JOON HYOUNG LEE

This month's trading volume on Decentralized Exchanges (DEX) has surpassed $300 billion for the first time. According to The Block on the 30th, the total trading volume of DEX this month was $320.5 billion (approximately 472 trillion KRW). This is the first time that DEX's monthly trading volume has exceeded $300 billion. The previous record was $299.6 billion, set last month. This month's spot trading volume on Centralized Exchanges (CEX) also reached $2.78 trillion (approximately 4,097 trillion KRW), the highest in 3 years and 7 months since May 2021. Specifically, $950 billion worth of spot trading occurred on the cryptocurrency exchange Binance alone.

Global virtual asset exchange Crypto.com is strengthening its collaboration with the United Arab Emirates (UAE)'s largest bank to expand its business in the Middle East. Crypto.com announced on the 30th that it has entered into a partnership with Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB). The signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was held at DIB's headquarters located in the UAE. The ceremony was attended by Mohamed Al Hakim, Crypto.com's UAE Operations Manager, and Musabah Al Kaissi, DIB's Chief Digital Officer (CDO). With this MOU, Crypto.com plans to enhance its cooperation with DIB in areas such as virtual asset payments, fiat currency charging, and the tokenization of physical assets. Crypto.com stated, "Through this collaboration, we aim to explore innovative payment solutions and untapped areas of the Islamic finance industry," adding that the partnership is "an important milestone in our journey to expand our business not only in the UAE but also in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region."

An analysis has emerged suggesting that a Bitcoin (BTC) rally will resume soon. Cryptocurrency analysis firm Matrixport stated in a report on the 30th that "Bitcoin has been giving back its gains from the past few weeks," and noted that "open interest in Bitcoin futures surged by 50% from $18 billion in October to $29 billion recently." They further commented, "After such a rapid increase in positions, the bull market often resumes after a short correction." There is also a possibility that the Bitcoin rally could resume early next year. Matrixport mentioned, "This pattern is likely to repeat, especially when trading volumes are low during the Christmas holidays," adding, "Traders are watching to see if the rally will restart with the influx of funds in the new year."

It has been revealed that over 1,500 trillion won is stored in the on and off-chain networks of Bitcoin (BTC). Ki-Young Ju, CEO of CryptoQuant, stated on X, "Bitcoin functions as a Store of Value (SOV)," adding, "When combining on-chain and off-chain data, the total amount stored in the network is $1.03 trillion (approximately 1,512 trillion won)," on the 30th. Ju noted, "This is an 85% increase this year."

Solana (SOL) co-founder Steven Akridge has been sued by his ex-wife for allegedly pocketing millions of dollars illicitly. According to Cointelegraph on the 30th, Akridge's ex-wife Elisa Rossi filed a lawsuit against him in a San Francisco court on the 24th. Rossi claims that Akridge used her Solana to collect staking (crypto asset deposit) rewards worth millions of dollars. Akridge and Rossi divorced in March this year. At that time, they agreed to divide the ownership of Solana they owned. However, according to the complaint filed by Rossi, Akridge staked Rossi's Solana tokens and received rewards worth millions of dollars. Rossi stated, "I found out about this in May."

Virtual asset mining company Rhodium has sold its Texas mining site for approximately 60 billion won. According to The Miner Mac on the 29th (local time), Rhodium recently sold its mining facility located in Temple, Texas, for $40.6 million (about 60 billion won). It is reported that Rhodium received the entire sale amount in cash and used $16 million to repay debts. Rhodium filed for bankruptcy protection in a Texas court last August. Subsequently, the Texas court approved the auction of Rhodium's Texas mining site.

