Son Min

The U.S. Federal Reserve (the Fed) signaled that the end of quantitative tightening (QT) may be approaching, but Bitcoin (BTC) remained flat. According to CoinDesk on the 15th (local time), Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on the 14th (local time) in a speech at the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) in Philadelphia, "We will maintain the existing plan to stop QT when reserves are at or above an 'ample' level, and that time could arrive within months." However, as of the 15th, Bitcoin traded at $112,600 in a 24-hour flat range and did not show much reaction. In addition, according to Deribit, in the BTC options market short-term put options are maintaining higher premiums than call options (bets on price rises). The outlet reported, "A slowdown in the pace of quantitative tightening does not mean the start of large-scale quantitative easing."

The number of listed companies holding Bitcoin (BTC) has increased by nearly 40% in three months, and analysis says companies' 'long-term buying pressure' is strengthening. On the 14th (local time), Cointelegraph reported that Bitwise, in its 'Q3 Corporate Bitcoin Holdings Report', said, "48 companies newly purchased Bitcoin between July and September this year, bringing the total to 172 companies holding Bitcoin." The value of Bitcoin they hold totaled 117 billion dollars, an increase of 28% from the previous quarter. This amounts to about 4.9% of the total Bitcoin supply. Hunter Horsley, CEO of Bitwise, said, "This number is astonishing," and evaluated that "Bitcoin has now become an asset that not only individuals but companies want to hold." Rachael Lucas, a BTC market analyst, said, "The recent accumulation of Bitcoin is a sign that institutions are not stepping back from the market but are instead doubling down on their bets." She added, "As regulation becomes clearer and infrastructure matures, this movement will accelerate further." Meanwhile, the top company by Bitcoin holdings is Strategy, which currently holds 640,250 BTC.

Ethereum (ETH) is showing record-low liquidity, and with institutional demand surging, it is forecast to see a strong price increase. On the 14th (local time), according to Cointelegraph, Crypto Gucci, a crypto asset (cryptocurrency) analyst, said, "For the first time, Ethereum has three supply-reduction factors simultaneously" and "If demand for Ethereum surges under the current conditions, the price will experience a 'nuclear-bomb-level' spike." He cited crypto asset accumulation firms (DAT) as the first supply-reduction factor. According to the Strategic Ethereum Reserve, the amount of Ethereum accumulated by firms in recent months approaches 5.9 million. This is about 5% of the total Ethereum supply. The second is U.S. spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Currently, U.S. Ethereum spot ETFs hold a total of 6.84 million ETH. This is 5.6% of the total supply. The last is the popularization of staking. Currently about 35.7 million ETH is staked on the network, accounting for 30% of the total supply. With a withdrawal waiting period of about 40 days, most of this is illiquid assets not circulating in the market. The analyst reiterated, "In this cycle, Ethereum faces record-high institutional demand and record-low liquidity at the same time" and "In such a structure, price increases can only appear explosively." Additionally, some experts note that Ethereum's supply growth rate since The Merge is only 0.5%. Compared to Bitcoin (BTC) supply increasing 4% over the same period, Ethereum's scarcity is highlighted.

Over the past 24 hours, the size of position liquidations in the perpetual futures market for digital assets (cryptocurrencies) was recorded at $578.68 million. According to CoinGlass data on the 15th (local time), a total of $578.68 million in futures positions were liquidated in the digital asset market over the past 24 hours. Specifically, long positions worth $370.53 million were liquidated, and short positions worth $208.15 million were liquidated. The asset with the largest liquidation size was Ethereum (ETH). Ethereum saw $201.95 million in position liquidations over 24 hours, of which long positions and short positions accounted for $121.36 million and $80.58 million, respectively. Bitcoin (BTC) saw $128.65 million in liquidations during the same period, of which long positions were $84.89 million and short positions were $43.76 million.

