Doohyun Hwang

According to the top gainers on the AI-based Web3 search platform Kaito's Token Mindshare (a metric quantifying the influence of specific tokens in the virtual asset market), the top 5 virtual assets that people are most interested in as of the 10th are Doodles (DOOD), Solana (SOL), Hyperliquid (HYPE), Pudgy Penguins (PENGU), and Avalanche (AVAX). Ranked first, DOOD is the token of the blue-chip non-fungible token (NFT) project 'Doodles'. The token garnered significant attention after being listed as a perpetual futures on the global virtual asset exchange Binance on the 9th (local time). Notably, 30% of the total token supply is being allocated to Doodles NFT holders through an airdrop, which is currently underway. However, a large volume of short-term profit-taking has emerged, and as of today, DOOD is trading at around $0.008 on CoinMarketCap, down approximately 38% from the previous day. Solana takes the second spot, likely due to the influence of the Doodles token 'DOOD' being issued on the Solana network. Solana is trading at around $170 on Binance's Tether (USDT) market, up about 5% from the previous day. Hyperliquid, a decentralized futures exchange, ranks third. The recent surge in major virtual assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum seems to have driven liquidity-seeking investors to derivative platforms. As of the 9th, Hyperliquid's open interest (OI) reached an all-time high of $4.9 billion. Fourth place goes to PENGU, the token of another blue-chip NFT project, Pudgy Penguins. The news of its listing on the domestic virtual asset exchange Upbit seems to have had an impact. PENGU, which surpassed 22 KRW immediately after listing, is currently trading at around 19 KRW on Upbit, down about 3.5% from the previous day. Additionally, Avalanche, Virtual Protocol (VIRTUAL), Moodeng (MOODENG), Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT), and Fartcoin (FART) are also among the top globally trending coins.

The price of Ethereum, which had been on a downward trend and fell to $1385, is now on the rise. Analysts attribute the price increase to expectations following a major upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain network ecosystem. According to the global cryptocurrency exchange Binance on the 10th, Ethereum surged about 25% in just one day on the 9th, surpassing $2220. It has returned to the $2200 range for the first time in about two months. The large-scale upgrade project 'Pectra' on the 7th is considered a key factor in the price rebound. With this upgrade, even if more transactions are conducted on the Ethereum network, processing can proceed smoothly. This is a factor that institutional investors, who value predictability, are likely to view positively. A significant change is that 'validators', who verify whether transactions have been properly conducted, can now stake up to 2048 Ethereum. Previously, Ethereum validators staked 32 Ethereum as a deposit to receive a reward for verification work at an annual yield of 3-5%. Staking refers to the method of depositing on a blockchain network for a certain period and receiving rewards. Institutions holding large amounts of Ethereum can now stake more with a single account. The industry expects these changes to lower the entry barriers for institutions and optimize compound interest-based rewards. Cryptocurrency analyst Amir Taha said, "Just before Ethereum's price broke through $1900 on the 9th, about 85,000 Ethereum were withdrawn from Binance," adding, "This is the largest scale in recent months." He also noted, "Along with the large Ethereum withdrawal, $1 billion worth of the stablecoin Tether was newly issued, which is interpreted as institutional buying pressure for Ethereum." There is also analysis that Ethereum has entered an extremely undervalued zone compared to Bitcoin. Cryptocurrency analysis platform CryptoQuant stated through X, "It's the first time since 2019 that Ethereum has been this undervalued," adding, "Past cases show that after entering such a zone, there was a sharp rise."

The US Ethereum spot Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) has turned to a net inflow after 4 trading days. According to Farside Investors data on the 9th (local time), a total net inflow of $17.6 million occurred in the Ethereum spot ETFs traded in the US. This inflow was concentrated solely in BlackRock's Ethereum ETF 'ETHA'. No net inflow or outflow occurred in other Ethereum spot ETF products except for ETHA. On this day, Ethereum is trading at around $2330, up 5.3% from the previous day, based on the Tether (USDT) market of the global exchange Binance.

