JOON HYOUNG LEE

KAIA, launched by integrating the blockchain business units of Kakao and Naver Line, is entering the decentralized exchange (DEX) market. On the 4th (local time), KAIA announced via its official X account that it has launched the decentralized exchange 'AlphaSec'. KAIA said, "AlphaSec has centralized exchange (CEX)-level performance," and, "We will soon release perpetual futures derivatives for investors such as those engaging in up to 5x margin trading and high-frequency trading (HFT)." KAIA added, "(AlphaSec's) goal is 100,000 TPS (transactions per second)," and "AlphaSec will become KAIA's liquidity engine for stablecoin trading."

The U.S. state of Connecticut has issued orders to cease operations to some decentralized prediction market platform operators. The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) said on the 3rd (local time) that it "sent letters to three platforms — Kalshi, Robinhood, and Crypto.com — issuing orders to stop and cease (prediction market platforms)." Bryan Cafferelli, a commissioner at the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, said, "None of the three companies held a license to offer betting contracts in Connecticut," and "even if they had obtained a license, they would be violating several state laws and policies, such as offering betting services to those under 21." Notably, Connecticut has classified prediction market platforms as "unlicensed sports betting businesses." Connecticut said, "Prediction market platforms that offer 'Sports Events Contract' are illegal," and pointed out that "such platforms have no obligation to comply with Connecticut's technical standards for gambling platforms, so consumers' financial and personal information could become vulnerable." It added, "The house rules that govern the settlement of all bets within (prediction market platforms) have not been reviewed by any regulatory agency," and "bets offered on such platforms are unregulated and may not pay out winnings as advertised." Some of the platforms ordered to cease operations by Connecticut plan to take legal action. Kalshi told U.S. crypto-focused outlet Cointelegraph that "Kalshi is a regulated exchange and is subject to exclusive federal jurisdiction under federal law," and that "it has already filed a lawsuit in federal court." Robinhood also said, "Robinhood's (sports) event contracts are regulated at the federal level by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)," and added, "retail customers can access prediction markets in a safe and compliant manner." Meanwhile, the prediction market platform market has recently shown steep growth. That is why Kalshi was valued at $11 billion (about 16.2 trillion won) in its recent Series E funding. According to Token Terminal, the trading volume of prediction market platforms was about $8.3 billion as of last month, nearly a 113% increase from about $3.9 billion a year earlier.

An error related to Prysm occurred on the Ethereum (ETH) mainnet. The Ethereum Foundation said on the 4th (local time) via its official X account, "(Currently) an error related to the Prysm consensus client is occurring on the mainnet." Prysm is a representative client software (SW) responsible for consensus functions in Ethereum's proof-of-stake (PoS) network. The Ethereum Foundation said, "If you are using Prysm, you must reconfigure the 'consensus layer (CL)' node," and added, "If you are using another client, you are not affected by this error." Ethereum has also prepared a temporary mitigation. Ethereum said, "All nodes should disable Prysm functionality so they do not process stale data," and "For this, add a specific flag to the 'beacon node'." Meanwhile, Ethereum applied the Fusaka upgrade to the mainnet that day. The core of the Fusaka upgrade is to improve the network's 'scalability,' including greatly increasing Ethereum layer 2's blobs-per-block throughput through the blockchain technology 'PeerDAS (PeerDAS).' The Ethereum Foundation said, "(Ethereum) community members will continuously monitor for errors over the next 24 hours."

Ju Ki-young, CEO of CryptoQuant, said that even in a crypto downturn the price decline of Bitcoin (BTC) is unlikely to be large. On the 4th, Ju said via X, "Bitcoin is currently about 25% down from its all-time high (ATH), and even if a bear market comes, the decline is likely to be smaller and it is more likely to show a wide range-bound sideways movement." Ju said that Bitcoin is likely to enter a bear market soon. He analyzed, "Most Bitcoin on-chain indicators are sending bearish signals, and if macro liquidity does not support it, the (crypto) market will inevitably enter a bear market." He also mentioned the possibility that the world's largest Bitcoin treasury company Strategy may sell Bitcoin. Strategy's CEO Pong Le recently hinted in an interview at the possibility of selling its stored Bitcoin. Ju noted, "If Strategy keeps the 650,000 bitcoins it holds in this cycle or sells only a very small portion, a large-scale correction like in 2022 is unlikely to be reproduced." He also offered advice for long-term investors (LTH). Ju said, "Long-term investors should avoid 'panic sells,' and Bitcoin now has much more diverse liquidity inflow channels, which strengthens its long-term outlook."

