Son Min

USDC, issued on the Arbitrum (ARB) network, has reportedly approached a market cap of $5.2 billion. On the 16th (local time), Unfolded announced via X (formerly Twitter), “USDC issued on the Arbitrum network has reached a market capitalization of $5.2 billion.” They further stated, “70% of the issued USDC is utilized on the decentralized perpetual futures exchange (DEX) Hyperliquid (HYPE).” As of 8:15 PM, Arbitrum is trading at $0.3358 on the Binance USDT market, marking a 2.57% increase compared to 24 hours ago.

Tether (the issuer of the US dollar-based stablecoin USDT) has reportedly frozen $12.3 million from addresses suspected of money laundering. On the 16th (local time), Cointelegraph reported, "Tether continues its crackdown on illegal activities in the crypto asset (cryptocurrency) market," adding, "The previous day, it froze $12.3 million USDT on the Tron (TRX) network." The report went on, "Tether has not yet released an official statement," but added, "This may be related to sanctions violations or anti-money laundering measures." However, Tether reportedly did not respond to media requests for comment. Meanwhile, on March 7 (local time), Tether stated on its blog, "Tether is implementing a strict wallet freezing policy," adding, "It is also linked to the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions list."

Amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, an analysis has found that Bitcoin (BTC) continues to demonstrate stability. On the 16th (local time), QCP Capital stated in a report, "Despite growing tension in the Middle East, Bitcoin remains in a stable state," adding, "Bitcoin's short-term volatility index is below 40." They continued, "Considering the geopolitical situation, this is a very low level," and assessed, "The market has not yet shifted to risk-off mode." They also noted that the recent institutional buying trend had a positive impact. QCP explained, "The price support for Bitcoin is underpinned by continuous institutional purchases," specifically mentioning that the steady accumulation by MicroStrategy and Metaplanet has supported the psychological level of $100,000. However, they added that risks still remain. The report noted, "There remains the possibility that Iran may blockade the Strait of Hormuz," and, "Military intervention by the United States and further escalation could deliver a severe shock to the global risk asset markets." As of 6:48 PM, according to the Binance USDT market, Bitcoin is trading at $106,948, up 1.90% from 24 hours ago.

Asset management firm 21Shares announced that it has listed five types of virtual asset (cryptocurrency) Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) on Sweden's Nasdaq Stockholm Stock Exchange. On the 16th (local time), 21Shares said via X (formerly Twitter), "We are listing Uniswap (UNI), Avalanche (AVAX), and Bitcoin Gold (BTG) ETFs on Nasdaq Stockholm," and added, "Solana (SOL) Core Staking ETP and Ethereum (ETH) Core Staking ETP will also be listed." Nasdaq Stockholm is a Swedish stock exchange and is one of the major stock exchanges for Nordic countries.

An analysis has indicated that the demand for BTC from permanent holders of Bitcoin (BTC) has increased. On the 16th (local time), CryptoQuant announced via X (formerly Twitter) that "demand for BTC from permanent Bitcoin holders is surging," adding, "Currently, permanent holder demand has exceeded the 30-day moving average." Furthermore, they explained, "Permanent holders consist of owners who accumulate Bitcoin but never participate in trading," and stated, "A sharp rise in this indicator typically appears before a market uptrend." As of 6:33 p.m., Bitcoin is trading at $106,952 on the Binance USDT market, up 1.93% from 24 hours ago.