Last weekend, about $20 billion worth of leveraged positions were liquidated, causing Bitcoin to briefly plunge into the low $100,000s, but some bulls view this crash as a "precursor to a rally" similar to 2020 and 2024. According to CoinDesk on the 14th (local time), the recent plunge resembles a 'market reset (washout)' pattern that clears overheated short-term leverage. In the past, large-scale liquidations during the March 2020 coronavirus-driven crash, the May 2021 China shutdown, and the volatility period ahead of the April 2024 Ethereum ETF approval were followed by strong rebounds within a few weeks. This time too, Bitcoin fell below the 50-day and 200-day moving averages, clearing short-term speculative positions, leading some to assess that a similar structural reset occurred. Alex Kuptsikevich, an analyst at FxPro, said, "This decline was closer to emotional liquidations, and after weak positions were removed the market is building a new base," adding, "There is a high likelihood that the recovery flow seen in the past will be reproduced." Market sentiment is also gradually recovering. The fear and greed index rebounded from 24 to 38, and total crypto asset market capitalization rose 4.4% from Sunday's low. Investors are viewing this plunge as a 'necessary cleansing process' and are watching the possibility of entering a short-term recovery phase similar to past patterns.

The 'Hyperliquid (HYPE) whale', which earned $192 million from the recent market plunge, has doubled its Bitcoin (BTC) short position and once again attracted market attention. According to Hypurrscan on the 14th (local time), the trader has held a total $496 million (about 680 billion won) short position, betting on a Bitcoin price decline over the past two days. The position's leverage is 10x, and the liquidation price is around $124,270. The whale had opened a $163 million short position just a day earlier, but it appears to have more than doubled its bet in a single day. Over the past week it has repeatedly held aggressive short positions, emerging as a representative 'selling force' betting on a market downturn. Earlier, the whale was reported to have opened a large Bitcoin short about one hour before President Donald Trump announced 100% tariffs on Chinese imports, earning the nickname "insider whale". Immediately after the announcement, the market plunged and the trader made profits exceeding $100 million. Speculation continues in the community about the identity of the wallet. On-chain analyst Eye claimed the wallet address is linked to Garrett Jin, the former CEO of the now-defunct exchange BitForex, but later other analysts, including ZachXBT, took a cautious stance, saying "there is no direct evidence of a connection." The exact identity of this 'mystery whale' has still not been revealed, but the market says his movements are having a significant impact on short-term Bitcoin price flows.

IREN, which transformed from a Bitcoin (BTC) mining company into an artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure company, is receiving a new evaluation on Wall Street. On the 14th (local time), according to CoinDesk, Cantor Fitzgerald said in a report that it raised IREN's price target from $49 to $100, more than doubling it. Noblauch, a Cantor Fitzgerald analyst, said, "IREN's current stock price has already shown a sharp rise on expectations of a GPU cloud transition, but there is still ample room to rise." He particularly noted, "By contracted power metrics, IREN is about 75% undervalued compared to competitors," and said he expects this gap to narrow over time. He projected, "The current valuation gap is due to differences in revenue scale, but if the growth trend continues, a re-rating of IREN's stock will occur."

Bitcoin (BTC) and gold price movements are again strongly linked. As inflation and geopolitical uncertainty increase, analysts say both assets are strengthening their positions as stores of value. On the 14th (local time), according to Cointelegraph, Ki Young Ju, CEO of CryptoQuant, said, "With gold reaching an all-time high, the correlation between Bitcoin and gold has exceeded 0.85," adding, "the digital gold narrative remains valid, and inflation hedge (hedge) demand is alive." This marks a significant rise from around -0.8 in October 2021 and approaches the peak of 0.9 recorded last April. Andrei Grachev (Andrei Grachev), managing partner at DWF Labs, said, "Institutional funds naturally move to assets that reliably store value," and added, "Bitcoin is following gold's historical shift from a monetary function to a store of value." He added, "This is why Bitcoin's price movements are increasingly resembling gold's pattern." Meanwhile, spot gold hit an all-time high of $4,179.48 per ounce today. Silver also rose to $53.60, surging 85% year-to-date. Gold has risen 57% so far this year, which is interpreted as the result of a strengthened 'debasement trade' caused by geopolitical risk and concerns over currency value decline.