The US Bitcoin spot Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) has recorded net inflows for three consecutive trading days. According to data from Farside Investors on the 9th (local time), the Bitcoin spot ETF traded in the US recorded a total net inflow of $321.4 million as of the previous day. The product with the most inflows was BlackRock's 'IBIT', with $356.2 million coming in. Fidelity's 'FBTC' followed with a net inflow of $45 million. On the other hand, $14.6 million was withdrawn from Bitwise's 'BITB', and $65.2 million was withdrawn from Grayscale's 'GBTC'. As ETF fund inflows continue, the price of Bitcoin is also on the rise. Over the past five weeks, the cumulative increase rate is about 27%, and on this day, Bitcoin is trading at around $103,100, up approximately 0.5% compared to the previous day in the Binance Tether (USDT) market.

Global asset management companies such as BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, and Fidelity are once again purchasing Bitcoin (BTC), leading the rise in Bitcoin. According to The Defiant on the 9th (local time), BlackRock recently acquired a total of $138 million worth of Bitcoin by purchasing 682 BTC in two transactions. This also marks BlackRock's 18 consecutive trading days of net Bitcoin purchases. Goldman Sachs has emerged as the largest holder of BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF 'IBIT'. Goldman currently holds 30.8 million shares of IBIT, amounting to approximately $1.4 billion. Since December last year, the additional IBIT shares purchased amount to about 6.8 million shares. Additionally, Fidelity's 'FBTC' holds 3.47 million shares. Fidelity also recently purchased $35.3 million worth of spot Bitcoin, securing a total of $104.3 million in Bitcoin assets along with BlackRock in a single day. There is analysis that this institutional buying trend has also influenced the rebound in Bitcoin prices. On this day, Bitcoin is trading at around $103,040 on the Binance Tether (USDT) market, up 0.13% from the previous day.

Republican senators in the US Senate are moving to amend stablecoin regulation legislation to apply US regulations to overseas virtual asset (cryptocurrency) issuers, including Tether, the world's largest stablecoin issuer. Recently, the Senate attempted a procedural vote to begin full discussions on the amended stablecoin regulation bill, known as the 'GENIUS Act,' but it was rejected due to opposition from the Democrats. According to Unchained on the 9th (local time), the core of this amendment is the 'extraterritorial regulation' clause, which mandates that stablecoin issuers headquartered outside the US must comply with US laws if they provide services to users within the US. Tether, which has been effectively excluded from regulation, will be included under US oversight due to this clause. The amendment also retains the relaxed reserve asset requirements from the previous version, which could actually benefit Tether, known for holding a large amount of US Treasury bonds. Additionally, the amendment significantly expands the definition of virtual asset service providers to include developers, validator node operators, and self-custody wallet providers. This raises concerns that the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem could be subject to the US Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-Money Laundering laws. Particularly, the clause that holds service providers legally responsible for using unapproved stablecoins could burden decentralized stablecoin projects. The amendment also specifies that the Treasury Secretary has the authority to grant regulatory exemptions (Safe Harbor) for small or experimental projects. However, there is concern about the excessive expansion of administrative power, as the clause also allows the administration to take independent action in emergencies.

Ethereum (ETH) has shown a strong rebound over the past two days. With the successful implementation of the Pectra upgrade and increased investor sentiment towards the global macro environment, a large influx of investors is observed. According to cryptocurrency data provider CoinGecko on the 9th (local time), Ethereum has surpassed $2400 for the first time in about three months. Over the recent 48-hour period, Ethereum has risen by more than 30%, while Bitcoin has only increased by 8%. Currently, Ethereum is trading at around $2337. According to Decrypt, Joel Kruger, a market strategist at LMAX Group, stated, "Ethereum, which faced internal scalability issues and Layer 1 competition during the risk-averse market of Q1, has found a rebound opportunity," and "Investors are entering en masse due to the Ethereum Foundation's technical upgrades." Carlos Guzman, an analyst at GSR, also commented, "This upgrade was the largest technical milestone since the Merge," and "It stimulated investor expectations in conjunction with the improvement in the macro environment." Notably, Ethereum is still significantly lower than its all-time high of $4878 recorded in 2021, showing both relative undervaluation and potential for recovery.

