Minseung Kang

Crypto-native fund ArkStream Capital said it has made an additional investment of 10 million dollars in the stablecoin project Ethena Labs. On the 5th (local time), ArkStream said on X (formerly Twitter), "We invested an additional 10 million dollars in Ethena Labs last month," adding, "This is part of a long-term strategy following an initial investment of 5 million dollars in December last year." With this increase, the total investment amounts to 15 million dollars. The company explained, "Not only the explosive metric growth, but also the institutional innovation Ethena has shown in the capital markets strengthened our conviction."

The 'whale' trader James Wynn on Hyperliquid (Hyperliquid), a crypto derivatives exchange, was confirmed to have been fully liquidated from a 25x leveraged Ethereum (ETH) long position. The loss amounted to about $10,025. On the 5th, onchain data analyst OnchainLens said via X (formerly Twitter), "James Wynn was completely liquidated from a 25x leveraged ETH long position," and "he lost about $10,025 (about 13,910,000 won) on this position." Previously, James Wynn had suffered consecutive losses, with his ETH long positions being forcibly liquidated six times in a row. At the time, OnchainLens evaluated his trading pattern as "practically acting as a market top signal."

Bitcoin (BTC) has temporarily given up the $111,000 level. As of 23:25 on the 5th, BTC is trading on the Binance USDT market at $111,186, up 1.15% from the previous day (on Upbit, 155,370,000 won). According to cryptoasset data platform Cryprice, Bitcoin's kimchi premium that day was 0.79%. This means it is trading at a slightly higher price on domestic exchanges than the global price.

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum (ETH), emphasized that low-cost stablecoin transactions are one of the most important values in the crypto asset (cryptocurrency) industry. On the 5th, Buterin wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "Low-cost stablecoin transactions are one of the core values that crypto assets offer today," adding, "I am glad to see attempts to strengthen this in connection with the Ethereum mainnet." In this context, he tagged the new layer-2 project Codex (Codex). Codex is a stablecoin-specialized layer-2 blockchain designed on Ethereum, aiming to reduce payment costs and improve on- and off-ramp (the exchange between cash and crypto assets) efficiency.

Cryptocurrency derivatives exchange Hyperliquid will hold a vote in the next network upgrade to introduce its own stablecoin USDH and plans to reduce some spot trading fees. On the 5th, virtual asset-focused media Odaily reported that Hyperliquid will soon conduct an on-chain vote on the issuance of the stablecoin USDH. The selected project will gain the right to issue a native stablecoin USDH compatible with Hyperliquid. Hyperliquid will provide the brand and the USDH ticker, while the team chosen by the vote will be responsible for the actual issuance and operation. Meanwhile, Hyperliquid also announced a restructuring of the spot market. It said that execution fees, maker rebates, and volume contributions for some trading pairs will be uniformly reduced by 80%, which could lower users' cost burden.

The Ethereum Foundation was observed to have withdrawn 4.7 billion won worth of the stablecoin Dai (DAI) as part of its ongoing sales of Ether (ETH). On the 5th, Amber CN reported via X (formerly Twitter) that "the Ethereum Foundation sold part of the 10,000 ETH it deposited to Kraken the previous day and withdrew about 3,380,000 DAI (about 4.7 billion won) from Kraken." Meanwhile, the Ethereum Foundation has announced it will sell approximately $430 million (about 600 billion won) worth of Ether. The foundation earlier stated on the 2nd via its official channels that "the sales will be conducted in multiple tranches over several weeks through centralized exchanges." The foundation plans to use the proceeds to support the ecosystem, including research and development (R&D), grants, and donations.