On-chain activity on BNB Chain has soared to record levels. Over the past 30 days, trading volume surpassed 500 million transactions, surging 151%, and the number of daily active addresses also reached an all-time high. On the 14th (local time), according to Nansen, the 'sender-only active address' that actually sent transactions on BNB Chain was counted at 3.46 million as of the 13th. This surpasses the previous record (3.44 million) set in December 2023. Over the same period, the number of transactions on BNB Chain exceeded 500 million, a 151% increase compared with the previous 30 days. By transaction volume among all blockchains, it ranks second after Solana (SOL). On a one-year basis, the number of active addresses is about 200 million, approaching the layer-2 network Base (BASE). According to market research firm DappRadar, BNB Chain's total value locked (TVL) increased 15% in Q3 2025, re-emerging as a major network for decentralized finance (DeFi). In particular, inflows grew significantly as interest in the perpetual futures DEX 'ASTER', launched in September, surged.

Global credit rating agency S&P Global Ratings(S&P Global Ratings) partnered with blockchain oracle company Chainlink(LINK) to introduce a system that assesses the stability of stablecoins. This partnership enables traditional financial institutions to check the risk levels of stablecoins on the blockchain in real time. On the 14th (local time), S&P Global said it launched the 'Stablecoin Stability Assessments·SSA' service on the Ethereum(ETH) Layer 2 network 'Base(BASE)'. The system evaluates how stably each stablecoin is pegged to fiat currency values (e.g., 1 dollar), assigning scores from grade 1 (very stable) to grade 5 (unstable). S&P Global's assessments are connected directly on-chain via Chainlink's data service 'DataLink'. This allows financial institutions or DeFi(DeFi) projects to directly use the credit rating data. Sergey Nazarov(Sergey Nazarov) Chainlink Chief Executive Officer(CEO) said, "This partnership is the first case of moving a trusted evaluation system of traditional finance onto the blockchain," adding, "institutional investors will be able to use stablecoins in a safer and more transparent way." The stablecoin market recently exceeded $300 billion, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury expects it to grow to as much as $2 trillion by 2028. S&P Global expects this assessment system to help institutions manage risks and respond to regulation in the rapidly growing stablecoin market.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has resumed comments about Bitcoin (BTC). After remaining largely silent since Tesla sold a large portion of its holdings during the 2022 bear market, Musk's renewed reference to Bitcoin's value as an 'energy-based asset' has drawn market attention. On the 14th (local time), CoinDesk reported that in the early hours Musk replied on his X(formerly Twitter) to a post by financial account ZeroHedge, saying, "Bitcoin is based on energy. Energy cannot be manipulated." Earlier, ZeroHedge had argued that "an AI (artificial intelligence) arms race is the background for price increases in gold, silver, and Bitcoin, and the dilution of fiat currency values is accelerating this." Tesla bought about $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin in early 2021 and announced it would introduce BTC for vehicle payments, but in May of the same year Musk withdrew the payment acceptance policy, saying "the energy consumption of Bitcoin mining affects climate change." Afterwards, Tesla sold 75% of its total holdings in mid-2022 and was judged to have 'cut its losses' near the market bottom. Since then, Musk has refrained from cryptocurrency-related remarks and even avoided answering Bitcoin-related questions from Cathie Wood, ARK Invest's CEO, last year. However, this remark is being interpreted as a sign that he still pays attention to Bitcoin's intrinsic value and the concept of an 'energy-based economy.'

Nasdaq-listed drugmaker Sunshine Biopharma has allocated funds to a Bitcoin (BTC) treasury. On the 14th (local time), Bitcoin Treasury said on X (formerly Twitter), "The biopharma allocated $5 million to a Bitcoin treasury." As of 9:54 p.m., on the Binance USDT market, Bitcoin is trading at $111,006, down 3% from 24 hours ago.