Bitcoin (BTC)'s 'Estimated Leverage Ratio (ELR)' is showing a decline. Analysis suggests a structural foundation for Bitcoin price gains is being established. An Arab Chain CryptoQuant contributor wrote on CryptoQuant on the 4th (local time), "While the Bitcoin price rises to $93,000, Binance's ELR continues to decline," and said, "Binance's latest ELR, the world's largest platform by spot and futures trading volume for Bitcoin, is a figure that shows structural changes in the market." ELR is an indicator that shows how large the open interest (OI) in the futures market is compared to the exchange's crypto holdings. Generally, the higher the ELR, the more overheated leverage is considered in the market. Arab Chain noted, "While Bitcoin rose to the $93,000 level, ELR fell to 0.187." Arab Chain said, "This is roughly a one-month low," and added, "The rare divergence between price and leverage provides important implications for interpreting the current flow." It also analyzed, "That ELR has fallen to a 30-day low means that high-risk leveraged positions have been significantly reduced," and, "Healthy deleveraging lowers the market's sudden liquidation risk and reinforces the stability of the current price uptrend." Arab Chain viewed that the easing of leverage overheating increases the possibility of further Bitcoin price rises. Arab Chain said, "In such an environment, there is generally a shift in the derivatives market toward lower-risk positions," explaining, "It means investors are participating in the market by maintaining sustainable futures positions rather than aggressive borrowing." It added, "As a result, the market becomes less vulnerable to large-scale cascade liquidations, and price movements form on a firmer basis," and, "This will strengthen support in the low-$90,000 range and make the current uptrend a more solid flow that is less dependent on short-term leveraged speculation."

The U.S. XRP spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) has continued a 12-day streak of net fund inflows since its launch. On the 3rd (local time), according to on-chain analytics firm SosoValue, the XRP spot ETF recorded 12 consecutive days of net fund inflows from the 14th of last month through the 2nd of this month. As of that date, the cumulative net inflows into the XRP spot ETF amounted to $824,000,000 (about KRW 1.2 trillion). The net assets of the XRP spot ETF stood at $850,000,000 (about KRW 1.25 trillion) as of that date. CoinDesk said, "(The XRP spot ETF) has established itself as the fastest-growing segment among major cryptocurrency assets," adding that "assets are on the verge of surpassing $1 billion." New XRP ETFs are also expected to be launched one after another. According to the U.S. Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), major investment banks (IBs) such as Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, and Invesco have applied to list XRP spot ETFs.

The Ethereum (ETH) purchase volume of digital asset treasuries (DAT) has reportedly halved over the past month. On the 3rd (local time), according to Bitwise, DAT firms such as Bitmain and SharpLink saw Ethereum purchases fall from 670,000 in October to 370,000 last month, a drop of nearly 45%. In other words, purchases have effectively halved over the past month. DAT firms' Ethereum purchases have been declining since August (1,970,000). Max Shannon, Bitwise's senior researcher, said, "The weakness among Ethereum DAT firms is persisting." The slowdown in Ethereum buying is due in part to the recent price decline. Although Ethereum's price rebounded sharply that day, reclaiming the $3,000 level, it is down nearly 16% compared with one month ago. However, the world's largest Ethereum treasury holder, Bitmain, has been steadily buying Ethereum. According to the Strategic Ethereum Reserve, Bitmain added $2,130,000,000 worth of Ethereum last month alone. Cointelegraph reported, "Bitmain holds an additional $882,000,000 in cash," noting "this means it could absorb more Ethereum."

