Heecheol Yang

The Avalanche network has made a comeback, recording its highest transaction volume in a year. According to Coindoo on the 18th (local time), Avalanche's 7-day moving average (7DMA) on-chain transaction volume surpassed 1 million, far exceeding the 296,000 transactions recorded in early May. The surge in transaction volume also impacted network fees. The average transaction fee, which was 0.0035 AVAX in early May, has recently risen to 0.0072 AVAX, nearly doubling. This indicates growing demand within the network. The number of active wallet addresses has also surged from 40,000 in early May to 296,000 currently, based on the 7-day moving average. On a monthly basis, this amounts to 3.6 million, surpassing the previous all-time high of 3.09 million recorded in December 2021.

An anonymous whale investor repurchased 15,000 Ethereum (ETH) at $2,477 each. According to Lookonchain on the 18th (local time), the address '0xd8d0' bought an additional $37.15 million worth of Ethereum, following a previous purchase of $30 million in Ethereum. This whale investor had already bought 85,465 Ethereum at $2,584 each with 221 million USD Coin (USDC) over the past week. On this day, ETH is trading at $2,524.39 on the Binance Tether (USDT) market at 10:45 AM on the 18th, down 2.14% from the previous day.

Following the suspension of legal proceedings between Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), XRP's trading volume increased by 33.96% while its price dropped by 7.29%. According to U.Today on the 17th (local time), after the temporary suspension of the legal battle, selling activity in XRP intensified, resulting in $4,740,000,000 (USD) worth of XRP being moved. As a result, XRP's trading volume saw a significant rise of 33.96%, but its price fell sharply by 7.29%. The media outlet noted, "The market's response indicates that investors are concerned about the impact of the recent Ripple and SEC legal dispute on XRP's potential," adding, "If the court appeal remains on hold for an extended period, regulatory clarity regarding XRP could be delayed, leading investors to lose confidence in the token's potential."

The main drivers of profit-taking in the Bitcoin market have shifted from long-term holders to mid-term holders. According to on-chain data analytics firm Glassnode on the 17th (local time), realized profits from holders with less than 12 months' holding period recently accounted for 83% of the total. In particular, mid-term holders with 6 to 12 months' holding periods realized $904 million (USD) in profits in a single day on the 16th — the second-largest daily realized profit this year. In contrast, long-term holders with over 12 months' holding period realized only $324 million in profits that day, a sharp decline compared to $1.2 billion in May. Glassnode stated, “It is evident that investors who bought in Q4 of last year are now actively selling,” adding, “These mid-term holders and recently issued coins are driving the selling pressure in the market.”

A large volume of EURI, ranked 521st among cryptocurrencies with a market capitalization of approximately $50.9 million (USD), has been moved to a Binance wallet. Approximately 10% of the total supply of the euro-pegged stablecoin EURI was spotted being transferred to the global cryptocurrency exchange Binance. EURI's market capitalization stands at $50.9 million. On the 17th (local time), the on-chain data analytics company Santiment stated through its official X account, "Historically, coins reported in Santiment's whale withdrawal records have led to significant selling," commenting on the situation. As of 16:45 on the 17th, EURI is trading at $1.1554 on the Binance Tether (USDT) market, down 0.34% compared to the previous day.

Optimism (OP), the Ethereum (ETH) Layer 2 scaling solution, announced its second governance system reform of the year. According to Cointelegraph on the 17th (local time), Optimism stated, "The overhaul, which will take effect on August 1, will introduce four main stakeholder voting, open citizenship, and proposal 'automatic approval'." The statement continued, "The aim of this governance reform is to reduce the risk of a single stakeholder exercising decision-making power on the platform," adding, "It will prevent the concentration of power in certain groups and achieve true decentralization."

The tech investment firm Memes Strategy (2440.HK), listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, saw its share price jump 28% after announcing an investment in Solana (SOL). According to Cointelegraph on the 17th (local time), Memes Strategy announced the previous day that it would purchase 2,440 Solana through the OSL, a Hong Kong virtual asset (cryptocurrency) exchange. The company also stated that it would not only acquire Solana, but also participate in Solana’s proof-of-stake (PoS) structure to enhance network security and earn staking rewards. Following the announcement, Google Finance data shows that Memes Strategy’s stock price jumped from $2.57 USD on the 16th to $2.7 on the 17th, a 28.5% surge. Its market capitalization rose to $83.1 million.

