JOON HYOUNG LEE

The supply of Binance Tether (USDT) on the Tron network has surpassed $61 billion (approximately 89 trillion KRW). According to the virtual asset platform CryptoQuant on the 26th, the USDT circulating on the Tron network recorded $61.76 billion. This is an increase of about 28.7% compared to the beginning of the year ($48 billion). The supply of USDT on the Tron network has been steadily increasing since June 2022, when the supply was $32 billion. It is interpreted that the popularity of USDT has been continuously increasing due to relatively low transaction fees and fast transfer speeds.

Bitcoin (BTC) mining company Terawulf is leasing a 70-megawatt (MW) data center. This move is interpreted as a response to the decline in Bitcoin profitability. According to Cointelegraph on the 24th, Terawulf recently signed a 70MW data center lease agreement with AI and cloud service company Core42. Located in northern New York, the data center will be gradually operational starting from the first quarter of next year. Terawulf's decision to enter the data center leasing business is due to the deterioration in Bitcoin profitability. The announcement of the data center lease agreement coincided with a nearly 12% drop in Terawulf's stock price in a single day. Terawulf stated, "(The data center lease) is a strategic expansion into AI-based computing business to complement the profitability of the Bitcoin mining business." Paul Prager, CEO of Terawulf, also expressed optimism about business diversification. Prager stated, "This agreement will diversify (Terawulf's) revenue streams and significantly enhance long-term profitability."

An analysis has emerged suggesting that the decline in Bitcoin (BTC) prices by the end of the year could lead to an altcoin rally. According to CoinDesk on the 24th, Singapore-based virtual asset management firm QCP Capital stated, "This Friday, $20 billion worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) options will expire," adding, "All eyes are currently on this massive expiration." QCP Capital believes that the option expiration is increasing Bitcoin's volatility, making it possible for funds to move to altcoins. QCP Capital noted, "While Bitcoin is struggling below $100,000, the altcoin uptrend could resume." A similar trend was observed last month when Bitcoin prices hovered around the $90,000 to $100,000 range. There are also forecasts that Bitcoin prices could fall further. This is due to the Federal Reserve's announcement of a slowdown in rate cuts and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's firm statement, "We cannot own Bitcoin," regarding the strategic reserve of Bitcoin expected to be pursued in the 'Trump 2nd term' government. However, there is also an analysis that if Bitcoin prices fall to $90,000, it could be a buying opportunity. Alex Kuptsikevich of trading platform FxPRo analyzed, "There is a possibility that Bitcoin could plummet to the $70,000 level," but "(however) if it adjusts to the $90,000 level in the coming weeks, it is more likely to be attractive to buyers."

The average daily active addresses for Litecoin (LTC) have increased by nearly 10% compared to last year. The crypto analysis platform IntoTheBlock announced via X that this year's average daily active addresses for Litecoin have been tallied at 401,000 as of the 24th. This marks an approximate 9.6% increase from last year's 366,000. Notably, in January of this year, the daily active addresses reached 1.37 million. IntoTheBlock stated, "This surpasses the figures for Bitcoin and Ethereum."

It has been revealed that an address suspected to belong to the bankrupt virtual asset exchange Mount Gox has transferred Bitcoin (BTC) worth $30.1 million (approximately 43.7 billion KRW). According to the virtual asset analysis platform Arkham Intelligence on the 24th, Mount Gox transferred 319.567 BTC to two new addresses on this day. Currently, Mount Gox owns 36,085 BTC. The value of this holding is $3.39 billion (approximately 4.9 trillion KRW).