Bitcoin (BTC) price fell below $92,000. On the 3rd, according to CoinMarketCap, as of 11:09 PM that day Bitcoin was trading at $91,942.04, up 4.52% from the previous day. Compared with a week ago, it rose 5.68%. The kimchi premium recorded in the 1% range. According to KraiPrice, as of 11:09 PM that day the kimchi premium was 1.49%.

Last month, the U.S. private-sector employment indicator fell far below market expectations. On the 3rd (local time), according to the Automatic Data Processing (ADP) employment report, the number of nonfarm employees in the U.S. last month decreased by 32,000 compared with the previous month. This figure is 37,000 below experts' projection (5,000). Compared with the revised October figure (47,000), it is 79,000 fewer. The ADP employment report is usually released two days before the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) employment report and is considered a kind of 'preview.' However, it does not always move in the same direction as the government's official statistics. The market paid attention to this ADP employment report because recent U.S. federal government shutdown (temporary suspension of operations) disrupted labor market surveys. The market thinks the ADP employment indicator could act as a key variable for the December Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). Meanwhile, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics plans to release the November employment report on the 16th of this month.

An analysis said Bitcoin (BTC) price is building a new price base before entering an uptrend. Arab Chain, a CryptoQuant contributor, said on the 3rd (local time) via CryptoQuant, "The 'Coinbase Premium' indicator has shown clear changes in recent days," and "Although selling pressure from U.S. investors continued throughout last month, (the Coinbase Premium) has returned to a positive territory of 0.03." The Coinbase Premium is the figure obtained by subtracting Binance's Bitcoin price from Coinbase's Bitcoin price on the U.S. crypto exchange, and is regarded as a key indicator to gauge U.S.-origin Bitcoin buying pressure. Arab Chain analyzed, "Historically, when the Coinbase Premium turns positive, U.S. institutional demand tends to flow back in," adding, "because Coinbase serves as a key gateway for U.S. liquidity." Arab Chain continued, "Other indicators such as Binance's spot and perpetual futures trading volumes show that global liquidity is gradually responding to the Coinbase Premium's rise," and "When the signals of the two platforms align, the market generally tends to enter a pre-rally consolidation phase." Arab Chain also mentioned the possibility of further gains. Arab Chain analyzed, "The interaction of the two key indicators, the Coinbase Premium and Binance liquidity, is a signal that the market price structure has begun to gradually improve," and "If the trend persists, the market may be preparing for a new uptrend." Arab Chain added, "(However) if the Coinbase Premium falls again, market volatility could intensify again and the market could return to a phase where short-term selling pressure increases."

Taiwan is seeking to introduce a stablecoin as early as next year. On the 3rd (local time), according to local media such as Focus Taiwan, Peng Jin-lung, chairman of the Taiwan Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), said, "A stablecoin could be launched on the market as early as the second half of next year." Peng Jin-lung said, "The 'Virtual Asset Service Act' should be included in the agenda of the Legislative Yuan (parliament) for this session," and added, "(If the bill is passed) a six-month buffer period until it takes effect will be necessary." The Virtual Asset Service Act is the stablecoin regulatory bill that Taiwan is pursuing. According to the bill, Taiwan plans to limit the issuers of stablecoins to financial institutions in the initial stage of introduction. Peng Jin-lung said, "(The draft bill) follows the European Union's (EU) regulation of the virtual asset market." This means it had the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, which the EU adopted at the end of last year, in mind. However, the fiat currency underpinning the stablecoin has not yet been decided. Peng Jin-lung said, "The value of the stablecoin could be pegged to the US dollar or the New Taiwan dollar depending on market demand, but nothing has been decided yet."