11 EIPs Applied… Significant Improvements in Staking and Account Abstraction Expected to Reduce Validator Operating Costs and Innovate Wallet UX "Providing User Convenience… Price Rebound Remains to Be Seen" Ethereum (ETH), which has been under pressure due to continued bearish trends, will implement the large-scale 'Pectra' upgrade on the mainnet at 7 PM (KST) today. After surpassing $4,000 last December and then declining to the $1,800 range, the market is keenly watching to see if Ethereum can rebound with this upgrade. Pectra is not an upgrade that fundamentally changes the structure like 'The Merge' or 'Shanghai'. Instead, it is an optimization-focused upgrade that enhances speed, scalability, and operational efficiency through 11 Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs). Notably, five proposals are focused on improving the staking system, which is expected to contribute to network efficiency. Enhancing Performance and Scalability… Aiming for a 'Global Settlement Layer' Pectra is a key milestone in realizing Ethereum's vision of a 'Global Settlement Layer'. The strategy is to improve performance and enhance user experience while maintaining decentralization and security to process all transactions on-chain safely and affordably. At the center of this strategy is 'The Surge' phase. This is the second phase in the roadmap aimed at enhancing rollup-based scalability and data availability, with Pectra acting as a crucial turning point in this phase. Through this upgrade, the Ethereum network will double the number of 'Blobs', which are transaction data storage spaces (EIP-7691), increase call data costs (EIP-7623), and standardize the blob schedule (EIP-7840). The staking structure related to validators is also efficiently improved. The maximum limit that a single validator can stake is significantly increased from 32ETH to 2048ETH. Previously, to stake a large amount of Ethereum, multiple validator nodes had to be operated, but now a single node suffices, reducing operational costs and complexity. Additionally, the authority for validators to exit the network on their own is expanded. Previously, exit requests could only be made through the network's 'consensus layer', but now they can also be executed in the 'execution layer' like a regular transaction, making staking and smart contract-based operations easier. Furthermore, the validator deposit process is simplified. Previously, deposits had to go through complex intermediate steps, but now they are processed directly in the execution layer, making the onboarding process for new validators more intuitive and predictable. Account Abstraction in External Wallets… Significantly Improved User Convenience The most noticeable change from a user perspective is the 'account abstraction' feature. Pectra includes the EIP-7702 proposal, which applies this to existing external wallets (EOA). Until now, the wallets frequently used by Ethereum users were closer to simple 'electronic signature tools'. To use new features, a 'smart contract wallet' was essential, but this process was complex and had high entry barriers. EIP-7702 eliminates this inconvenience, allowing users to use features like account abstraction while maintaining their existing wallets. In addition, fees can be paid with tokens other than Ethereum, and 'gas sponsorship', where a third party pays the fees, is also possible. As these features can be used in existing wallets without installing separate ones, user experience (UX) is expected to improve significantly. Other detailed improvements for overall network performance include the optimization of BLS (Boneh-Lynn-Shacham) cryptographic signature operations (EIP-2537), simplification of consensus structure (EIP-7549), and standardization of communication methods between the execution layer and consensus layer (EIP-7685). "Clear Technological Progress... Immediate Price Rebound is Uncertain" Regarding the Pectra upgrade, Bok Jin-sol, a researcher at Populous, stated, "The ability to use account abstraction features in existing wallets through this upgrade will enhance user convenience," adding, "Improvements such as blob expansion and validator staking increase are positive in terms of enhancing validator operational efficiency." However, there is also an opinion that an immediate market price rebound after Pectra is unlikely. Researcher Bok noted, "Ethereum's crisis is not merely a problem of deteriorating user experience but a complex issue involving the foundation's leadership vacuum, fragmented direction, and unresolved scalability issues," adding, "As the Ethereum Foundation has recently introduced organizational restructuring and a new leadership structure, it is necessary to closely monitor whether the crisis can be overcome in the future." Global asset management firm Fidelity also stated in a report, "In a situation where the gap with competing chains is narrowing, Pectra is an important step for maintaining Ethereum's competitiveness," adding, "Given time, the popularization of Ethereum is possible." However, they also cautioned, "If it takes too long, user and developer attrition may accelerate," and advised, "Investors need to comprehensively review Ethereum's technical roadmap from a long-term perspective."