According to the top gainers in the Token Mindshare (a metric quantifying the influence of specific tokens within the crypto space) of the AI-based Web3 search platform Kaito, as of the 24th, the top five cryptocurrency-related keywords attracting the most attention are Hyperliquid (HYPE), Bio (BIO), Arbitrum (ARB), Aave (AAVE), and USD Coin (USDC). Hyperliquid is a token recently launched by the cryptocurrency exchange Hyperliquid, gaining attention through a new type of airdrop. Additionally, on the 23rd (local time), suspicions arose that North Korean hackers are trading on Hyperliquid, which is presumed to have drawn attention to Hyperliquid as well. Bio was selected as the 63rd Launchpool project by the global cryptocurrency exchange Binance, garnering interest. Launchpool is a system where investors can stake specific cryptocurrencies to receive newly listed tokens as rewards. Bio will be listed on Binance at 7 PM (KST) on the 3rd of next month. Arbitrum is presumed to have gained attention due to a large-scale token unlock last week. Arbitrum also recently hinted at the possibility of AI adoption, drawing interest. Aave has reportedly been considering a plan to return a portion of the Maximum Extractable Value (MEV) profits to users, which seems to have attracted attention. Currently, Aave is trading at $381.83, up 14.83% from the previous day on CoinMarketCap. USD Coin is also suspected to have drawn attention due to the allegations of North Korean hackers trading within Hyperliquid. According to CoinDesk on the 23rd (local time), there has been a net outflow of over $60 million USD Coin from Hyperliquid recently. Additionally, investors are also showing interest in Toncoin (TON) and Binance Coin (BNB).

Elon Musk's artificial intelligence (AI) company xAI has secured $6 billion (approximately 8.7 trillion won) in funding. xAI announced on X that it had raised $6 billion in Series C funding. This comes seven months after securing $6 billion in Series B funding last May. xAI is an AI development company founded by Musk in July last year. The investment round included participation from BlackRock, Morgan Stanley, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Fidelity, and Sequoia Capital. xAI stated, "Strategic investors NVIDIA and AMD also participated in this round, actively supporting xAI's infrastructure expansion." With this investment, xAI is reported to have been valued at a minimum of $40 billion (approximately 58 trillion won). The company's valuation during the Series B funding round seven months ago was $24 billion (approximately 34.85 trillion won).

U.S. crypto asset management firm Grayscale has submitted a filing related to Horizen Trust (ZEN) to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to BlockBeats on the 24th, Grayscale submitted a Form 8-K document related to ZEN to the U.S. SEC on the 23rd (local time). Form 8-K is a report that a listed company must immediately submit to the SEC when significant events or information occur.

Avalon Labs, the issuer of the Bitcoin (BTC)-based stablecoin USDa, has secured a Series A investment of $10 million (approximately 14.5 billion won). According to CoinDesk on the 23rd (local time), Avalon Labs recently secured a Series A investment of $10 million. This Series A investment was led by Framework Ventures. Participants in the investment included UXTO Management, Presto Labs, and Kenetic Capital. Avalon Labs secured the Series A investment to expand the Bitcoin-based decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. Avalon Labs aims to develop Bitcoin beyond a simple virtual asset into a financial instrument that can be utilized for various purposes. In the case of Avalon Labs' USDa, users can issue it with Bitcoin set as collateral at a fixed loan interest rate of 8%. As of early this month, the total value locked (TVL) is $700 million (approximately 1 trillion 170 billion won). Avalon Labs also offers Bitcoin-based loans and credit card services in addition to stablecoins. Meanwhile, stablecoins are a type of digital token that links value with other currencies such as the dollar.

There is an analysis suggesting that the decline in Bitcoin (BTC) prices may continue for the next few weeks. According to CoinDesk on the 23rd, Andre Dragos, Head of European Research at the virtual asset management company Bitwise, stated, "There is a high possibility of greater losses for Bitcoin prices in the coming weeks." Initially, Bitwise had a positive outlook on Bitcoin prices over the past few months. However, it seems that they have shifted their stance considering the macroeconomic situation, such as the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) signaling a moderation in the pace of interest rate cuts. Dragos anticipates that the aversion to investing in virtual assets like Bitcoin will persist for the time being. This is based on the judgment that if the pace of interest rate cuts is slower than initially expected, investments in safe assets like bonds will increase, while investments in risky assets like virtual assets will shrink. However, there is still an analysis that the price increase factor due to the shortage of Bitcoin supply remains. Dragos stated, "If the Fed aggressively cuts rates, there is a risk of rapidly accelerating inflation, and conversely, if no action is taken, the economy could suffer," adding, "Ultimately, financial tightening due to rising (government bond) yields and the dollar index will pressure the Fed." He continued, "The shortage of Bitcoin supply will remain a long-term bullish factor."