According to the Token Mindshare (a metric quantifying the influence of specific tokens in the virtual asset market) top gainers from the AI-based Web3 search platform Kaito, the top 5 virtual assets that are currently attracting the most attention on the 30th are AIXBT, Bitcoin (BTC), Solana (SOL), GOAT Zeus Maximus (GOAT), and FTT. AIXBT has recently drawn investor interest due to its sharp price increase. As of 1:34 PM, AIXBT is trading at $0.4815 on CoinMarketCap, up 15.59% from the previous day. AIXBT is the representative AI agent of Virtual Protocol. Bitcoin is presumed to have attracted attention due to its recent price volatility. Bitcoin surpassed $108,000 on the 17th of this month, setting a new all-time high, but continued to decline after the Federal Reserve hinted at adjusting the pace of interest rate cuts. Recently, it rose to the $98,000-$99,000 range due to the 'Santa Rally' for Christmas but has since declined again, currently trading around $93,000. Solana caught attention with the prospect of a Solana-based spot ETF being approved soon. Nate Geraci, CEO of ETF Store, stated on X that

There has been a suggestion that the Hong Kong government should stockpile Bitcoin (BTC) as part of its foreign exchange reserves. According to industry sources on the 30th, Johnny Ng, a member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, recently stated in an interview with Hong Kong media TKWW that "Hong Kong should explore ways to include Bitcoin in its foreign exchange reserves by leveraging the advantages of the 'one country, two systems' principle." Foreign exchange reserves are one of the tools used by central banks to manage the value of their national currency. Ng argued that stockpiling Bitcoin could stabilize finances. He stated, "The Hong Kong government can use Bitcoin as a means to strengthen its finances," adding, "Given that the current (Hong Kong government) fiscal deficit exceeds 100 billion yuan (approximately 20 trillion won), holding only a small amount of Bitcoin would not significantly help in reducing the deficit."

This month, Bitcoin (BTC) mining revenue has approached 2 trillion won. According to The Block on the 30th, Bitcoin miners' revenue for December was recorded at 1.33 billion dollars (approximately 2 trillion won). This is an increase of nearly 10% compared to last month's total revenue of 1.21 billion dollars. Specifically, out of the December revenue for Bitcoin miners, 1.29 billion dollars came from block rewards, and about 38 million dollars came from fees. Considering that December has not yet ended, it is expected that this month's fee revenue for Bitcoin miners will surpass last month's revenue (about 39 million dollars). In this regard, the blockchain specialist media Bitcoin.com stated, "(The mining industry) will continue to grow thanks to steadily increasing computing power and stable market demand," adding, "There may be occasional decreases in revenue, but the growth momentum remains strong."

The global cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has been sanctioned by the Malaysian government for operating an unregistered exchange. According to the cryptocurrency-focused media WuBlockchain on the 30th, the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) recently issued a warning to Bybit and its CEO, Ben Zhou. The measures include deactivating Bybit's website and mobile applications, as well as halting all advertisements targeting Malaysian investors. Bybit was sanctioned for operating an exchange that was not registered with the SC. The SC stated, "This decision was made due to concerns about the platform's regulatory compliance and investor protection issues," adding that "Bybit and Ben Zhou have been on the investor alert list since July 2021."

Over the past two years, the supply of Bitcoin (BTC) has increased, while the supply of Ethereum (ETH) has decreased. On the 30th, Nick Tomaino, founder of the virtual asset venture capital One Confirmation, stated on X that "Ethereum's supply has decreased by 0.02% annually over the past two years due to increased network usage, reaching 120.4 million," and "during the same period, Bitcoin's supply increased by 1.83% annually to 19.8 million." He further stated, "Ethereum is the best choice in terms of fundamentals and sound monetary policy." Tomaino emphasized that Ethereum is a 'better choice' than Bitcoin. He noted, "(Bitcoin) is a better choice than central banks as its supply is limited to 21 million until 2140," but "the deflation based on (Ethereum's) usage and the application ecosystem providing economic freedom worldwide is a better alternative."

There has been a suggestion that the European Central Bank (ECB) should stockpile cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. According to the German economic newspaper Handelsblatt on the 30th, Christian Lindner, the former German Federal Finance Minister, stated, "The ECB and the German central bank, Bundesbank, should include cryptocurrencies in their reserves." Lindner pointed out, "Europe should not rely on the United States in this field either." Lindner's remarks are interpreted as being mindful of President-elect Donald Trump's Bitcoin pledge. During the presidential election, Trump pledged to stockpile Bitcoin as a strategic asset. A strategic asset refers to resources that are expected to face supply shortages in emergencies or are strategically necessary.

Bitcoin (BTC) mining difficulty has reached a new all-time high. According to the Bitcoin mining pool 'CloverPool' on the 30th, the mining difficulty of Bitcoin recorded 109.78 on this day. This is an increase of 1.16% compared to the previous difficulty, marking the highest level ever. The next difficulty adjustment is expected to occur in about 14 days. As of today, the next Bitcoin mining difficulty is projected to be adjusted to 110.05.

Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance has added five tokens to the 'Binance Alpha' 8th list. According to WuBlockchain on the 27th, Binance has selected five tokens for the Binance Alpha 8th list: ARC, WHY, APU, HAPI, and FWOG. Tokens eligible for Binance Alpha are selected based on market trends among early cryptocurrency projects. Not all tokens selected for Binance Alpha are guaranteed to be listed 100% in the future.

Approximately 700 billion won has flowed into the Bitcoin (BTC) spot ETF traded in the United States. According to Farside Investors and others on the 27th, about $475 million (approximately 703 billion won) was net inflow into the U.S. Bitcoin spot ETF on the 26th (local time). This marks a reversal to net inflow after 5 trading days. Previously, the Bitcoin ETF recorded net outflows for four consecutive trading days until the 24th. Specifically, on the 26th, $254.37 million was net inflow into Fidelity Bitcoin ETF alone. Additionally, $56.5 million flowed into BlackRock Bitcoin ETF, and $186.94 million into ARK Bitcoin ETF. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust saw a net outflow of $24.23 million.

An analysis has emerged suggesting that the rally of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) is nearing its end. According to Daily Hodl on the 26th (local time), cryptocurrency trader Jason Pizzino recently stated on X that "the volatility of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin has dramatically increased," indicating that "this suggests we are much closer to the end of the (bull) cycle than the beginning." Pizzino predicts that Bitcoin's price could undergo a correction by October next year, based on the observation that prices tend to stagnate when the cryptocurrency market overheats and investor confidence grows. Pizzino mentioned, "(The correction period) is expected to be somewhere between the second and early fourth quarter of next year," adding, "Most people will not be able to endure 6 to 10 months of stagnation."

A U.S. real estate investment firm has launched a fund combining real estate and Bitcoin. Cardone Capital announced on the 26th (local time) the launch of the '10X Space Coast Bitcoin Fund'. Cardone Capital is a real estate investment firm managing assets worth $4.9 billion (approximately 7.27 trillion KRW). The fund launched this time is valued at $87.5 million (approximately 130 billion KRW). This fund is the world's first to combine multifamily real estate and Bitcoin. Grant Cardone, CEO of Cardone Capital, stated, "We aim for an internal rate of return (IRR) of 12-15% through real estate investment," adding, "The hybrid strategy with Bitcoin can increase the total return."

There is an analysis suggesting that the price of Bitcoin (BTC) may show a monthly decline for the first time in four months. Bloomberg reported on the 27th that "according to its own data, Bitcoin prices may record a monthly decline for the first time in four months this month." Bloomberg stated, "Bitcoin is struggling to maintain above $100,000," and "other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum (ETH) are also failing to find a clear rebound momentum." Previously, Bitcoin surged to $108,358 (about 160 million KRW) on the 18th of this month, hitting a new high for three consecutive days. However, it has since shown a downward trend and is trading at around $95,000 as of the morning of the 27th. The cryptocurrency market is focusing on the expiration of the largest-ever Bitcoin options contracts due today. At the derivatives exchange Deribit, 146,000 Bitcoin options contracts are set to expire at 3 PM (KST) today. This accounts for 44% of Deribit's total open interest, amounting to $14 billion (about 20 trillion KRW). Regarding this, Sean McNulty, head of trading at cryptocurrency trading firm Arbelos Markets, said, "Significant volatility may occur."

KULR Technology Group, a space technology company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), has purchased Bitcoin worth 30 billion KRW. KULR announced on the 26th (local time) that it has acquired 217.18 Bitcoins. The amount KULR invested in this Bitcoin purchase is $21 million (approximately 31 billion KRW). KULR bought Bitcoin at an average price of $96,556.53 per coin. KULR plans to steadily acquire more Bitcoin as part of its future financial strategy. KULR stated, "This (Bitcoin) purchase is the first step in a long-term strategy to buy Bitcoin with up to 90% of surplus cash." Most KULR shareholders are reportedly in favor of the Bitcoin purchase plan. In fact, KULR conducted a shareholder survey via X before purchasing Bitcoin and received positive feedback. Michael Mo, CEO of KULR, said, "We received overwhelming support (in the survey)" and "We believe Bitcoin is the currency of the future." Purchasing Bitcoin as part of a financial strategy was first introduced by MicroStrategy in 2020. Currently, MicroStrategy holds Bitcoin worth $45 billion (approximately 65.35 trillion KRW). MicroStrategy plans to continue purchasing Bitcoin next year as well.