Global asset manager WisdomTree has launched an exchange-traded product (ETP) in the European market that physically tracks Stellar Lumens (XLM). The strategy is to expand beyond existing portfolios centered on Bitcoin and Ethereum and to strengthen altcoin exposure products for institutional investors. On the 14th (local time), CoinDesk reported that WisdomTree unveiled the 'WisdomTree Physical Stellar Lumens ETP' and set the management fee at 0.50% per year. The product was listed simultaneously on the Swiss Stock Exchange and in Paris and Amsterdam, and is scheduled to be listed on Germany's Xetra exchange on the 15th. Dovile Silenskyte, WisdomTree's Digital Assets Research Director, said, "Stellar Lumens is one of the oldest and most trusted blockchains in the world, and has demonstrated practical payment efficiency," adding, "with a total fixed supply of 50 billion units, it is an asset that combines scarcity and monetary reliability."

Citigroup said the recent large-scale leveraged liquidation event revealed Bitcoin (BTC)'s 'linkage with the stock market.' However, even amid US-China trade tensions, inflows into exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have remained steady, so it kept its year-end and 12-month targets unchanged. On the 14th (local time), CoinDesk reported that Citigroup said in a report, "Deepening US-China trade tensions triggered a sharp drop in the futures market, which spread to the crypto asset (cryptocurrency) market," and "this liquidation event confirmed that Bitcoin still reacts sensitively to stock market volatility." Last Friday's plunge erased about 500 billion dollars from the crypto asset market, and about 19 billion dollars worth of positions were liquidated in the derivatives market. The report said Bitcoin briefly plunged 13% in one hour to as low as 102,000 dollars but later rebounded and was trading around 111,700 dollars. Citigroup said, "After the crash both markets (stocks and crypto assets) have recovered some losses and regained stability." Nevertheless, ETF inflows remained steady. Citigroup said, "Despite this correction, inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs have remained robust, led by new investors with low leverage ratios," and "this means the demand base remains solid." Citigroup kept its year-end Bitcoin price forecast at 133,000 dollars and its Ethereum (ETH) target at 4,500 dollars, and set 12-month targets at 181,000 dollars and 5,400 dollars, respectively. The bank added, "Ongoing ETF inflows support the base case, and the downside scenario is limited to a prolonged stock market slump."

Global research firm Bernstein said the supply of Circle's stablecoin USDC is expected to nearly triple from the current level (about $76 billion) to $220 billion by the end of 2027. In that case, its share of the global stablecoin market would reach 33%, solidifying its position as the industry's No. 2 behind Tether (USDT). On the 14th (local time), The Block reported that Bernstein said in a report, "If the United States' new stablecoin regulatory framework is implemented, USDC would be the primary beneficiary," and analyzed that "Circle's regulatory-compliance model, abundant liquidity, and partnerships with Coinbase, Binance, and OKX provide a competitive advantage." It added, "USDC supply will surge to $220 billion by the end of 2027," and "by 2035 USDC's total supply could reach $4 trillion." According to the report, USDC is integrated into 28 blockchain networks, and about $3 trillion in transactions were processed as of the first half of 2025. This represents a 120% year-on-year increase, and growth continues through payment networks and institutional integrations. It also assessed that the 'GENIUS Act' passed in July will cement Circle's market position. The bill defines a "payment stablecoin" at the federal level and strengthens regulatory standards—such as full backing, daily disclosures, and external audits—while restricting foreign issuers. It said that a decline in interest income due to future rate cuts would not be a problem. The report noted that Circle's interest income may decrease, but Bernstein expects, "non-interest income—such as expanded USDC supply, payment fees, and cross-chain remittance services—will offset this." Bernstein projected Circle's revenue to grow at an average annual rate of 47% through 2027 and USDC supply to grow 71% annually, emphasizing that "a digital dollar will become a core payment rail of the internet economy, and Circle will be at its center."

Bhutan is moving its national digital identity (NDI) system from Polygon (POL) to Ethereum (ETH). This makes Bhutan the first country in the world to adopt the Ethereum blockchain as a core foundation of its national digital identity infrastructure. On the 13th (local time), Cointelegraph reported that Bhutan's GovTech Agency said it has integrated the currently operating Polygon-based NDI system into the Ethereum network, and that the full migration is targeted to be completed in the first quarter of 2026. Jigme Tenzing, director of Bhutan's GovTech Agency, said, "The NDI is a system based on self-sovereign identity technology that allows citizens to securely store and share their credentials," adding, "the transition to Ethereum will further strengthen security and reliability." Bhutan has been piloting the Polygon-based NDI project since August 2024, and about 800,000 citizens use the system when accessing online government and financial services. Meanwhile, Bhutan has been increasing its Bitcoin (BTC) reserves through state-level mining operations in recent years. It currently holds about 6371 BTC.