The rise of MetaPlanet, a Bitcoin (BTC) reserve company listed on the Japanese stock market, is attributed to the government’s virtual asset (cryptocurrency) taxation policy, according to analysis. On the 16th (local time), Matrixport stated in a report, "MetaPlanet is an asset that provides indirect Bitcoin exposure to Japanese investors facing constraints," adding, "This is because Japan imposes a tax of up to 55% on virtual asset gains." According to Investing.com, MetaPlanet surged 25% today. The report further explained, "The Japanese government considers Bitcoin a strategic reserve asset, not a speculative asset," and, "Recent tax reforms have lowered barriers for companies to hold Bitcoin." However, it was pointed out that the intrinsic value of the Bitcoin held by MetaPlanet is high. The report stated, "The intrinsic value per Bitcoin held by MetaPlanet amounts to $759,000 per share compared to its stock price," and, "This is over seven times the current Bitcoin price." It also evaluated, "This is the result of speculative demand, a limited number of tradable shares, and expectations for future Bitcoin price increases, showing similarities to early-stage strategy stocks." Meanwhile, MetaPlanet additionally purchased 1112 BTC today, bringing its total BTC holdings to 10,000.

Sweden-based health company 'H100 Group', which has adopted a Bitcoin (BTC) reserve strategy, has reportedly signed an investment contract for convertible bonds worth SEK 150 million (approximately $15.87 million). On the 16th (local time), H100 announced in a press release, "We have entered into a guaranteed convertible bond agreement worth SEK 150 million with Adam Back, CEO of Blockstream," and added, "All of the investment funds will be used to purchase Bitcoin." They continued, "Additional capital procurement plans are also being prepared," explaining, "In such a case, up to an extra SEK 750 million ($75 million) could be raised." As of 6:05 PM, according to the Binance USDT market, Bitcoin is trading at $107,204, up 2.02% from 24 hours ago.

Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed crypto (virtual asset) company MemeStrategy announced that it has purchased Solana (SOL). This marks the first time a Hong Kong-listed company has invested in Solana. On the 16th (local time), MemeStrategy stated on its website, "Today, we purchased 2,440 SOL in the open market," and added, "The value is around 2.9 million Hong Kong dollars (500 million KRW)." The company further mentioned, "Through the Solana accumulation strategy, we plan to strengthen our position in the virtual asset sector." Lei Chan, Chairman of MemeStrategy, said, "This purchase reflects our strong confidence in Solana's long-term potential," adding, "Solana's vision aligns perfectly with ours, and we plan to expand the virtual asset and Web3 ecosystems through this." As of 5:54 p.m., Solana is trading at $156 on the Binance USDT market, up 8.08% from 24 hours ago.

Japanese power company listed on the stock exchange, Remixpoint (Remixpoint), has reportedly purchased an additional approximately 13.3 Bitcoins (BTC). On the 16th (local time), Remixpoint announced in a press release that it had acquired an additional "13.3 BTC worth 200 million yen." The company's total amount of Bitcoin held now amounts to 1,051. Meanwhile, on the 13th (local time), Remixpoint also announced it acquired an additional 56.87 BTC worth 887 million yen.

Last week, global crypto (virtual asset) investment products attracted an inflow of $1.917 billion, marking the ninth consecutive week of net inflows. On the 16th (local time), CoinShares stated in its report, "$1.917 billion (₩2.6075 trillion) flowed into crypto investment products last week, marking nine straight weeks of net inflows," and added, "Since the start of the year, $13.2 billion has flowed in, reaching an all-time high." The report also noted, "Despite geopolitical concerns, crypto has been showing a recovery trend alongside gold." By asset, Bitcoin (BTC) products ranked first with a net inflow of $1.325 billion. However, Short (bear) Bitcoin products also saw a net inflow of $3.7 million, with total assets under management (AUM) reaching $96 million. Ethereum (ETH) products secured the second spot with an inflow of $583 million. The report commented, "Ethereum showed its strongest performance since last February," and added, "Recent product inflows are nearing $2 billion, accounting for 14% of assets under management." Major altcoins also saw positive momentum. XRP products ended three consecutive weeks of net outflows with an inflow of $11.8 million. Additionally, Sui (SUI) and Solana (SOL) recorded inflows of $3.5 million and $1.3 million, respectively. By country, the United States drove strong inflows. U.S.-based crypto products alone recorded a net inflow of about $1.9 billion, while Germany, Switzerland, and Canada reported inflows of $39.2 million, $20.7 million, and $12.1 million, respectively. In contrast, Hong Kong and Brazil each saw net outflows of $56.8 million and $8.5 million.