World enters the US market after over two years since launch Partners with Visa and Tinder Expands payment and authentication ecosystem "Special interest in Korea... Will focus more" "From tomorrow, all services and products of World will be available in the US." Sam Altman, the creator of ChatGPT, leads the blockchain-based 'Proof of Personhood' project 'World (WLD)', which officially announced its entry into the US market. At the 'At Last' event held in San Francisco, USA, on the 30th (local time), Alex Blania, CEO of Tools for Humanity (TFH), the developer of World, stated, "The US is where World first started and a symbol of technological innovation," adding, "We are delighted to finally enter the US market, which we couldn't enter due to regulatory uncertainties." Sam Altman, CEO of Open AI, who attended the opening of the event, said, "We launched 'World' from the realization that a new system is needed to prove humanity and build trust in the AI era," adding, "I will show you the wonderful demos that resulted from it." "Just the Beginning"... World Aims for 'Quantum Jump' with US Entry World users residing in the US could not receive the services and coins provided by World even if they completed authentication through the iris recognition device 'Orb'. The main reasons were the ambiguity of personal information regulations and policy uncertainties. Blania, CEO, said, "The US has shown a resistant attitude towards new technologies despite needing to lead innovation, and the regulations were uncertain. That's why we postponed World's US launch," adding, "But the regulatory environment is rapidly changing, and the regulations have become clear. From now on, all services and products of World can be experienced in the US." He continued, "Since last year's event, the number of users has doubled. Currently, there are 26 million World App users, of which 12 million have completed personhood authentication," adding, "(The US entry) is just the beginning. World aims for growth in the triple-digit scale or more." According to the announcement, World services in the US will be initially provided in six cities: ▲Atlanta ▲Austin ▲Los Angeles ▲Miami ▲Nashville ▲San Francisco from the 1st. To this end, World will install and operate Orbs in its flagship stores and partner stores of the global gaming platform Razer. Additionally, it plans to establish its assembly line in Texas, USA, collaborate with manufacturers for large-scale Orb production, and install a total of 7,500 Orbs in the US by the end of this year. This is about four times the number of Orbs currently deployed worldwide. Furthermore, the portable iris recognition device 'Orb Mini', scheduled to be released next year, was unveiled for the first time. Orb Mini is designed to easily assist anyone in authenticating others and plans to expand into a model that connects users requiring authentication with Orb Mini holders, similar to Uber. Rich Heley, Chief Device Officer (CDO) of TFH, predicted, "If Orb Mini is distributed, the scalability of authentication can increase more than tenfold compared to the existing one." World Partners with Visa and Tinder... Significantly Strengthens Ecosystem A partnership with the global payment network Visa was also announced. World plans to launch the 'World Card', which can use its coin 'Worldcoin' as a payment method in collaboration with Visa. The World Card will initially be provided in the form of a debit card, allowing users to use the virtual assets held in the World App at over 150 million Visa merchants worldwide. A credit card conversion feature will also be added in the future. Blania, CEO, explained, "Through the World Card, we are designing the future of the financial system after the AI era," adding, "Users will be able to directly pay with any asset in their wallet." Match Group, which owns the global dating app Tinder, also formalized its partnership with World. Spencer Rascoff, CEO of Match Group, said, "Safe and authentic user authentication is a core value of dating services," adding, "We plan to first apply World ID to the Tinder service to be launched in Japan and then expand it to the global product line." He added, "In addition to Tinder, we plan to expand the World ID feature to various subsidiary apps." "Korea, the Most Important Market for World" Blania, CEO, also expressed affection for the Korean market. Attending the press conference held right after the event, he said, "I visited Korea two to three times last year alone, which is quite frequent compared to other countries," adding, "We have a special interest in the Korean market and plan to focus more on it in the coming months." He continued, "One of the reasons for having great interest in the Korean market is gaming," adding, "Korea is a country with a very strong gaming industry. Introducing World ID into the gaming ecosystem will be a very important use case." San Francisco=Hwang Doo-hyun, Bloomingbit Reporter cow5361@bloomingbit.io

World (WLD) is partnering with Visa to launch the 'World Card' that supports Worldcoin payments. On the 30th (local time), at the World event 'At Last.' held in San Francisco, USA, a World representative announced, "With this card, you can pay with Worldcoin both online and offline." The World Card is directly linked to the wallet within the World app, allowing users to use their Worldcoin at Visa merchants worldwide. During payment, the coins are automatically converted into fiat currency, and merchants receive payments as usual. Issuance is limited to those who have completed 'proof of personhood' through World ID. A reward feature is also planned. Users can receive Worldcoin as a reward when using World’s AI-related subscription services and use it immediately without a separate conversion process. The World Card is expected to be launched first in the United States in the second half of 2025, with plans to expand services to other countries thereafter.