Ethena (ENA)'s synthetic dollar stablecoin USDe's market capitalization has reportedly evaporated by about $2.2 billion (approximately 3.2 trillion won) over the past month. According to cryptocurrency market tracking platform CoinGecko on the 3rd (local time), USDe's market cap fell from $9.3 billion on the 1st of last month to $7.1 billion on the 30th of the same month, a decrease of $2.2 billion over one month. That amounts to a drop of nearly 24% in market cap over the past month. Synthetic dollars like USDe are stablecoins that maintain a 1:1 value with the dollar by combining various financial products such as crypto derivatives. This contrasts with existing stablecoins like Tether (USDT) and Circle (USDC), which maintain a 1:1 value with the dollar by collateralizing traditional assets such as gold and U.S. Treasury bonds. Cointelegraph reported that "unlike synthetic dollar stablecoins, the market caps of Tether and Circle increased by $1.3 billion and $600 million this month, respectively, showing a slight rise for fiat-backed stablecoins." The 'de-pegging' incident that occurred in October appears to have affected USDe's market cap plunge. Earlier, USDe's price briefly fell to $0.65 on global cryptocurrency exchange Binance on October 11 this year. Although temporary, this broke the value of a stablecoin that is supposed to be fixed at $1. At the time, USDe was the world's third-largest stablecoin by market capitalization.

MicroStrategy, the world's largest Bitcoin (BTC) treasury company, is reportedly in talks with Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) about possible exclusion from MSCI indices. According to Reuters on the 3rd (local time), Michael Saylor, chairman of MicroStrategy, said at the "Binance Blockchain Week (BBW)" held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) that "(regarding MSCI index exclusion) I am participating in the discussions." MicroStrategy is currently included in the MSCI USA and MSCI World indices. MSCI indices are among the most influential stock indices in the world and serve as benchmark indices for global investors. When added to an MSCI index, passive funds that track the index flow in, and conversely, if removed, large capital outflows can occur. Global investment bank J.P. Morgan recently predicted that MicroStrategy could be removed from MSCI indices. According to J.P. Morgan, MSCI will decide on MicroStrategy's index removal on the 15th of next month. J.P. Morgan analyzed that "if MicroStrategy is removed from MSCI indices, up to $8.8 billion of capital outflows could occur," and "(if excluded) MicroStrategy's future ability to raise capital and debt could be called into question." Saylor said he "cannot be sure" about J.P. Morgan's analysis of large potential outflows. Regarding recent volatility in MicroStrategy's stock, he explained, "MicroStrategy operates based on Bitcoin price appreciation, so its stock will be highly volatile," and "if Bitcoin prices fall by 30~40%, the (MicroStrategy) stock is designed to fall further."

Option contracts linked to IBIT, BlackRock's Bitcoin (BTC) spot exchange-traded fund, have surpassed 7.7 million. CoinDesk reported on the 3rd (local time), citing data from optioncharts, that IBIT-related option contracts totaled about 7.71 million as of the previous day (2nd). It is the ninth largest among options related to indices, listed stocks, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S. CoinDesk said, "Among stocks, the open interest (OI) of IBIT options is the second largest." Earlier, BlackRock launched the IBIT option product in November last year. Global Web3 research firm BloFin Research analyzed, "The increasing popularity of options linked to IBIT means Bitcoin's appeal as an asset is growing." CoinDesk said, "(IBIT options) provided institutional investors access to a regulated (cryptocurrency) options market," and "investors have used the options for revenue-generating strategies such as hedging, speculation, and covered calls."

James Wynn, known as a whale of the decentralized exchange (DEX) Hyperliquid (HYPE), bet on a Bitcoin (BTC) long (buy) position with 40x leverage. On the 3rd (local time), according to on-chain analytics firm OnChainLens, James Wynn opened a Bitcoin long position with 40x leverage through a private wallet on the previous day (the 2nd). OnChainLens said, "(James Wynn) currently has about 231,000 dollars (about 300 million won) in unrealized profits from the position," and "the cumulative profit of the wallet is about 1,860,000 dollars (about 2.7 billion won)." However, James Wynn said he believes the crypto market has recently entered a bear market. James Wynn stated via X that "(the crypto market is) currently in a bear market." Regarding Bitcoin's nearly 6% rebound that day, he drew a line, saying, "It is nothing more than a 'relief rally (Relief Rally·short-term rebound)' expected in a bear market."