The US Ethereum (ETH) spot ETF halted net outflows after just one trading day and reverted back to net inflows. According to Farside on the 17th (local time), the previous day saw a net inflow of $21.4 million (USD) into the US Ethereum spot ETF. This marks a turnaround to net inflows just one day after seeing a net outflow of $2.1 million on the 13th, following 19 consecutive trading days of net inflows. By product, BlackRock's ETHA recorded a net inflow of $16.1 million, and Fidelity's FETH saw a net inflow of $5.3 million.

Davis Commodities has accelerated its Bitcoin (BTC) accumulation and agricultural tokenization strategies by raising $30 million (USD). According to CryptoNews on the 16th (local time), Davis announced their business strategy through a press release. The Singapore-based company stated that it would allocate $4.5 million, which is 15% of the total raised amount, to accumulate Bitcoin and that it plans to acquire an additional $12 million worth of Bitcoin when market conditions improve. Additionally, the company announced that half of the total funding ($15 million) would be invested in the tokenization of agricultural real-world assets (RWA). Davis explained that creating a digital twin of agricultural products such as sugar, rice, and cooking oil on the blockchain can resolve the liquidity issues of traditional warehouse receipts and simplify cross-border settlement processes. With the RWA tokenization market projected to grow to $16 trillion by 2030, Davis's tokenization strategy is expected to reshape how the value of agricultural products is stored, traded, and utilized.

Digital asset investment products saw a net inflow of $1.9 billion last week. This marks 9 consecutive weeks of net inflows, and a record-high cumulative inflow of $13.2 billion since the start of the year. According to Wu Blockchain on the 16th (local time), based on CoinShares data, Bitcoin investment products saw a net inflow of $1.3 billion in the second week of June, rebounding successfully, while Ethereum products saw an inflow of $583 million—the highest weekly inflow since February. Among altcoins, XRP products attracted $11.8 million and Sui products drew $3.5 million, indicating renewed investor interest in altcoins.

An analysis has indicated that listed companies that have been purchasing Bitcoin (BTC) in large volumes should consider Bitcoin acquisitions more conservatively as the gap between share price and net asset value (NAV) is narrowing rapidly. According to Cointelegraph on the 16th (local time), Matthew Sigel, a VanEck crypto researcher, stated, "When the share price is trading at or below NAV, additional share issuance should be halted." Sigel stated via his X (formerly Twitter), "Some companies acquiring Bitcoin are raising capital to purchase BTC through large-scale at-the-market equity issuance, where publicly listed companies issue new shares and sell them bit by bit on the open market to raise funds," cautioning, "If the shares are trading at or near NAV, continued share issuance can cause value dilution." In reality, medical technology company Semler Scientific (SMLR) holds the 13th largest amount of Bitcoin among listed firms (3,808 BTC, approximately $400 million), but its share price has plunged by more than 45% this year, causing its market capitalization to drop to a level nearly identical to its NAV (0.821 times). Semler has repeatedly issued shares and bonds to raise capital for Bitcoin purchases.

With the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, gold prices are nearing all-time highs, while Bitcoin (BTC) is still considered a risky asset, raising concerns about a possible drop. According to Cointelegraph on the 16th (local time), gold prices that had risen about 30% earlier this year due to tariff issues surged even more following the military clashes in the Middle East. Meanwhile, there is lingering doubt in the market over further increases in Bitcoin's price. The article states, "Gold prices move in response to investors’ preference for inflation hedges or safe-haven assets," adding, "If inflation concerns are detected when upcoming economic indicators are released, gold could soar to new record highs." Market experts further predicted that, due to risks from the Middle East, oil and gold will rise in the short term while the stock market and Bitcoin will fall. Henrik Andersen, a crypto analyst from Apollo, said, "Oil and gold will move in the opposite direction to the stock market and Bitcoin." Nick Ruck, Head of LVRG Research, also analyzed, "The 'digital gold' narrative around Bitcoin is gradually weakening," and added, "Traders are focusing more on short-term volatility and liquidity, so Bitcoin is moving more closely with risk assets rather than acting as a safe-haven." Meanwhile, the market is keeping a close watch on the outcome of this week’s Fed policy meeting. Eugene Cheung, Chief Commercial Officer of OSL, predicted, "If investors start looking to Bitcoin as an alternative store of value and this week's Fed meeting meets market expectations, Bitcoin could regain upward momentum in the coming weeks."