Investor sentiment toward Bitcoin (BTC) was found to have reached its lowest level in years. On the 14th (local time), digital asset (cryptocurrency) analyst Ali Martinez said on X (formerly Twitter), "Since the market crash on the 10th, Bitcoin investor sentiment on social media has fallen to its lowest level in years." Meanwhile, on the 10th, tariff tensions between the U.S. and China intensified, causing the digital asset market to plunge. On that day, more than US$19 billion was liquidated in the perpetual futures market alone.

An unusual situation has occurred in which Japanese Bitcoin (BTC) hoarding company Metaplanet (Metaplanet) has a corporate value lower than the value of the Bitcoin it holds. Over the past two weeks the company stopped additional purchases, and the share price plunged, causing the company's market value to fall below the total value of its held BTC. According to Cointelegraph on the 14th (local time), Metaplanet's "market-to-Bitcoin net asset value ratio (mNAV)" fell to 0.99, recording below 1 for the first time. This ratio compares the company's intrinsic value (figures such as market capitalization, debt, valuation of preferred stock, etc., excluding cash balances) with the valuation of the Bitcoin it holds; a value below 1 means the company is being valued lower than its held assets. Metaplanet's mNAV has fallen more than 7 points since mid-June. This is because the share price plunged 75% from the early-year high (1,895 yen, about $13) to around $3.20. The company stopped buying Bitcoin after September 30, and investor sentiment is analyzed to have weakened since that time. Metaplanet currently holds a total of 30,823 Bitcoin. When it first purchased Bitcoin last July after converting from a Japanese hotel company into a Bitcoin strategic reserve company, mNAV surged to 22.59 but then gradually trended downward. Smartkarma analyst Mark Chadwick said, "This decline appears to be the process of the bubble in the Bitcoin strategic reserve theme bursting," and added, "However, for long-term investors, the fact that Metaplanet is trading at a discount now could be a buying opportunity."

Whale investors have been selling large amounts of XRP since the 10th (local time). On the 14th (local time), digital asset (cryptocurrency) analyst Ali Martinez said on X (formerly Twitter), "Since the 10th, whales have sold about 2,230,000,000 XRP." "They bought 20,000,000 XRP," he said. This amounts to 5,459,260,000 dollars (approximately 7,832,400,000,000) at current XRP prices. As of 4:51 PM, XRP is trading at 2.44 dollars on the Binance USDT market, down 6.75% from 24 hours ago.

Over the past 24 hours, the scale of position liquidations in the virtual asset (cryptocurrency) perpetual futures market was recorded at $499,480,000. According to CoinGlass data on the 14th (local time), a total of $499,480,000 in futures positions were liquidated in the virtual asset market over the past 24 hours. Specifically, $307,070,000 of long positions were liquidated, and $192,410,000 of short positions were liquidated. The asset with the largest liquidation amount was Ethereum (ETH). Ethereum saw $143,920,000 in position liquidations over 24 hours, of which $76,220,000 in long positions and $70,700,000 in short positions were liquidated. Bitcoin (BTC) saw $99,170,000 in liquidations during the same period, with long positions accounting for $70,820,000 and short positions $28,350,000.

A claim has emerged that Bitcoin (BTC) buying pressure has not yet recovered. On the 13th (local time), Axel Adler Jr., a CryptoQuant contributor, wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "Bitcoin's 'greedy demand' appears when the price enters a zone about 5~10% lower than the short-term realized price," and "In that zone, buying pressure surges to about 30~45% of the total and then a new upward wave forms." He added, "Bitcoin's price is still about 12% lower than the short-term realized price," saying, "It's closer to corrective buying than full-scale accumulation."