JOON HYOUNG LEE

On-chain activity by early Bitcoin (BTC) investors has recently fallen sharply. Darkfost, a CryptoQuant contributor, said via CryptoQuant on the 15th (local time) that "in this cycle, the size of Bitcoin OGs’ 'Unspent Transaction Outputs (UTXO)' far exceeded the level observed in the previous cycle," adding that "as the cycle progressed, the amount of OG selling seen around local peak zones gradually declined." UTXO refers to cryptocurrency created in a previous transaction but not yet spent. He also cited the on-chain metric 'Spent Transaction Outputs (STXO)'. Darkfost noted that "the 90-day average based on recent STXO peaked at around 2,300 BTC and then fell rapidly," adding that "(STXO) is currently moving around roughly 1,000 BTC." He continued, "this means OG investors’ selling pace is slowing," and said, "the OG sell flow that exerted strong pressure on the market has clearly eased, and the prevailing trend now appears closer to 'holding.'"

The Bank of England (BOE) has begun reviewing whether to treat stablecoins like deposits covered by protection schemes. According to Bloomberg on the 15th (local time), Dave Ramsden, the BOE’s deputy governor for markets and banking, said in a speech the previous day (14th) that the bank is “considering ways to maintain confidence in money if a systemically important stablecoin were to fail.” Bloomberg reported that Ramsden’s remarks suggest the BOE could extend safeguards applied to bank deposits to widely used stablecoins. The BOE believes some stablecoins should be subject to protections similar to those for bank deposits. Ramsden said, “Over the long term, maintaining trust in stablecoins may require an insurance scheme similar to that applied to bank deposits, as well as a legal restructuring regime that ensures coinholders can become senior creditors in the event of insolvency.” The UK’s deposit protection limit is currently up to £120,000 (about 240 million won). The BOE last month raised the limit from £85,000 to £120,000. However, the BOE plans to cap stablecoin holdings at £20,000 per coin for individuals. For companies, holdings can be up to £10 million per coin. In addition, stablecoin issuers may hold short-term government bonds up to 60% of collateral assets. Meanwhile, the BOE plans to draw up stablecoin regulations within the year.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the South Korean won’s recent sharp depreciation is not in line with the fundamentals of the Korean economy. In a post on X on the 14th (local time), Bessent said he met with Deputy Prime Minister Koo Yun-cheol on the 12th to discuss recent market developments in South Korea, adding that they shared the view that the won’s recent decline is not consistent with the country’s solid economic fundamentals. He also said South Korea is delivering impressive performance across key industries that underpin the U.S. economy, calling it a highly important partner for the United States in Asia. Bessent also discussed with Koo steps to implement bilateral trade and investment agreements. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, Bessent said implementation should proceed smoothly and that the agreements will further deepen the economic partnership between the United States and South Korea. Koo recently visited the United States to attend the G7 Finance Ministers’ Meeting on Critical Minerals in Washington, D.C., where he met with Bessent. The two were reported to have exchanged views on South Korea-U.S. economic developments and ways to strengthen economic ties.

Mantra (OM), which suffered a token crash last year, is moving ahead with restructuring. John Patrick Mullin, Mantra’s chief executive officer (CEO), said on X on the 14th (local time) that he had decided to restructure the company after “the toughest year Mantra has gone through, for a variety of reasons.” Mullin added, “As part of a strategic pivot toward 2026, we will become a leaner organization overall, streamline operations and focus resources,” and said he would “take full responsibility for the process that led to this decision.” Mantra previously went through a token crash episode in April last year. At the time, Mantra’s price plunged by nearly 90% in just three hours, from the $6 range to the $0.5 range. According to CoinMarketCap, Mantra is trading in the $0.08 range as of this day. That is a drop of about 97.7% from a year earlier. Mullin said of last year’s crash, “It was extremely unfortunate, and frankly unfair.” He added, “With a prolonged market slump, intensifying competition and a changed market environment, the current cost structure is no longer sustainable,” and said, “To regain market leadership and grow again, we need to improve capital efficiency and adopt an extremely focused strategy.” He continued, “We have already cut unnecessary spending and redeployed capabilities to higher-priority tasks, but it was not enough to match our funding capacity,” adding, “So we made the difficult decision to reduce headcount.”