Sam Altman's identity verification project 'World(World, WLD)' has officially announced its entry into the US market. On the 30th (local time), at the World event 'At Last.' held in San Francisco, USA, Alex Blania, the CEO of World, announced in his keynote speech that "World's services will officially be available in the US starting this year." In the future, US users will be able to issue the unique identity verification method 'World ID' in six cities: ▲Atlanta ▲Austin ▲Los Angeles ▲Miami ▲Nashville ▲San Francisco. Additionally, they will be able to use the main features of the World app and receive Worldcoin(WLD).

According to the Token Mindshare (a metric quantifying the influence of specific tokens in the cryptocurrency market) top gainers by the AI-based Web3 search platform Kaito, the top 5 cryptocurrencies currently attracting the most attention are Solana (SOL), Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC), AIXBT, and Sui (SUI). Solana is receiving significant attention from investors, buoyed by recent institutional accumulation. On the 25th (local time), DeFi Development announced plans to issue securities worth $1 billion and use part of the funds raised to purchase Solana. Czech-based cryptocurrency venture capital (VC) RockawayX also announced the launch of a $125 million fund to invest in the Solana ecosystem. However, despite this news, Solana's price has not seen significant changes. Solana is trading at around $150 on the Binance Tether (USDT) market, down approximately 0.6% from the previous day. Ethereum, which is set to undergo the 'Pectra' mainnet upgrade, ranks second among trending coins due to a concentrated buying trend among investors. As of the 24th, the amount of ETH flowing into Ethereum (ETH) accumulation addresses over the past 10 days reached its highest level since 2018. Long-term investors have also accumulated over 640,000 Ethereum in the past two days. Ethereum spot ETFs traded in the US have also seen net inflows for two consecutive days. Currently, Ethereum is trading at around $1790, up about 2% from the previous day. Bitcoin, which rebounded after falling to the $74,000 range and surpassed the $94,000 mark, follows. Bitcoin is currently positioned at around $94,600. Bitcoin spot ETFs have also recorded net inflows for six consecutive trading days, showing strength. Corporate Bitcoin purchases are also continuing. Recently, Samler Scientific purchased an additional 111 Bitcoins, and GameStop is reportedly discussing including Bitcoin in its balance sheet. Sui surged over 50% in the past six days due to rumors of collaboration with The Pokémon Company, which holds the Pokémon intellectual property (IP). According to foreign media reports, Pokémon's cloud storage service 'Pokémon HOME' recently added a new medal collection feature. Additionally, privacy policies in some regions reportedly mention Parasol Technologies, a blockchain game studio acquired by Sui developer Mysten Labs. Additionally, investors are showing interest in Bonk (BONK), Pudgy Penguins (PENGU), USD Coin (USDC), Pump (PUMP), Binance Coin (BNB), and Fartcoin (FART).

Circle has stated that it has no plans to convert into a bank or any other insured depository institution. On the 23rd (local time), some foreign media reported that 15 virtual asset (cryptocurrency) and fintech companies, including Circle, had applied for a banking license with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Dante Disparte, Circle's Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), said on the 25th (local time) via his X, "Circle has no intention of converting into a bank or any other form of insured depository institution." However, he stated, "If a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins is established in the U.S. in the future, we plan to prepare for a federal or state trust charter or non-bank license registration accordingly." He added, "To support U.S. innovation, financial stability, and consumer protection, both parties should pass the stablecoin payment bill quickly in a bipartisan manner."