Bitcoin (BTC) has surpassed $107,000. As of 4:31 PM, based on Binance USDT market, Bitcoin is trading at $107,102, which is up 1.76% compared to 24 hours ago. Meanwhile, according to Cryprice, the Kimchi Premium for major virtual assets (cryptocurrencies) like Bitcoin (BTC) is recorded at 1.20%.

Michael Saylor, CEO of Strategy, sent his congratulations to Metaplanet and its shareholders. On the 16th (local time), Saylor shared a Metaplanet stock price chart via X (formerly Twitter) and stated, "I extend my heartfelt congratulations to Simon Gerovich, CEO of Metaplanet, and all shareholders." According to Investing.com, Metaplanet's stock price closed today at 1,895 yen, up 25.58%. This was due to Metaplanet's Bitcoin (BTC) holdings reaching 10,000 units, following a financial strategy modeled after Strategy. Earlier today, Simon Gerovich, CEO of Metaplanet, announced, "We purchased 1,112 BTC at an average price of $105,435." Meanwhile, today Metaplanet rose to 9th place overall in corporate Bitcoin holdings, surpassing Coinbase Global (9,267 units).

Considering the MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence) indicator, there is an analysis suggesting a potential rise in Bitcoin (BTC). On the 16th (local time), Omkar Godbole, an analyst at CoinDesk, stated, "The weekly chart MACD histogram for Bitcoin has turned positive," and added, "As a result, the Bollinger Band spread is widening again, and price volatility may increase." He continued, "The positive crossover in MACD tends to occur right before a strong upward market," and analyzed that "Bitcoin’s price is expected to rise." As of 4:06 PM, Bitcoin is trading at $106,705 on the Binance USDT market, up 1.20% from 24 hours ago.

It has been revealed that former U.S. President Donald Trump earned over $50 million last year from the sale of World Liberty Financial (WLFI) tokens, a decentralized finance (DeFi) project involving his family. On the 16th (local time), The Block, citing a 'Form 278e' document posted by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, reported, "Trump earned $57,545,532 from the sale of World Liberty Financial tokens just last year." Additionally, it stated, "Trump currently holds 15,750,000,000 WLFI tokens." The report further added, "The total supply of World Liberty Financial is about 100,000,000,000 tokens," and "Trump holds a major voting right in the project."

Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced that it will list Aave (AAVE) and Uniswap (UNI) USDC perpetual futures contracts. On the 16th (local time), Binance stated on its official website, "Today at 17:30 (KST), we will list AAVE/USDC perpetual futures contracts," adding, "At 17:45 (KST), UNI/USDC perpetual futures will also be listed." Both contracts support up to 75x leverage.

In the past 24 hours, the size of position liquidations in the virtual asset (cryptocurrency) perpetual futures market recorded $256.57 million. According to CoinGlass data on the 16th (local time), the total amount of futures position liquidations in the crypto market over the last 24 hours reached $256.57 million. Specifically, long position liquidations amounted to $162.48 million, while short position liquidations totaled $94.08 million. The surge in long position liquidations is attributed to the sharp decline in Poly Hedera Network (ZKJ). Previously, Poly Hedera Network, listed as a Binance Alpha project, drew significant investor attention as the most favorable asset for acquiring Alpha points. However, after Tether liquidity for 48 Club Token (KOGE) was depleted, traders began swapping 48 Club Token to Poly Hedera Network, which triggered a steep drop. Additionally, 15.5 million Poly Hedera Network tokens were unlocked during this process, contributing to further declines. As of 3:26 p.m., according to CoinMarketCap, Poly Hedera Network was trading at $0.3254, down 83.78% from the previous session. As a result, Poly Hedera Network (ZKJ) also ranked as the asset with the largest liquidation size. Over 24 hours, Poly Hedera Network saw $102.33 million in position liquidations, with $97.73 million in long positions and $4.6 million in short positions liquidated. Ethereum (ETH) ranked second for the same period, with $47.21 million liquidated, including $19.08 million in long positions and $28.13 million in short positions. Bitcoin (BTC) ranked third with $30.5 million in liquidations. The long and short position liquidation sizes were $11.16 million and $19.34 million, respectively.