Concerns have emerged that the Crypto Market Structure Act (the Clarity Act), recently released by the US Senate, would significantly expand regulators’ surveillance authority. According to The Block on the 14th (local time), crypto market research firm Galaxy Research said in a report the previous day that “the US Senate’s draft Clarity Act defines the Treasury Department’s authority far more broadly than the bill discussed in the House,” adding that “if these powers are enacted into law, it would represent the largest expansion of government financial surveillance authority since the US PATRIOT Act.” Galaxy Research noted that “the crux of the debate lies in how the Clarity Act addresses illicit finance.” Under the Senate draft, the Treasury Department would be able to swiftly freeze digital-asset transactions it deems at risk of money laundering without a court order. The draft also includes provisions to extend the Treasury’s sanctions and anti-money-laundering obligations to areas such as DeFi (decentralized finance). Previously, on the 13th, the US Senate released the full text of the draft Clarity Act negotiated between Republicans and Democrats. The Senate Banking Committee will hold a markup on the bill on the 15th. A markup is the committee stage in which lawmakers conduct a final review before sending a bill to the full chamber. The Senate Agriculture Committee postponed its markup schedule for the Clarity Act to later this month.

Bitwise’s spot Chainlink (LINK) exchange-traded fund (ETF) will debut on the 14th (local time). According to The Block, Bitwise’s Chainlink ETF, “CLNK,” will list on NYSE Arca that day. Matt Hougan, Bitwise’s chief investment officer (CIO), said, “Chainlink bridges the gap between real-world data and blockchain infrastructure,” adding, “Investors now have a new way to invest in core infrastructure of the blockchain economy through CLNK.” This marks the second Chainlink ETF launch, following the Grayscale Chainlink ETF that began trading in late last month. Grayscale’s ETF also listed on NYSE Arca. The Block reported, “Bitwise’s Chainlink ETF has a fee of 0.34%,” adding, “Fees will be waived for the first three months after launch, until assets under management reach $500 million.”

U.S. wholesale prices in November last year came in below market expectations. The Bureau of Labor Statistics under the U.S. Department of Labor said on the 14th (local time) that the U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) rose 0.2% month on month in November last year. That was 0.1 percentage point below the consensus estimate compiled by Dow Jones (0.3%). The year-on-year increase was tallied at 3.0%. Driven by a surge in energy prices, prices for final demand goods rose 0.9% from the prior month. It was the strongest monthly gain in about two years since February 2024 (0.9%). Final demand energy prices jumped 4.6% month on month. By contrast, prices for final demand services were unchanged from the previous month. Core PPI, which excludes volatile energy and food prices, increased 0.2% month on month and 3.5% year on year. The producer price index—also referred to as wholesale prices—feeds into final consumer-goods prices with a lag and is regarded as a leading indicator of consumer inflation.

U.S. retail sales rose 0.6% month on month in November last year, beating market expectations. The U.S. Department of Commerce said on the 14th (local time) that U.S. retail sales increased 0.6% from the previous month in November last year. The figure came in 0.1% point above the consensus estimate (0.5%). On a year-on-year basis, sales rose 3.3%. The October retail sales figure remained unchanged from the initial release at a 3.47% month-on-month increase. The U.S. monthly retail sales report is an advance estimate that primarily tracks goods spending within overall consumption. It is regarded as a key gauge of shifts in consumer demand, a backbone of the U.S. economy. On Wall Street, there have been concerns that uncertainty over tariff policy under a second Trump administration and fears of a downturn could worsen U.S. consumer sentiment and weigh on personal consumption spending.