Bitcoin (BTC) mining difficulty decreased slightly after nearing an all-time high on May 31. According to Cointelegraph on the 16th (local time), data from CryptoQuant shows that Bitcoin mining difficulty reached a record 126.9 trillion on May 31, and has since slightly adjusted to around 126.4 trillion recently. Mining difficulty is an indicator of how complex the calculations are to create new blocks on the blockchain network. As difficulty increases, mining competition intensifies and production costs rise. The outlet reported that mining companies are facing financial difficulties due to reduced block rewards post the April 2024 halving, rising operating costs, and higher mining difficulty. However, some listed mining firms are adopting a strategy of increasing production and holding mined Bitcoin without selling. This signals a shift from the traditional business strategy of mining companies, which has been to sell coins to cover operating expenses. In fact, Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA) mined 950 Bitcoin in May, bringing its Bitcoin holdings up to 49,179 BTC. CleanSpark also mined 694 Bitcoin in May, recording a 9% increase from the previous month. Both companies are holding their mined Bitcoin as assets rather than selling.

Ethereum (ETH) has surpassed $2,500 (USD), emerging as a key asset in the global digital economy. According to CoinDesk on the 16th (local time), on the 12th, institutional investor Etherealize published a report stating, "Ethereum serves as the core settlement infrastructure for the global trend of moving financial assets on-chain," and evaluated it as "so productive that it is called digital oil, and an asset that must be included in the long-term strategy of institutions." The report also explained that "Ethereum already supports more than 80% of all tokenized assets and has established itself as the fundamental infrastructure for stablecoins and institutional blockchain adoption." According to CoinDesk Research's technical analysis model, Ethereum briefly dropped to $2,491.72 on the 13th but quickly recovered, securing a major support level at $2,500 on the same day. In addition, CoinGlass data shows that as of the 16th, Ethereum's open interest (OI) stood at $35.36 billion, indicating that institutional investors are taking active long positions. Despite heightened geopolitical risks, Ethereum has recently demonstrated strong resilience, and thanks to solid fundamentals, it is evaluated to be maintaining stable prices around the $2,500 level. Meanwhile, as of 10:10 a.m. on the 16th, Ethereum was trading at $2,533.20 on the Binance Tether (USDT) market, down 0.01% from the previous day.

An anonymous whale investor purchased a large amount of Ethereum (ETH) through the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Aave (AAVE). According to Lookonchain on the 13th (local time), the address '0x109' borrowed 5 million Tether (USDT) from Aave and bought approximately 1,844 ETH (about $4.6 million). The whale then deposited all acquired ETH into AAVE. This address currently holds a total of 23,786 Aave Wrapped Ethereum (AETHWETH). This is a deposit certificate token received when depositing ETH in AAVE. On that day, ETH was trading at $2,507 on the Binance Tether (USDT) market as of 13:30 on the 13th, down 9.17% from the previous day.

An address suspected to be associated with ConsenSys has been detected accumulating a large amount of Ethereum (ETH). According to on-chain data analyst 'OnchainDataNerd' on the 13th (local time), an address believed to be linked to ConsenSys purchased 2,825 ETH (about $7.48 million) through an over-the-counter (OTC) transaction. Over the past two weeks, this address has accumulated a total of 160,736 ETH (about $421 million), with the average purchase price being around $2,620 per ETH. As of 12:30 on the 13th, ETH is trading at $2,500 on the Binance Tether (USDT) market, down 9.14% from the previous day.