Interview with Nick White, Vice President of Celestia Building 'Digital Democracy' Based on Governance "Confident in Our Technology and Institutional Adoption" Korea as a Starting Point for Global Expansion... Accelerating Community Growth "In any industry, consumers can make customized choices according to their preferences, but until now, blockchains have not enabled that. Our goal is to let any developer customize blockchains as they wish and thereby realize 'digital democracy.'" Nick White, founding member and Vice President of Celestia (Celestia, TIA), the first modular blockchain project, said this in an interview with Bloomingbit on the 12th. Launched in October 2023, Celestia garnered major interest in the market for its novel approach that separates execution, consensus, and data availability (DA). Within a year of mainnet launch, it secured an additional $100 million in funding from Bain Capital Crypto, Syncracy Capital, and others—double its prior investment—proving both its technological and market potential. We spoke in depth with Vice President Nick White, who aims to realize the mission of 'digital democracy' through customizable blockchains, about the future of Celestia and the blockchain industry. Building 'Digital Democracy' Based on Governance Vice President Nick White regards blockchain as a technology to realize 'digital democracy,' and shared that Celestia was built to embody these values as well. Nick stated, "The current Web2 market is a digital feudal system where private companies monopolize users' governance and profit. Going forward, users must have control in fields like finance, social media (SNS), and more." He added, "Blockchain and virtual assets (cryptocurrencies) guarantee individual freedom in the digital world. As blockchain technology develops and becomes mainstream, we can build 'digital democracy' where users own the value and governance of a platform." He also stated that popularizing blockchain technology is a prerequisite for building digital democracy. Nick said, "To popularize blockchain technology, there must ultimately be blockchains that meet each individual’s needs. Existing monolithic blockchains only provide a single framework, greatly limiting scalability." He continued, "With modular blockchains like Celestia, chains can be custom-designed to fit individual purposes. This will improve accessibility and help blockchain break into the mainstream." He went on, "Celestia was also built with a long-term view toward realizing digital democracy through mainstream blockchain adoption. Through technologies like data availability sampling, we will provide the infrastructure to unlock blockchain’s potential." 50% Global DA Market Share... "Confident in Our Technology and Institutional Adoption" Celestia attracted attention for achieving a 50% share of the DA (data availability) market within just a year and a half of launch. Over 40 projects, with assets totaling $750 million, are currently operating on its network. Nick commented, "About 20 more projects are slated to launch in the near future. The key driver behind this successful growth is technological strength—Celestia’s data throughput is 2.2× that of Solana (SOL)." He added, "Superior data throughput provides the security, speed, and decentralization developers seek—like a blank white canvas on which anything can be drawn." He also expressed confidence in institutional adoption. "What differentiates us from other blockchains is our customizability and scalability. Modular blockchains can flexibly meet the technical requirements of each enterprise, making them extremely well-suited for various institutional use cases," he emphasized again. He explained that Celestia is actively in discussions about expansion with global institutions. "Adoption of blockchain by global enterprises is rising rapidly. We are in close dialogue with institutions looking to upgrade their services and apps to digital asset infrastructure, and are also collaborating with asset managers like VanEck," he added. Celestia is also quickly moving to expand into stablecoins, real world assets (RWA), and decentralized finance (DeFi), all sectors attracting attention in the industry. He shared, "The Celestia-based stablecoin development platform Noble AppLayer is also set to launch soon, and RWA-specialized blockchain Converge by Ethena (ENA) will launch on Celestia in the second half of this year." Korea as a Launchpad for Global Expansion... Accelerating Community Growth Vice President Nick White stressed the importance of targeting the Korean market as a first step for global expansion. "Korea has tremendous passion and interest in blockchain—from retail investors to developers, even the government and corporations. For Celestia to achieve global adoption, it must be adopted in Korea," he asserted. "Many of Celestia’s early partners are Korean companies. We’re very interested in collaborating with enterprises from diverse fields active in Korea," he added. He was also clear about his commitment to building a solid community in Korea. "Korea has the most active digital asset community activities in the world. We plan to proactively build the community in Korea to drive ongoing ecosystem expansion," he stated.

