level of $64,000 is broken to the downside on a daily close basis.

Global digital asset (cryptocurrency) exchange Binance announced on the 12th (local time) that it will newly list Katana (KAT) and apply a “Seed Tag,” warning of high volatility. On the day, Binance said on its official website, “Spot trading for KAT will begin at 10 p.m. on the 18th (KST). There will be three spot trading pairs: KAT/USDT, KAT/USDC, and KAT/TRY.” Withdrawal services are scheduled to be available starting at 10 p.m. on the 19th (KST), the day after trading begins. Binance also said it has separately allocated 150 million KAT tokens for upcoming marketing activities. Details of specific marketing and airdrop events will be provided later via a separate announcement. Notably, the newly listed KAT will carry a “Seed Tag.” The Seed Tag is assigned to early-stage innovative projects that have been listed only recently and may entail higher volatility and risk compared with regular tokens. Binance explained, “KAT will also be listed and traded as part of the ‘Binance Alpha’ event, our early-stage project support program,” adding, “However, trading volume generated after spot trading officially begins will be excluded from the Binance Alpha Points calculation criteria.” It further cautioned, “If you trade this token on unofficial platforms, you may be exposed to fraud, so investors should conduct thorough due diligence and exercise caution.”

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, logged $15.5 million in trading volume on the first day of listing for its newly launched Ethereum staking exchange-traded fund (ETF). According to the industry on the 12th (local time), BlackRock’s staking Ethereum ETF, ‘ETHB,’ posted roughly $15.5 million in turnover on its first day of trading. James Seyffart, a Bloomberg ETF analyst, said the figure was “a fairly solid level for a new ETF’s first-day performance.” ETHB is structured to directly hold spot Ethereum (ETH) while allocating a portion of the assets to deposits on the blockchain network. This allows investors to capture baseline capital gains from Ethereum price moves as well as additional rewards from staking at the same time. The product is BlackRock’s third cryptocurrency-related ETF and its first to put a staking mechanism front and center. BlackRock said, “We introduced this feature to meet demand from investors seeking both Ethereum price exposure and additional staking income,” adding, “We will also maintain the inherent strengths and stability that traditional finance ETFs provide, including custody, trading, and asset allocation.”

The crypto-asset (cryptocurrency) market is posting broad-based gains. Prices of major crypto assets, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, are rebounding in tandem, signaling an improvement in investor sentiment. According to Binance’s Tether (USDT) market on the 12th (local time), Bitcoin (BTC) was trading in the $71,400 range, up about 2% from the previous day. Intraday, it touched the $72,000 level, extending its gains. It was the first time in about seven days since the 5th that Bitcoin reached $72,000. Ethereum (ETH), the No. 2 asset by market capitalization, also extended its upward move, trading in the $2,120 range. That marks a 3.32% increase from the prior day. Ethereum’s break above the $2,100 level was also its first in seven days since the 5th. Major altcoins also rose in tandem. Binance Coin (BNB) climbed 1.12% to $659, while XRP (XRP) rose 1.75% to $1.41. Solana (SOL) gained 3.9% to $90, Dogecoin (DOGE) advanced 4.08% to $0.09662, and Cardano (ADA) added 2.9% to $0.2698.

On decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Aave (AAVE), an investor attempted to buy tokens worth $50 million (about 74 billion won) but suffered massive “slippage” (the gap between the order price and the actual execution price), wiping out most of the investment. On the 12th (local time), Aave CEO Stani Kulechov said on X, “A user tried to buy AAVE with 50 million Tether (USDT) through the Aave interface, experienced extreme slippage, and ultimately received only 324 AAVE.” The result came as a huge $50 million single order hit the market at once, driving the execution price to astronomical levels due to a lack of liquidity. According to Kulechov, the incident stemmed from user error rather than a system malfunction. The Aave interface detected the unusually large order size and, like typical exchanges, warned the user of the possibility of extreme slippage and required final confirmation via a checkbox. However, the user is believed to have acknowledged the warning on a mobile device, agreed by ticking the checkbox, and then pushed ahead with the swap (exchange). “If the user had not explicitly accepted the risk, the trade could not have proceeded,” Kulechov said, adding that “the connected CoW Swap router functioned perfectly normally as intended, in line with industry standards.” Aave said it would refund part of the funds on moral grounds. Kulechov promised, “We deeply regret what happened to the user, and we will get in touch to return the $600,000 in fees (about 800 million won) collected by the platform from this transaction.” He also pointed to the need for structural improvements in the DeFi ecosystem. “DeFi must preserve permissionlessness and openness so anyone can trade freely, but the industry needs to build additional safety mechanisms to protect users,” he said. “Our team will conduct an in-depth review of ways to improve such safeguards going forward.”

KGeN, a decentralised verification-based distributed protocol, said on the 9th that it successfully held its community event 'VeriFi: Seoul After Hours' in Seoul on the 26th of last month. The event was organised as a forum where key participants in the KGeN ecosystem, institutional partners and members of the media gathered to share updates on the project’s expansion. Industry figures, including global blockchain infrastructure firm BHarvest, also attended. At the event, KGeN introduced its core mechanism, the 'Proof of Gamified Engagement' model. The model is currently used by more than 200 global partners and is designed to enable access to highly engaged communities through a verified user base. KGeN said, "The future of the internet lies in engagement structures based on real user verification. Korea is a market that plays an important role in the global Web3 ecosystem," adding, "This event demonstrated industry interest in a decentralised data economy built on verified user data."

ZX Squared Capital, a crypto investment firm, said Bitcoin (BTC) has entered a full-fledged bear market and that further price declines are likely within the year. According to CoinDesk on the 6th (local time), CK Jung, founder of ZX Squared Capital, said in an email interview that "Bitcoin’s price has clearly moved into bear-market territory" and forecast that "another decline of about 30% could occur this year" amid geopolitical factors such as the outbreak of a war with Iran. Bitcoin is currently trading around $68,000. Jung pointed to the crypto market’s so-called "four-year cycle" as a key driver of the downturn. Bitcoin has historically followed a pattern of rallying around halving events—when mining rewards are cut in half—before shifting into a bear market. He said Bitcoin’s peak in October last year, roughly 18 months after the April 2024 halving, aligns with past cycles (peaking 16–18 months after a halving, followed by about a year-long bear market). He added that "because of retail investors’ herd mentality, the inertia of this four-year cycle is not easily broken," and said Bitcoin is still trading more like a speculative asset than a safe haven. Limited participation by companies was also cited as a potential source of downside pressure. Jung said that "the combined scale of crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and companies that have added Bitcoin to their treasury assets accounts for about 10% of the overall market," and warned that "if the bear market becomes prolonged, some companies could be forced to sell their crypto holdings to meet debt-servicing requirements, creating a cascading downside dynamic."

More than $300 million exited the US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) market in a single day. According to on-chain data platform SoSoValue on the 6th (local time), the 12 US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded total net outflows of $348.83 million. Not a single product posted net inflows. Fidelity (FBTC) saw the largest net outflow, with $158.54 million leaving in one day. BlackRock (IBIT) followed with $143.45 million in outflows. This was followed by $22.17 million from Bitwise (BITB), $9.56 million from Grayscale (GBTC), $5.77 million from VanEck (HODL), $4.82 million from the Grayscale Mini Trust (BTC), and $4.52 million from ARK Invest (ARKB). The remaining five products—Invesco (BTCO), Valkyrie (BRRR), Franklin Templeton (EZBC), WisdomTree (BTCW), and Hashdex (DEFI)—saw no flows.