Bonk (BONK) worth 54.5 million dollars (approximately 80 billion KRW) has been burned. Solanafloor, a Solana (SOL) related news platform, announced on the 26th via X that "1.69 trillion Bonk has been burned following the approval of the Bonk Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO)." Bonk is a meme coin based on Solana. The amount burned this time accounts for 1.8% of the total Bonk supply, amounting to 54.5 million dollars.

The sentence of a former executive of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX has been reduced by one year. According to Cointelegraph on the 27th, the release date for Ryan Salame, former co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, has been changed from April 2032 to March 2031. This means his sentence has been reduced by more than a year. The specific reasons for Salame's sentence reduction have not been disclosed. Former CEO Salame was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in prison last May for charges including conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmission business. FTX went bankrupt in 2022 due to fraud charges. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years this year and is currently incarcerated.

There is speculation that cryptocurrency-related lawsuits by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will decrease under the second Trump administration. According to The Block on the 26th, Theresa Goody Guillén, former SEC litigation counsel and partner at BakerHostetler law firm, stated that "the SEC will reduce lawsuits against cryptocurrency companies next year." Guillén added, "It is expected that non-fraudulent (lawsuit) cases without investor losses and cases aimed at creating new precedents will decrease." Guillén's judgment is based on President-elect Donald Trump's 'pro-cryptocurrency stance.' Earlier this month, Trump nominated former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins as the next SEC chairman. Atkins, who served as an SEC commissioner from 2002 to 2008, led Potomac Global Partners, a consulting firm with clients in the cryptocurrency industry, which is why he is considered pro-cryptocurrency. There is also analysis that the SEC, which was pushing for stronger cryptocurrency regulations, will significantly change its policy direction after the inauguration of the second Trump administration. Allison Mangiero, executive director of the U.S. Blockchain Industry Association (POSA), said, "Atkins understands cryptocurrency well," and "we will see an SEC with clearly different priorities from the one led by Gary Gensler." Gensler, the SEC chairman, plans to resign next month when the second Trump administration is inaugurated.

The Japanese cryptocurrency exchange DMM Bitcoin, which suffered damages amounting to 500 billion KRW due to North Korean hacking, is commencing liquidation procedures. On the 26th, according to Cointelegraph, the Japanese cryptocurrency financial firm SBI VC Trade announced on the previous day (25th) that it had signed a contract to acquire all assets of DMM Bitcoin. The contract also includes the acquisition of all customer accounts of DMM Bitcoin. The acquisition process will be completed by March next year. Previously, in May, DMM Bitcoin had 320 million USD (approximately 470 billion KRW) worth of Bitcoin (BTC) stolen due to a server hack. The FBI and the Japanese National Police Agency recently announced that the North Korean hacker group 'Trader Traitor (TT)' was involved in the incident. TT is part of the North Korean Reconnaissance General Bureau's hacker group 'Lazarus'. Meanwhile, damages from cryptocurrency hacking are increasing every year. According to the blockchain security firm Hacken, the damages from cryptocurrency hacking this year amount to 694 million USD (approximately 1 trillion 20 billion KRW), more than doubling from last year.

$54.5 million (approximately 80 billion KRW) worth of Bonk (BONK) will be burned. The Solana-based meme coin Bonk issuer announced on X that 1.69 trillion Bonk will be burned on the 26th. The amount to be burned this time is about 2% of the total supply of Bonk, amounting to $54.5 million. Bonk plans to proceed with the burn through a multi-signature vote of the Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO).