Bitcoin (BTC) prices rose nearly 7% in a single day, and analysis suggests there is potential for further gains. Cryptocurrency analysis firm Matrixport said on the 3rd (local time) via X, "Technically, Bitcoin has formed a 'higher low' and secured additional room to rise." Matrixport said, "Amid recent prospects of a rate hike in Japan, leveraged positions totaling about $1 billion were liquidated at once, causing Bitcoin to plunge more than 6%," adding, "crypto-related stocks such as Strategy fell as much as 12%, putting additional pressure on fragile investor sentiment." Matrixport said, "(but) thereafter global markets began to stabilize, and Bank of America (BoA) allowed recommending Bitcoin up to 4% to asset management clients, leading Bitcoin prices to recover to the $90,000 range." It added, "Vanguard finally began offering Bitcoin investment exposure to clients, which also improved sentiment." Meanwhile, as of 4:21 PM that day, Bitcoin was trading at $93,000.59 on CoinMarketCap, up 6.91% from the previous day. Compared with a week earlier, it had risen 6.01%.

An analysis has emerged that MicroStrategy, the world's largest Bitcoin (BTC) holding company, has a 'bankruptcy threshold' at a Bitcoin price of $23,000. On the 3rd, according to the industry, domestic web3 research firm Tiger Research recently analyzed in a report that MicroStrategy's 'Static Bankruptcy' critical level is a Bitcoin price of $23,000. This means that until the Bitcoin price falls below $23,000, the likelihood of MicroStrategy going bankrupt is low. Tiger Research analyzed, "Static Bankruptcy occurs when a company cannot repay its debts even if it liquidates all its assets," and added, "As of this year, MicroStrategy's static bankruptcy level (by Bitcoin price) is about $23,000." It continued, "The threshold rose from $18,000 in 2024 to $23,000 in 2025," and said, "If (the Bitcoin price) falls below that price range, the value of Bitcoin holdings will fall below liabilities and the company will be in a distressed state on a balance-sheet basis." The key is 2028, three years from now. Tiger Research said, "The core (of bankruptcy risk) is not the size or maturity of convertible bond issuance but the timing of holders exercising their put options," and added, "Large convertible bonds issued last year and this year are mostly structured around 2028 put option exercise dates." Tiger Research said, "2028 is an important year in which MicroStrategy must prove its ability to refinance," and added, "If the Bitcoin price approaches the bankruptcy threshold in 2028 or market conditions deteriorate, investors are more likely to exercise put options rather than wait for maturity." Tiger Research also mentioned the possibility of MicroStrategy selling Bitcoin. It said, "The large convertible bonds issued in 2024–2025 generate a potential repayment amount of $6.4 billion in 2028," and added, "If market conditions worsen and preferred stock and at-the-market (ATM) issuance and new convertible bonds all become impossible, MicroStrategy would have no choice but to sell Bitcoin." It added, "Assuming a Bitcoin price of $90,000, MicroStrategy would need to sell about 71,000 bitcoins to fulfill such obligations," and said, "The sales may not end as a one-off, so if MicroStrategy fails to raise funds in 2028, there could be significant selling pressure sufficient to affect the entire Bitcoin market."