Changpeng Zhao (CZ), founder of Binance, said “even the US president won’t be able to predict the market’s direction over the next 3–4 months.” According to local media outlets such as BlockBeats and Odaily on the 14th (local time), Zhao made the remarks during a live AMA session on Binance Square, saying that “it is difficult to gauge the market’s direction over the next 3–4 months.” Binance Square is a social media platform operated by Binance, a global cryptocurrency exchange. He also addressed the risks of futures trading. Zhao said, “I don’t recommend derivatives trading for beginners (in crypto investing),” adding that “losses stemming from volatility can be very large.” He continued, “There’s no need to make 10x returns in a single day,” and said that “personally, I think this kind of investing has lost much of its significance.”

Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) such as Hyperliquid (HYPE) are expected to begin posing a serious threat to traditional finance (TradFi) starting this year. Crypto market research firm Delphi Digital said in its 2026 outlook report released on the 14th (local time) that “over the long term, decentralized exchanges can evolve into a single financial infrastructure that simultaneously performs the roles of banks, exchanges, custody, and brokerage,” adding that “starting this year, DEXs will begin encroaching on areas dominated by traditional finance.” Delphi Digital pointed out that “traditional finance is expensive because of structural fragmentation.” It said that “(in traditional finance) trading takes place on exchanges, settlement at clearinghouses, and asset custody at banks,” whereas “blockchains integrate all functions into a single smart contract.” It added, “Hyperliquid is currently building even its own lending function,” and noted that “rival platforms such as Aster (ASTER) and Lighter (LIT) are also rapidly closing the gap.” Decentralized exchanges posted sharp growth last year. According to CoinGecko, DEX market share jumped more than fivefold over the past three years, rising from 2.1% in January 2023 to 11.7% in November last year. U.S. investment bank (IB) Cantor Fitzgerald has also recently said that, buoyed by the growth in DEXs, Hyperliquid’s price could surpass $200 within the next 10 years. According to CoinMarketCap, Hyperliquid is trading around $25.8 as of today, up about 6% from the previous day.

Shares of Metaplanet, Asia’s largest Bitcoin (BTC) treasury company, surged. According to CoinDesk on the 14th (local time), Metaplanet’s shares closed at ¥605 on the day, up about 15% from the previous session. CoinDesk said, “If the stock reaches ¥637—about 5% above the current level—it would be nearing the trigger threshold for the so-called ‘Moving Strike Warrant (MSW)’ program to be reactivated.” The MSW is a program that allows Metaplanet to issue new shares to fund Bitcoin purchases once its share price hits a certain level. The program was temporarily suspended to protect shareholders after Metaplanet’s stock plunged nearly 80% following a record high in June last year. Metaplanet’s mNAV (market value relative to the value of its Bitcoin holdings) is also rising. CoinDesk said Metaplanet’s mNAV stood at 1.36 as of the day, the highest in about three months since October last year. Metaplanet began in 2010 as a hotel operator but reinvented itself as a Bitcoin treasury company in April last year. As of the day, the company held roughly 35,000 bitcoins, the largest among Asian companies. CoinDesk said it has “the fourth-largest Bitcoin holdings among listed companies worldwide.”

Global payments company Visa is expanding its stablecoin payments service in collaboration with UK startup BVNK. According to CoinDesk on the 14th (local time), Visa announced it had signed a stablecoin partnership agreement with BVNK that day. Through the partnership, Visa plans to integrate BVNK’s stablecoin infrastructure into Visa Direct. Visa will roll out BVNK-based stablecoin payment services starting with markets where demand for digital-asset payments is high. Mark Nelson, Visa’s global head of products, said, “Stablecoins are an exciting opportunity in the global payments market,” adding that they “have the potential to broaden access to faster, more efficient payments.” BVNK, a London-based stablecoin startup, processes $30 billion in stablecoin payments annually. Visa invested in BVNK last year. CoinDesk said the investment “signals growing institutional confidence that stablecoin infrastructure will become part of the mainstream financial system.”