The US Bitcoin (BTC) spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) recorded an inflow of $380.06 million on the 25th (local time), showing a bullish trend for six consecutive trading days. According to data from Trader T, BlackRock's 'IBIT' recorded the largest inflow with $240.21 million. Fidelity's 'FBTC' saw an inflow of $108.04 million, and ARK Invest's 'ARKB' had an inflow of $11.39 million. VanEck's 'HODL' also showed an inflow of $8.08 million. On the other hand, Grayscale's 'GBTC' saw an outflow of $7.53 million. However, Grayscale Mini's 'BTC' saw an inflow of $19.87 million. There were no inflows or outflows for Bitwise 'BITB', Invesco 'BTCO', Franklin 'EZBC', Valkyrie 'BRRR', and WisdomTree 'BTCW' on this day. Meanwhile, Bitcoin is trading at around $94,750 on the Binance Tether (USDT) market, up approximately 1.7% from the previous day.

The US Ethereum (ETH) Spot Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) recorded a net inflow for two consecutive trading days. According to TraderT on the 25th (local time), a total of $104.56 million was net inflowed into the US Ethereum Spot ETF on this day. BlackRock's 'ETHA' recorded the largest net inflow with $54.82 million, followed by Fidelity's 'FETH' ($35.94 million) and Grayscale's 'Mini ETH' ($1.02 million). Bitwise's 'ETHW' and Invesco's 'QETH' also recorded net inflows of $1.80 million each. Meanwhile, Ethereum is trading at around $1,800, up approximately 3.4% from the previous day in the Binance Tether (USDT) market.

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has officially rejected the idea of incorporating Bitcoin (BTC) into its foreign exchange reserves. The main reasons are the liquidity and volatility issues of the virtual asset (cryptocurrency) market. According to CoinDesk on the 26th (local time), SNB President Martin Schlegel stated in a speech at the general meeting, "The virtual asset market may seem to have good liquidity under normal circumstances, but naturally raises questions in times of crisis," and "Furthermore, virtual assets are well-known for their high price volatility, posing risks from the perspective of long-term value preservation." He added, "In other words, at this point in time, virtual assets do not meet Switzerland's currency reserve requirements." President Schlegel's remarks came in response to a question about the research results from the Bitcoin Initiative, which has advocated for the inclusion of Bitcoin. The Bitcoin Initiative claimed through research that "if Bitcoin were included in the Swiss sovereign wealth fund at a 1% ratio, the returns since 2015 would have nearly doubled." Meanwhile, the European Central Bank (ECB) also maintains a negative stance on Bitcoin. ECB President Christine Lagarde has repeatedly criticized Bitcoin as a 'worthless asset' and a 'means associated with money laundering.' Earlier this year, she stated, "Bitcoin will never be included in the foreign exchange reserves of any central bank under the ECB."

DeFi Development is set to issue $1 billion in securities to purchase Solana (SOL). According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the 25th (local time), DeFi Development has submitted an 'S-3 registration statement' to register up to 1,244,471 shares of common stock for existing shareholders and to sell securities worth up to $1 billion. The company stated in the filing, "The funds raised through this securities issuance will be used for general corporate purposes, including the purchase of Solana (SOL)." As of today, DeFi Development holds approximately 317,273 Solana, which amounts to about $48.2 million, including staking rewards. Meanwhile, Solana is trading at around $151 on the Binance Tether (USDT) market, down about 1% from the previous day.