Bitcoin, nearly 6% plunge in a day 'Yearn Finance hack' direct hit Chain liquidations deepen the decline U.S. ETFs saw 3.5 billion dollars outflow last month "Could fall to 75,000 dollars within the year" Bitcoin (BTC) prices, which had been showing a rebound, plunged by nearly 6% in a single day. The impact came from the hack of Yearn Finance (YFI), a DeFi protocol based on Ethereum (ETH), which triggered a risk-off (Risk-Off·flight from risky assets) sentiment. There are views that Bitcoin prices could drop to the $70,000 range this month. According to crypto market tracker CoinMarketCap on the 1st, Bitcoin prices fell from the $91,000 range to as low as the $85,000 range on the day, a drop of about 6%. Bitcoin falling below $86,000 was the first time in a week since the 24th of last month. Afterwards, Bitcoin prices slightly rebounded and recovered to the $86,000 range. The sharp drop in Bitcoin prices was due to the Yearn Finance hack. Yearn Finance suffered about 9 million dollars (roughly 13 billion won) in damages on the 30th of last month (local time) from an exploit (Exploit·vulnerability attack). The hacker reportedly effectively minted the index token yETH of Yearn Finance to an almost infinite degree, depleting liquidity. Analysts say the Yearn Finance hack triggered a risk-off sentiment across DeFi and the crypto market. Jeff Mei, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of crypto exchange BTSE, said, "Yearn Finance is a relatively large DeFi aggregator," adding, "the (hack) fear could trigger withdrawals and unstaking, intensifying selling pressure." 640 million dollars liquidated in one day amid the plunge Chain liquidations in the derivatives market poured fuel on the decline. On-chain analytics firm CoinGlass reported that about 643 million dollars (roughly 95 billion won) in positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours as of that day. About 88% of the liquidated positions were long (buy) positions. U.S. crypto media Cointelegraph reported, "About 180,000 investors were liquidated in the past 24 hours," adding that the liquidations were concentrated on long positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH). Weakened inflows from institutional funds are also cited as one of the causes of the decline. On-chain analytics firm SoSoValue reported that U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded a net outflow of 3.48 billion dollars (about 5.1 trillion won) last month. In terms of net outflows, this is the largest since February this year, nine months ago. From BlackRock's IBIT alone, the largest spot Bitcoin ETF, 2.34 billion dollars (about 3.4 trillion won) flowed out. Expectations of a Japanese interest rate hike also appear to have negatively affected the Bitcoin market. Japan's two-year government bond yield, sensitive to monetary policy, topped 1% on the day, hitting its highest level in 17 years since 2008. If Japanese bond yields rise, the incentive for institutional investors to borrow cheap yen and invest in higher-yielding assets through the yen carry trade could weaken. Crypto analytics firm Matrixport said, "Even if the U.S. Fed takes a dovish (favoring monetary easing) stance, it may not be sufficient to offset tightening signals from other countries (such as Japan)," adding, "this could be a background factor leading institutional investors to continuously reduce their Bitcoin exposure." "Rate cut expectations already priced in for Sep–Oct" This is why crypto investor sentiment was hit hard despite expectations of a Fed rate cut in December. Crypto data firm Alternative's 'Fear & Greed Index' stood at 24 on the day, down 4 points from the previous day (28), moving from the 'fear' stage into the 'extreme fear' stage. The Fear & Greed Index indicates that the closer the value is to 0, the more contracted investor sentiment is. On betting site Polymarket, the probability that Bitcoin will fall below $80,000 within the year jumped to 58% on the day, up 25 percentage points from the previous day. Experts say that if Bitcoin does not recover to the $87,000 range in the short term, downward pressure could increase. Rachel Lucas, BTC Markets analyst, analyzed, "Expectations for a December rate cut were already priced in during the rally in September–October," adding, "(risk-on appetite) remains limited due to macroeconomic pressures such as tariffs and entrenched inflation." She continued, "If Bitcoin fails to hold the key support at $87,000, a 'liquidity sweep' phenomenon could push it down to the $75,000 range."

Uzbekistan officially adopts stablecoins. On the 28th (local time), according to Cointelegraph, Uzbekistan's new stablecoin regulatory framework will take effect on January 1 next year. Cointelegraph said "(through the framework) a pilot project to develop a stablecoin-based payment system will be implemented," and "Uzbekistan-based companies will be able to issue tokenized stocks and bonds." Earlier, Timur Ishmetov, governor of the Central Bank of Uzbekistan, announced in September that research related to cryptocurrencies was being conducted. At the time, Governor Ishmetov said "(cryptocurrencies) will have a serious impact on monetary policy," and "they should be carried out under strict control." Uzbekistan is not the only country in Central Asia introducing stablecoins. Earlier, the Kyrgyzstan government last month launched a stablecoin pegged 1-to-1 to the value of its national currency 'som(Som)'. Cointelegraph reported that "Kazakhstan in September cooperated with Binance to create a government-level cryptocurrency fund holding Binance Coin (BNB)."