Binance Wallet now supports ASTER-based perpetual futures trading. In a statement on its official website, Binance Wallet said on the 14th (local time) that it has "newly introduced a perpetual futures trading feature," adding that "the feature is provided by ASTER, a perpetual decentralized exchange (DEX)." Binance Wallet also said, "Users can now trade leveraged perpetual contracts via a keyless wallet without a separate connection process." Users who use the ASTER-based perpetual futures trading service will be automatically enrolled in ASTER’s points system. Binance Wallet said it will run an “Onchain Perps Milestone Campaign” with ASTER to mark the launch, adding that the campaign’s rewards pool is up to 200,000 Tether (USDT). Meanwhile, ASTER was trading at $0.7809 on CoinMarketCap as of 6:32 p.m. on the day, up 11.17% from the previous day. That is a 3.34% gain compared with a week earlier.

Ripple, the issuer of XRP, has obtained a licence in Luxembourg to operate its cryptocurrency business. According to The Block on the 14th (local time), Ripple recently received preliminary approval from Luxembourg’s financial regulator, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), to obtain an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence. The Block said, “This preliminary approval follows Ripple’s recent receipt of an EMI licence and registration as a crypto-asset business with the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA),” adding that “Ripple can now expand its cross-border payments platform and support EU institutions in making payments using digital assets such as stablecoins.” Ripple views the preliminary approval as a turning point for expanding its EU business. Cassie Craddock, Ripple’s Managing Director for the UK and Europe, said, “This approval is an important step in the process of building digital-asset infrastructure across Europe,” adding that “Ripple is focused on complying with the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation.” Monica Long, President of Ripple, said, “The EU is the first major jurisdiction to introduce a comprehensive digital-asset regulatory framework,” adding that “this provides the regulatory certainty financial institutions need to move blockchain from the pilot stage to commercial deployment.” She added, “Ripple is developing a comprehensive payments solution that expands its portfolio of licences and integrates stablecoins and on-chain liquidity,” and said it would “unlock potential capital worth trillions of dollars and connect the legacy financial system with the digital future.”

Google will tighten its Play Store rules on blockchain-related content later this month. The move also raises the possibility that overseas crypto exchanges such as Binance could be removed from the Play Store in South Korea. According to industry sources on the 14th, Google recently updated its Play Store policy on "Blockchain-based content." Under the policy, Google said that "the purchase, possession, or exchange of cryptocurrency must take place through certified services in regulated jurisdictions" and that "apps must comply with relevant regulations in all regions or countries they target." It added that "apps must not be published where products and services are prohibited." In South Korea, only businesses that have obtained a virtual asset service provider (VASP) license from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the Financial Services Commission can publish blockchain apps on the Play Store. That means apps from operators that have not obtained a VASP license in South Korea, including Binance, could be removed from the Play Store starting later this month. Crypto mining apps will also be removed from the Play Store. However, apps that remotely manage crypto mining are permitted. Gambling-style apps that use non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the like must go through a separate application process to be listed on the Play Store. The tightened rules will take effect on the 28th of this month. Google said that "Blockchain-based content under this policy refers to tokenized digital assets obtained on a blockchain" and that "if an app includes blockchain-based content, it must comply with the (updated) requirements."

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum (ETH) (pictured), said on the 14th (local time) that “a ‘decentralized renaissance’ is coming.” In a post on X, Buterin said, “Decentralized applications in 2014 were toy-level, but now they’ve become sufficiently practical tools.” He added, “All the prerequisites to realize the early Web3 vision are already in place,” and said “(Web3) will grow stronger over the next few years.” He also underscored Ethereum’s vision. “In 2014, there was a vision of creating permissionless, decentralized applications and using them to build finance, social media, and even an entirely new alternative web,” Buterin said. “Over the past five years, various ‘metas’ and ‘narratives’ have risen and fallen repeatedly, but the core vision has never disappeared even once.” Buterin also noted that “Ethereum has now transitioned to proof of stake (PoS).” Proof of stake is a method that allocates validators’ opportunities to verify transactions on a given blockchain based on factors such as token holdings and staking period. Buterin said, “With the power of ‘zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (ZK-EVM),’ Ethereum will become more scalable going forward and (fees) cheaper,” adding that “thanks to ZK-EVM and PeerDAS, the ‘sharding’ vision has effectively entered the implementation stage.” Sharding is one of the solutions designed to boost the scalability of the Ethereum network.