In the past 24 hours, perpetual futures positions in the virtual asset (cryptocurrency) market saw total liquidations amounting to $252.05 million. According to CoinGlass data on the 11th (local time), a total of $252.05 million in futures positions were liquidated in the virtual asset market over the last 24 hours. Due to news of a US-China trade agreement and a lower-than-expected Consumer Price Index (CPI), Bitcoin (BTC) surged, resulting in the majority of liquidations being short (sell) positions. Specifically, $104.54 million in long (buy) positions and $147.51 million in short positions were liquidated. The asset with the largest liquidation was Ethereum (ETH). Ethereum saw $95.54 million in position liquidations over 24 hours, with $37.09 million in long positions and $58.46 million in short positions liquidated, respectively. Bitcoin ranked second in the same period, with $39.83 million in liquidations. The amounts for long and short liquidations were $11.84 million and $27.98 million, respectively. As of 11:50 PM, on Binance's USDT market, Bitcoin and Ethereum are trading at $109,811 and $2,834, up 1.06% and 3.57% compared to 24 hours ago.

Ethereum (ETH)-based layer 2 project Taiko (TAIKO) has officially introduced the preconfirmation feature on the Hekla testnet. On the 11th (local time), Taiko officially launched the preconfirmation feature on the Hekla testnet. The preconfirmation function is a technology that enables 'preconfirmers' listed in a whitelist to soft-confirm transactions beforehand, thereby enhancing user application interactions. This technology allows user experience at centralized speed while maintaining decentralization. The introduction of this testnet feature serves as a preliminary trial prior to the future deployment of preconfirmation to Taiko's mainnet, Alethia. Accordingly, the first stage of the preconfirmation rollout will be carried out with whitelist-based access to ensure smooth testing. Initially, the block creation time is targeted at 2 seconds, but this speed may be further reduced with additional technological improvements in the future. Collaboration with several key infrastructure partners—including Nethermind, Chainbound, and Gataka—was also integral to the implementation of this functionality. Taiko commented, "The introduction of the testnet preconfirmation feature is a testament to their efforts. We also plan to collaborate when integrating the preconfirmation feature into Alethia in the future," expressing their gratitude. They also encouraged participation by saying, "Developers and users can now test the preconfirmation feature on Hekla." Ben Wan, Chief Community Officer of Taiko, stated, "Preconfirmation maintains decentralization and censorship resistance while offering the user experience of centralized systems. This is a major breakthrough, and Ethereum users deserve to enjoy it."

Interactive Strength (Interactive Strength), a fitness solutions provider listed on Nasdaq, is reportedly planning to purchase up to $500 million worth of Fetch (FET). According to CoinDesk on the 11th (local time), Interactive Strength intends to raise up to $500 million as part of its strategic cryptocurrency reserve plan. Through this, they aim to accumulate Fetch. The outlet stated, "Interactive secured $55 million in funding from ATW Partners and DWF Labs and has already purchased Fetch," adding, "Unlike other listed companies that stockpile Bitcoin (BTC), Interactive is employing a unique strategy of investing in AI-based digital assets." Trent Ward, CEO of Interactive, said, "Digital assets are a core element of global financial infrastructure, and AI represents the biggest technological leap forward," adding, "By accumulating Fetch, an AI-based token, we aim to create long-term value for our shareholders."