Dollar stablecoin issuer Tether (USDT) has stopped its Bitcoin (BTC) mining operations in Uruguay. Tether told Cointelegraph on the 28th (local time), "We have stopped (Bitcoin mining operations) in Uruguay." Tether said, "We will continue to be committed to long-term projects in Latin America." Reports that Tether was withdrawing from Uruguay first emerged in September. At the time, Tether was reported to be considering halting operations amid a dispute over a $4.8 million debt with Uruguay's state-owned power company. According to local media, Tether recently notified the Uruguayan Ministry of Labor of the suspension of its Bitcoin mining operations and the dismissal of 30 local employees. Tether entered the Bitcoin mining business in Uruguay in May 2023. Cointelegraph reported, "Tether has not officially disclosed local partners, but it appears to be connected with entities such as the national power plant and the power transmission authority (UTE)."

Bitcoin (BTC) price surpassed $92,000. According to CoinMarketCap on the 28th, Bitcoin was trading at $92,327.34 as of 10:49 PM, up 1.72% from the previous day. Compared with a week ago, it rose 9.56%. The kimchi premium was in the 2% range. According to CrypPrice, the kimchi premium was 2.11% as of 10:49 PM.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance's Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) have recently shown an increasing trend. TeddyVision, a CryptoQuant contributor, said on the 28th (local time) through CryptoQuant that "the 7-day cumulative 'Exchange Inflow Value' on Binance has moved to a range that is markedly higher than this year's average." TeddyVision said, "The 'average' range of Exchange Inflow Value was formed around 8 billion dollars for most of this year," and "since August, even in short-term correction phases, the flow has not fallen below 11 billion dollars." TeddyVision emphasized, "This means that the flow of funds into Binance has been steadily maintained at a pace that greatly exceeds the annual average." TeddyVision added, "This cannot be immediately concluded as strong selling pressure," while analyzing that "it can be interpreted as a signal that the amount of funds and coins moving to exchanges is increasing, structurally increasing the market's sell-side liquidity." TeddyVision diagnosed, "Such structurally high inflows are a feature that often occurs in cyclical phases rather than in pure accumulation stages." He said, "If large investors move coins to exchanges and the market shifts to a 'Risk-Off (avoidance of risky assets)' environment, it can act to secure greater selling capacity."

RLUSD, Ripple's stablecoin (Ripple is the issuer of XRP), has surpassed $1 billion (about 1.5 trillion won) in market capitalization on Ethereum (ETH). On the 28th (local time), according to on-chain analytics firm Token Terminal, RLUSD's market cap on Ethereum exceeded $1 billion as of that day. It is the result one year after Ripple launched RLUSD at the end of last year. Token Terminal said, "(RLUSD) net demand is absorbing new supply and it is being continuously used in the market," and added, "the fact that the supply of a stablecoin less than one year since its launch is being maintained suggests that RLUSD has secured fixed use cases." The number of RLUSD holders was about 6,000 as of that day, eight times higher than earlier this year (750). Token Terminal analyzed, "The fact that the increase in holder count keeps pace with supply growth means supply is not concentrated in a few addresses but is distributed," and "even if supply increases, holder count does not rise if (amounts) are concentrated in a few addresses." Weekly trading volume on Ethereum was estimated at about $1 billion. Compared to earlier this year (about $66 million), it is nearly 15 times higher. Over the same period, weekly transaction counts also jumped from about 240 to about 7,000, more than 29 times. Token Terminal noted, "The increase in trading volume reflects increased usage," and "the fact that trading volume and transaction counts are rising simultaneously means overall usage frequency is increasing rather than a few large transactions."