Pakistan will work with World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a crypto project linked to the family of U.S. President Donald Trump, to introduce stablecoins. According to Reuters on the 14th (local time), Pakistan recently signed a partnership with World Liberty Financial to explore ways to use stablecoins. The core of the partnership is for World Liberty Financial, working with the State Bank of Pakistan, to integrate the stablecoin USD1 into Pakistan’s digital payments system. USD1 is a dollar-pegged stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial. World Liberty Financial is a crypto project established by the Trump family in 2024. This is the first time World Liberty Financial has entered into a partnership with a country since its founding. Reuters reported, "Pakistan is expected to announce the partnership later in the day to coincide with World Liberty Financial CEO Zach Witkoff’s visit to Islamabad." Pakistan has been accelerating the adoption of digital assets since last year. Jameel Ahmad, governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, said in July last year that "newly emerging areas (such as cryptocurrencies) carry risks, but also opportunities," underscoring the country’s intent to adopt digital assets. Reuters said the partnership was signed "as relations between Pakistan and the United States improve." Meanwhile, World Liberty Financial is trading at $0.1827 on CoinMarketCap as of 3:53 p.m., up 8.41% from the previous day. It has gained 7.22% from a week earlier.

The number of newly created wallets on the Ethereum (ETH) network has surged to an all-time high. On the 14th (local time), on-chain analytics firm Santiment said via its official X account that “daily new Ethereum wallet creations hit a record high on the 11th, reaching 393,600.” Santiment pointed to factors such as the Fusaka upgrade and stablecoins as drivers behind the sharp rise in new Ethereum wallets. “Ethereum implemented the Fusaka upgrade in early last month, lowering fees and making dapp and rollup usage smoother,” Santiment said, adding that “this has increased incentives for new users to create wallets and enter the network.” It also noted that “as of Q4 last year, stablecoin transfer volume on the Ethereum network reached about $8 trillion, the highest on record,” and said that “(the network’s) real financial activity acts as a factor attracting new users who create new wallets.” Santiment emphasized that “as the market moved from last month into this month, on-chain data and social indicators captured signs of new users flowing into the Ethereum ecosystem.” It added that “growing demand to explore a range of applications, such as DeFi and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), appears to have led to the creation of new wallets.” It also cited the price uptrend. According to CoinMarketCap, Ethereum was trading at $3,323.42 as of 3:22 p.m. that day, up 6.3% from the previous day. Compared with a week earlier, it was up 2.26%. Santiment said that “around year-end and the start of the new year, investors and developers tend to recalibrate their strategies for the year ahead, improving sentiment across the broader crypto market,” adding that “since mid-month last month, (Ethereum) investor sentiment has shifted from negative to neutral and positive.”

South Korea’s financial regulator pushed back against speculation that domestic corporations may be allowed to invest only up to 5% of their equity capital in cryptoassets. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) said in an explanatory note on the 12th that it is discussing, through a task force (TF) of relevant agencies, the drafting of “guidelines on listed companies and other professional investment corporations’ participation in the cryptoasset market,” adding that “no key details—including investment limits and eligible investment targets for corporations—have been finalized at all.” The FSC has recently been holding discussions with a public-private TF to prepare crypto trading guidelines for listed companies and others. Some have suggested the authorities may cap companies’ annual cryptoasset investments at 5% of equity capital. The industry says that if such a restriction is set, it could dampen corporate cryptoasset investment activity. The United States and Japan have not set separate limits on corporate cryptoasset investment. The European Union (EU) and Singapore are also known to have allowed corporate cryptoasset investment relatively broadly.

Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the founder of Binance, said he will publish a memoir as early as next month. Zhao said on the 8th (local time) that he is considering the Chinese edition title “Binance Life (币安人生)” and that the memoir will be released within 4–6 weeks. He added that the English edition title is likely to be completely different from the Chinese title and said it “has nothing to do with any memecoin.” Zhao emphasized that he plans to donate all proceeds from the memoir in full. He said he has no intention of making money from the book and that going through a publisher would take too long, so he will release it via self-publishing.