NASDAQ-listed fintech company Mercurity Fintech (Mercurity Fintech, ticker MFH) announced a plan to raise $800 million for strategic Bitcoin (BTC) reserves. On the 11th (local time), Mercurity Fintech stated on its official website, “We plan to raise $800 million to build up our Bitcoin reserves,” adding that “our Bitcoin holdings will be incorporated into our digital reserve framework through blockchain-based custody, staking, and tokenized management services.” The company further explained, “Through this, we aim to partially convert our financial structure to blockchain-based assets to enhance the resilience of our balance sheet.” Bobby Lee, CEO of Mercurity Fintech, said, “We believe that Bitcoin will become an essential component of the future financial infrastructure,” and added, “Building up Bitcoin reserves is part of the company’s strategy to become a key player in the digital finance ecosystem.”

The United States' Consumer Price Index (CPI) for May rose 2.4% year-over-year. According to a June 11 (local time) announcement by the US Department of Labor, the May US CPI climbed 2.4% YoY and 0.1% MoM. Both figures were slightly below Wall Street analysts’ forecasts (2.5%, 0.2%). Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, also increased 2.8% YoY, falling short of Wall Street’s expectation of 2.9%. MoM, it rose by 0.1%, again below the estimate (0.3%). Core CPI is an indicator that excludes more volatile energy and food prices, providing insight into the underlying inflation trend. Following the lower-than-expected CPI results, Bitcoin (BTC), which had been trading in the low $109,000s, briefly surged to $109,927. As of 9:32 p.m., based on Binance USDT market prices, Bitcoin was trading at $109,756, up 0.27% from 24 hours earlier.

As Bitcoin (BTC) attempts to break through $110,000, analysis suggests the market remains cautious. According to The Block on the 11th (local time), K33 Research reported, "Bitcoin is rising toward $110,000," but also noted, "the Bitcoin funding rate has turned negative. The market remains in a cautious state." The weekly funding rate and leverage indicators also point to a defensive market atmosphere. The report stated, "Bitcoin's weekly funding rate was just 1.3% per annum," adding, "this level has only been seen near the lows over the past two and a half years." Furthermore, "BITX, the 2x leveraged Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), currently holds exposure equivalent to 52,435 BTC," and continued, "this is a significant decrease compared to the peak of 76,755 BTC set in December last year." While leveraged ETF inflows surged during Bitcoin's rallies in March and December last year, leveraged ETF inflow has stagnated recently. The report went on, "Weak funding rates and a reduction in leveraged inflows reflect investors' skepticism," and added, "the release of the U.S. May Consumer Price Index (CPI) and next week's Federal Reserve meeting may have had an impact."

The dollar-based stablecoin USD1, issued by World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a decentralized finance (DeFi) project led by the Trump family, has reportedly surpassed $800 million in daily trading volume. On the 11th (local time), Notaz.Sol announced on X (formerly Twitter), "USD1's daily trading volume has surpassed $800 million," adding that "it has overtaken Dai (DAI) to become the third most-traded stablecoin." According to the attached data, USD1 recorded a trading volume of $886 million. Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) posted $77 billion and $6 billion, respectively, ranking first and second. Meanwhile, Eric Trump, the second son of United States President Donald Trump, quoted the post, celebrating, "We’re just getting started."

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reportedly requested issuers of Solana (SOL) spot Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) to submit amended S-1 registration statement forms. On the 11th (local time), SolidIntel announced on X (formerly Twitter) that "the SEC asked issuers of Solana spot ETFs to submit revised S-1 forms." They further stated, "This means that approval for Solana spot ETFs could come as early as July," and added, "Ethereum (ETH) spot ETFs were also required to submit amended S-1 forms before approval." Previously, final approval for the Ethereum spot ETF was granted after submission of the revised S-1 filing.