The Financial Services Commission has expressed its intention to strengthen the travel rule regulation, commonly referred to as the 'coin real-name system'. Lee Eok-yeom, Chair of the Financial Services Commission, said on the 28th at the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU)'s "19th Anti-Money Laundering Day" ceremony, "We will strictly punish money laundering acts that exploit virtual asset transactions," and "We will expand the travel rule regulation to transactions of 1,000,000 won or less." The reason for strengthening the travel rule regulation is to prevent money laundering. Under the current travel rule, domestic virtual asset exchanges are required to collect information such as the sender's and receiver's names and wallet addresses when they receive deposit or withdrawal requests of 1,000,000 won or more, and by expanding the regulation to transactions under 1,000,000 won they aim to eliminate blind spots. The chair said, "We will prevent virtual asset transactions with overseas exchanges that have a high risk of money laundering." Other regulations will also be strengthened. The chair said, "If someone has a criminal record for crimes such as drugs or tax evasion, they will not be able to become a major shareholder of a virtual asset service provider," and "We will supplement the system so that financial condition and social credit requirements are also confirmed in the registration review of virtual asset operators." In addition, the FIU decided to introduce a "preemptive account freeze system" to prevent funds suspected of being linked to crime from being withdrawn during investigations. The chair said, "We will limit the target crimes to serious crimes affecting people's livelihoods, such as drugs and gambling, to minimize the side effects of account freezes and public inconvenience." The Financial Services Commission plans to announce related measures in the first half of next year and submit an amendment to the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information to the National Assembly. To ensure early establishment of the system, it will also strengthen the FIU's organizational capabilities.

The world's largest Ethereum (ETH) holding company BitMine has purchased an additional US$44 million (about KRW 65 billion) worth of Ethereum. On the 28th (local time), according to LookonChain, BitMine newly bought 14,618 Ethereum that day. At current value, this amounts to US$44 million. The Block said, "The transaction has not yet been officially confirmed by BitMine," and added, "BitMine holds US$10.9 billion (about KRW 16 trillion) worth of Ethereum as of its last official announcement." Ethereum's price fell to the mid-$2,000s earlier this month and then recovered to the $3,000 range. As of 4:45 p.m. that day, Ethereum was trading at $3,010.26 on CoinMarketCap, down 0.63% from the previous day. Compared with one month ago, it has fallen 25.05%. BitMine expects Ethereum's price could rise to US$9,000 early next year. In a recent interview, Tom Lee, chairman of BitMine, forecast that Ethereum's price could rise to at least US$7,000 and at most US$9,000 by the end of January next year. Lee also predicted that Bitcoin (BTC) would surpass US$100,000 by the end of this year.

An analysis said Bitcoin (BTC) must break the short-term resistance in the $93,000 range to secure upward momentum. On-chain analytics company Glassnode said on the 28th (local time) via its official X account, "(Bitcoin's) currently most important short-term resistance range is $93,000–$96,000," and stated, "To regain momentum toward an all-time high (ATH), breaking through the supply cluster of top buyers is the key condition." If Bitcoin breaks $96,000, the next resistance range is $100,000–$108,000. Glassnode analyzed, "That range is an area where the volumes of recently entered buyers are concentrated," and "It is common for a certain level of resistance to occur."

Bitcoin (BTC) has hit its 'worst November' in six years since 2019. On the 28th (local time), according to CoinGlass, the average change in bitcoin prices for this month was -16.75% as of that day. Looking only at average monthly change rates, it is the lowest since 2019 (-17.27%). The record low for average monthly change rates was in 2018 (-36.57%). Typically, November has been a month when Bitcoin shows strength. According to CoinGlass, from 2013 through last year, the average price increase of Bitcoin over about 10 years is approximately 46%. Justin Danetan, head of research at crypto advisory firm Arctic Digital, analyzed, "In the past, a somewhat predictable (Bitcoin) four-year cycle led to rallies through the end of the year, and October through December mostly closed higher," adding, "Earlier this year, spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) were launched in the U.S., causing this cycle to start earlier." Meanwhile, as of 4:06 PM on that day, Bitcoin was trading on CoinMarketCap at $91,393.15, up 0.22% from the previous day. Compared with a week ago, it is up 6.77%.