The US trade deficit in October last year fell to its lowest level in 16 years. The US Department of Commerce said on the 8th (local time) that the US trade balance in October last year posted a deficit of $29.4bn (about KRW 42.7trn). The deficit narrowed by about 39% from September last year, a month earlier. The figure came in far below the consensus forecast compiled by Dow Jones ($58.4bn). The October deficit was the smallest in 16 years since June 2009 (a $27.2bn deficit). Imports totaled $331.4bn, down $11.0bn from the previous month. Exports, meanwhile, rose $7.8bn from a month earlier to $302.0bn.

US investment bank (IB) B. Riley has identified BitMine—the world’s largest Ethereum (ETH) treasury company—as a key digital asset treasury (DAT) case to watch this year. According to CoinDesk on the 8th (local time), B. Riley said in a report that day it maintained its existing “buy” rating on BitMine. Its price target for BitMine was also kept at $47. BitMine shares are currently in the $30 range. B. Riley views BitMine’s current share price as undervalued. Specifically, B. Riley said that even as BitMine approaches a shareholder vote on a proposal to significantly increase its share count for potential mergers and acquisitions (M&A), the stock remains attractive when considering the earnings potential from staking. B. Riley’s focus on BitMine comes as DAT companies have recently been diversifying their revenue-generation strategies through staking and other approaches. B. Riley said, “Clearer stablecoin regulation and a growing number of real-world asset tokenization cases by institutions are changing not only how digital assets are traded but also how they are used,” adding, “These changes are prompting DAT companies to shift away from simple token accumulation and toward operating models that can generate recurring revenue.” It also commented on the outlook for this year. B. Riley said, “This year, as regulatory frameworks mature and blockchain is integrated into global financial infrastructure, the digital asset market will transition from speculation to practical financial infrastructure.”

Global investment bank (IB) Bank of America (BofA) has upgraded its rating on U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. According to Walter Bloomberg on the 8th (local time), Bank of America raised its rating on Coinbase to 'Buy' on the day. Bank of America cited an accelerating expansion of its business portfolio, a strategic pivot, and attractive valuation as reasons for the upgrade. In particular, Bank of America pointed to Coinbase’s expansion into equities, prediction markets and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). It also identified Coinbase’s Layer 2 blockchain, Base, as a key growth driver. Bank of America set a $340 price target for Coinbase, about 39% above the current share price (around $245). The bank said Coinbase’s price-to-earnings ratio (PER) has fallen about 40% since mid-2024, easing valuation concerns.

US initial jobless claims last week came in below market expectations. The US Department of Labor said on the 8th (local time) that initial claims totaled 208,000 last week, 5,000 below economists’ forecast of 213,000. That was up 8,000 from the prior week’s revised figure of 200,000. Continuing claims, which track filings for a second consecutive week, were 1.914 million. That was 56,000 higher than the prior week’s revised 1.858 million. Initial jobless claims are a key gauge of overheating in the US labor market. A rise in claims can be interpreted as a sign that an overheated labor market is cooling. Economists are watching employment indicators such as jobless claims to assess how factors including US President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff policies are affecting corporate decision-making.

The State of Florida is renewing its push to enact legislation to establish a cryptocurrency reserve. According to CoinDesk on the 8th (local time), U.S. Representative John Snyder introduced a bill (House Bill 1039) the previous day (the 7th) to create a state-level cryptocurrency reserve. The centerpiece of the bill is the creation of a cryptocurrency reserve fund under the state government and granting the chief financial officer (CFO) authority to invest in cryptocurrencies. The bill does not set a separate budget allocation for investing in Bitcoin. This contrasts with Florida’s crypto reserve proposal introduced last year, which specified that up to 10% of a given budget could be invested in Bitcoin. The newly introduced bill would allow the CFO to determine the amount and timing of Bitcoin investments at their discretion. Florida’s CFO has also taken a favorable view of building a crypto reserve. In 2024, Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis likened Bitcoin to “digital gold,” saying, “Bitcoin can help diversify the state’s portfolio and can serve as a hedge against volatility in other major asset classes.” Meanwhile, the bill is expected to be reviewed during Florida’s legislative session this year. CoinDesk reported that “Florida’s governor is skeptical of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) but open to decentralized alternatives,” adding that “if the bill passes, Florida could become one of the largest U.S. states to formally experiment with cryptocurrency reserve assets.”