Interview with Adrian Ludwig, CISO of Tools For Humanity World 'Proof of Personhood' Aims for Global Standardization Expansion into Industries like Gaming and Music "Korea is a Key Market... Pursuing Corporate Collaborations" The project 'World (WLD)', launched by Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI and the father of ChatGPT, is accelerating its global expansion. The ambition is to establish a blockchain-based Proof of Personhood (PoP) technology as an integrated protocol that can be applied anywhere in the world. Adrian Ludwig, CISO of Tools For Humanity (TFH), the developer of World, stated in an interview with Bloomingbit on the 24th, "We are creating a protocol for all of humanity," and "Our goal is to create a global standard that can safely and efficiently prove one's humanity anywhere in the world." World provides technology that collects biometric data through an iris recognition device called 'Orb' and certifies humanity on the blockchain. To date, more than 12 million users in over 30 countries have completed personhood verification, and hundreds of verification hubs are in operation. Ludwig, CISO, said, "World's Proof of Personhood technology has now entered a stable operational phase," and "We will expand the service infrastructure globally while strengthening collaboration so that developers can apply and utilize the technology in various ways." He emphasized, "I believe there is no other project that has implemented such scalable (Proof of Personhood) technology," and "Ultimately, there will be only one integrated protocol, and the best ideas will converge into a single global standard." World sees the technology being applicable in various fields such as music, gaming, government services, and dating apps. It is expected to contribute to solving practical problems such as preventing ticket fraud, copyright infringement, and welfare duplication. Ludwig, CISO, expressed confidence, "Issues like ticket fraud and copyright infringement, which were difficult to solve with existing systems due to the advancement of AI and the prevalence of bots, can be practically addressed by World's Proof of Personhood technology." He added, "In the long term, I believe that proving one's humanity should become a routine act," and "World aims to eventually integrate this technology into devices like laptops and smartphones." He also emphasized interest in the Korean market. Ludwig, CISO, evaluated, "Korea is a key strategic market for World, given its high technology acceptance and leadership in global cultural content such as K-pop and gaming, which increases the demand for Proof of Personhood technology." He continued, "We are providing personhood verification services through Orb at over 30 hubs nationwide, including Seoul," and "We are also discussing collaborations with Korean companies in various industries such as gaming and music." Doohyun Hwang, Bloomingbit Reporter cow5361@bloomingbit.io

Scott Besant, the US Treasury Secretary, drew a line by stating that President Donald Trump is unlikely to unilaterally reduce tariffs on China. According to Walter Bloomberg on the 23rd (local time), Secretary Besant said, "President Trump has not proposed a unilateral tariff reduction on China," and "the starting point for talks with China has not yet been determined." He added, "Negotiations will begin at a lower level rather than at the level of direct involvement by the heads of state." In particular, he suggested that "it may take 2-3 years to reach a full agreement with China," indicating that the negotiation period could be prolonged. As a result, there is an analysis that it will be difficult to achieve visible results in trade relations between the two countries in the short term. Previously, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the US is considering reducing tariffs on China. In response to this question, Secretary Besant avoided a clear answer but mentioned, "It would not be surprising if a situation arises where both sides reduce tariffs in a reciprocal manner." Meanwhile, the price of Bitcoin (BTC) was also affected by the related remarks. Bitcoin, which had surpassed the $94,000 level due to expectations of easing the tariff war between the US and China, fell to the $91,000 level during the day following Besant's remarks. After partially recovering the decline, Bitcoin is trading at the $93,000 level in the Binance Tether (USDT) market today.

According to the top gainer of the Token Mindshare (a metric quantifying the influence of specific tokens in the virtual asset market) by the AI-based Web3 search platform Kaito, the top 5 virtual assets that people are most interested in as of the 19th are Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), 77-BIT, Banker Coin (BNKR), and Mega Ether (MEGA). Ethereum (ETH) took the first place. Ethereum, which is hovering in the early $1600 range, is attracting investors' attention as various rebound indicators are being captured. As of the 17th (local time), Ethereum's transaction fees hit the lowest level in five years. On-chain analysis firm Santiment analyzed that "historically low fees tend to appear before price rebounds," and "buying at the current range is generally considered low risk." The fact that the U.S. Ethereum spot ETF also broke the net outflow trend in eight trading days is also seen as a positive signal. On this day, Ethereum was traded at around $1600 on the Binance Tether (USDT) market, up about 1.3% from the previous day. Solana (SOL), which launched a spot ETF in Canada, took second place. Solana showed visible achievements, such as recording a DEX trading volume of $15.749 billion amid Ethereum's relative sluggishness, and the additional purchase of $10.5 million worth of Solana by the Nasdaq-listed company Janover (JNVR) also acted as a favorable factor. Solana, which fell to the $95 level on the 7th, succeeded in rebounding and surpassed the $130 mark. The third place was taken by the browser MMORPG '77-BIT' based on the cyberpunk worldview. 77-BIT mints 7777 character NFTs that can be used as avatars or special skins in the game, and these NFTs can be freely traded in the marketplace. It seems that investors' interest has been concentrated as minting began on the 18th. In addition, investors are also interested in Banker Coin, Mega Ether, Binance Coin (BNB), Monad (MONAD), XRP, PumpFun (PUMP), and HyperLiquid (HYPE).