Singapore has been selected as the most blockchain-friendly country in the world. According to Cointelegraph on the 26th, the decentralized exchange (DEX) Apex Protocol recently evaluated this in a research report. Specifically, Singapore received a total score of 85.4 points, possessing over 1,600 blockchain patents and more than 2,400 related jobs. There are 81 virtual asset exchanges based in Singapore, which is a significant number considering its population of about 6 million. Korea's blockchain-friendly score was 75.4 points, ranking 8th after Hong Kong (82.7 points), Estonia (81.5 points), Switzerland (80.2 points), and the United States (79.8 points). Korea has about 18,000 blockchain patents and approximately 120 related jobs. The number of virtual asset exchanges in Korea is 29, which is about 35% of Singapore's 81.

Over-the-counter (OTC) trading of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) is surging. According to The Block on the 25th (local time), Tim Ogilvie, head of the institutional division at the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, stated, "Kraken's OTC trading volume has increased by 220% compared to last year," adding that "other exchanges have shown similar growth." Ogilvie concluded, "Ultimately, the current (cryptocurrency) OTC market is experiencing explosive growth." The influx of investors into the OTC market is attributed to the crypto-friendly President-elect Donald Trump. Jake Ostrovski, an OTC trader at the cryptocurrency market maker Wintermute, explained, "The (crypto OTC) market was quiet until mid-year, but as prices rose ahead of the election, investors began to take positions," noting that "some investors saw this election as a 'green light' to start trading." In the market, there is a prevailing view that demand for Bitcoin as well as Ethereum will continue for the time being. Brett Reeves, head of the cryptocurrency custody firm BitGo's GoNetwork, stated, "Compared to previous years, the (crypto) market is much more stable," adding, "(Bitcoin) ETFs have solidified this position, which will positively impact not only the OTC market but the entire cryptocurrency sector."

There is an analysis suggesting that the price of Ethereum (ETH) could surpass $4000 before the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. According to Cointelegraph on the 25th (local time), global virtual asset exchange Bybit stated, "Bybit's analysts expect the price of Ethereum to reach $4000 before January 20th." The inauguration of President-elect Trump is scheduled for January 20th. As of 11:10 AM on the 26th, Ethereum is trading at around $3460 on CoinMarketCap. Optimism for Ethereum has been steadily raised since last month. The influence of Gary Gensler, the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the Biden administration, announcing his intention to resign is significant. As a result, Ripple's price has recently shown a sharp rise. There are also forecasts that Ethereum's price could exceed $5000 next year. Virtual asset analyst Lucky mentioned on X, "A big move is expected after the (year-end) holidays," and "The target price for Ethereum in this cycle is $5000." Virtual asset management company VanEck predicted that Ethereum's price will surpass $6000 next year.

BioProtocol (BIO) is pushing for an expansion to the Solana network. BioProtocol announced through X that "DeFi based on Solana is inevitable" and proposed "bridging BioProtocol to the Solana network" on the 26th. The proposal from BioProtocol includes plans to build cross-chain bridge infrastructure with the Solana network. A cross-chain bridge is a technology that connects incompatible blockchain networks to transfer data, virtual assets, etc. Currently, BioProtocol is based on the Ethereum network. Meanwhile, BioProtocol was selected as the 63rd Launchpool project on the global virtual asset exchange Binance on the 23rd. BioProtocol will be listed on Binance on the 3rd of next month.

The Altcoin Season Index recorded a value of 46. According to the cryptocurrency market status broadcasting site CoinMarketCap, the Altcoin Season Index was recorded at 46 as of 9:50 AM on the 26th. This is a decrease of 1 point compared to the previous day (47). The Altcoin Season Index is calculated by comparing the price fluctuation rates between the top 100 coins by market capitalization (excluding stable and wrapped coins) and Bitcoin. If 75% of the top 100 coins have a higher rate of increase than Bitcoin over the past 90 days, it is considered an altcoin season; otherwise, it is considered a Bitcoin season. The closer the index is to 100, the more it is judged to be an altcoin season.

Binance's Bitcoin (BTC) holdings have reached their lowest point since January this year. According to the virtual asset analysis platform CryptoQuant on the 26th, Binance's Bitcoin holdings have been steadily decreasing since last August. Recently, Binance's Bitcoin holdings hit their lowest level since January this year. It is analyzed that expectations for the long-term growth of Bitcoin are also increasing. The decrease in Binance's Bitcoin holdings means that investors are withdrawing Bitcoin from the exchange instead of depositing it for short-term sales.