Indian authorities have stated that cryptocurrencies carry a high risk of tax evasion. According to Cointelegraph on the 8th (local time), India’s Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said at a session of the Indian Parliament the previous day (the 7th) that “it is becoming more difficult to detect taxable income due to offshore exchanges, private wallets and decentralized finance (DeFi).” The CBDT added that it is “facing difficulties in reconstructing (cryptocurrency) transaction histories,” and that with multiple jurisdictions involved, “it is virtually impossible to track transactions and identify holders for taxation.” India applies a flat tax rate of 30% to all income-generating activities related to cryptocurrencies. It also levies a 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) on all cryptocurrency transactions, regardless of whether they are profitable. Cointelegraph reported that “India has officially allowed cryptocurrency trading while applying high tax rates,” but added that “the government’s overall stance on cryptocurrencies remains cautious and divided.”

BitMine, the world’s largest Ethereum (ETH) treasury company, has bought $100 million worth of Ethereum so far this year. According to on-chain analytics firm Arkham on the 8th (local time), BitMine purchased $105.3 million (about KRW 150 billion) worth of Ethereum over the past week. Following the buying spree, BitMine’s total Ethereum holdings increased to $13.23 billion. Arkham said, “BitMine’s Ethereum holdings account for about 3.43% of total supply.” Its staking footprint is also expanding. Arkham said BitMine added another $1.46 billion worth of Ethereum to staking last week alone. “The market is focused on the fact that BitMine Chairman Tom Lee is still actively buying Ethereum and continuing its staking strategy,” Arkham said, adding that this “signals it views Ethereum as a core long-term asset regardless of short-term price volatility.” Speculation is also growing that BitMine could accelerate additional Ethereum purchases. BitMine said its cash holdings stood at $915 million as of the 5th. Cointelegraph said, “This purchase (by BitMine) comes as staking activity has surged,” adding that “(the cash holdings) could be used to buy more Ethereum to achieve the strategic goal of securing 5% of total supply.”

An analysis suggests demand for Ethereum (ETH) is weakening, led by US institutional investors. A CryptoOnChain contributor to CryptoQuant said on the 8th (local time) via CryptoQuant that “Ethereum’s ‘Coinbase Premium Gap’ plunged and entered negative territory.” CryptoOnChain noted that “this is a signal indicating weakening demand from US institutional investors,” adding that “it is acting as a key resistance factor for Ethereum prices in regaining the $3,300 level.” The Coinbase Premium Gap is a market indicator that measures the price difference between the US crypto exchange Coinbase and the world’s largest crypto exchange Binance. It is used to gauge the gap between US institutional demand for a particular cryptocurrency and global investor sentiment. CryptoOnChain analyzed that “the 14-day simple moving average (SMA) of the indicator sank to -2.285, marking the lowest level since early February 2025,” and that “this shows selling pressure is markedly stronger on Coinbase than on Binance.” CryptoOnChain said, “In the past, sustained Ethereum rally phases were mostly formed when the premium gap was positive, with Coinbase prices higher than Binance,” adding that “the current negative premium gap suggests US institutional investors—often referred to as ‘smart money’—are not actively accumulating Ethereum at current levels.” It continued, “Even as Ethereum attempts to stabilize, institutional inflows via Coinbase are not accompanying the move.” The analysis says the likelihood of Ethereum breaking above $3,300 is limited. CryptoOnChain said, “Until the Coinbase Premium Gap turns positive again and a tangible recovery in demand is confirmed in the US spot market, the chances of Ethereum breaking through the $3,300 resistance line are limited,” adding that “the longer the negative trend persists, the greater the risk of additional downside corrections.”