Bitcoin (BTC) is maintaining the $112,000 level and is showing a relatively stable trend despite volatility in global risky assets, analysts said. Ethereum (ETH), XRP (XRP), and Solana (SOL) are also trading within limited ranges. On the 5th, crypto asset (cryptocurrency) specialist media CoinDesk reported, "Bitcoin is showing stability around $111,600 despite instability in global markets," adding, "the market is paying attention to U.S. employment figures and the Federal Reserve's (Fed) interest rate policy." The market is focused on the U.S. employment report to be released at 9:30 p.m. (KST) that day. The market is placing weight on the possibility of a rate cut this month, but forecasts indicate that further easing within the year will be limited. Jeff Mei, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of BTSE, explained, "The Fed is wary of excessive liquidity supply due to concerns about inflation," adding, "as a result, gold rose, but crypto assets and stocks were pressured." On the other hand, there are opinions that Bitcoin is emerging as a risk-avoidance tool. Vikrant Sharma, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Cake Wallet, emphasized, "Bitcoin has established itself as a hedge against currency depreciation, fiscal instability, and geopolitical risks beyond being a mere speculative asset," adding, "as prices stay above $100,000, its character as a global reserve asset is becoming clearer." Nassar Achkar, Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) of CoinW, also said, "Bitcoin still forms a strong fundamental driven by the possibility of a rate cut within the year and the inflow of institutional funds through ETFs," but added, "attention is needed to short-term volatility due to policy changes."

The virtual asset (cryptocurrency) exchange Gemini has launched Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL) staking services and perpetual futures products for customers in the European Union (EU). According to crypto-focused media CoinDesk on the 5th, Gemini unveiled these services after receiving approval under the EU's comprehensive crypto-asset regulatory proposal, the MiCA law. The staking products are available with no minimum deposit requirement, with ETH offering a variable reward rate and SOL offering up to an annual 6% yield. The perpetual futures product, 'Gemini Perpetuals,' is traded in USDC and supports up to 100x leverage. The product is operated under Gemini's Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) II license. Earlier, Gemini moved its headquarters to a Maltese entity to comply with European regulations, and through this expansion has expressed its intention to make the European market a key growth hub. Mark Jennings, CEO of Gemini Europe, said, "We want to democratize access to alternative, risk-managed financial products," adding, "We will be one of the few European crypto exchanges offering a variety of products on an intuitive and secure platform."

Thumzup Media, a Nasdaq-listed company, said it plans to secure 3500 Dogecoin (DOGE) mining rigs within the year through the acquisition of Dogehash, a Dogecoin mining firm. Thumzup said the acquisition is part of its plan to expand its cryptocurrency mining business. According to crypto-focused media The Block on the 5th, Thumzup said it will acquire 2500 mining rigs owned by Dogehash after shareholder approval and install an additional 1000 rigs within the year. Dogehash conducts algorithm-based mining only, which is used for Dogecoin and Litecoin (LTC). The company estimated the acquisition and miner deployment could generate between $22.7 million and $103.19 million in revenue. The estimate assumes Dogecoin's price rises from the current $0.22 to $1. Thumzup said, "Cryptocurrency mining is one of the largest value-creation opportunities in the industry," and added, "This acquisition will allow us to secure a high-profit business." Thumzup also said it received board approval to hold Dogecoin, Litecoin, Solana (SOL), XRP, Ethereum (ETH), and USDC, in addition to Bitcoin. Meanwhile, according to Yahoo Finance, Thumzup's stock closed at $5.57 the previous day (local time), up 5.29% from the previous day.

Japan tech company Robot Consulting announced plans to purchase Ethereum (ETH) worth 1 billion yen (about 9.3 billion won). On the 5th, according to virtual asset (cryptocurrency) specialized media CoinDo, Tokyo-based Robot Consulting disclosed the plan as part of a strategy to integrate blockchain into legal technology and metaverse services. The company plans to begin purchasing Ethereum from the end of this year or early next year, and the investment size may be adjusted depending on market conditions. Investment gains and losses will be directly reflected in quarterly financial statements. Amit Thakur, Robot Consulting's chief executive officer (CEO), emphasized, "Ethereum is not a simple asset but a core infrastructure that connects law and digital services," adding, "By applying smart contract functionality to legal work, we can provide cheaper and more transparent services in areas such as labor law and corporate compliance." Meanwhile, Robot Consulting operates the cloud-based HR management platform 'Labor Robot' and is developing the AI-based legal assistant 'Robot Lawyer'. It plans to expand its business into metaverse-based legal consultations and digital transformation services in the future.

Some analysts say some traders are preparing buy-the-dip strategies as Bitcoin (BTC) may show short-term weakness. On the 5th, according to crypto-focused media CoinDesk, Brent Donnelly, head of Spectra Markets, said, "I will place buy orders in the $94,000 and $82,000 ranges in case the market panics." He explained, "In the short term, Bitcoin is trading more like a risk asset than a safe-haven asset," and "there does not appear to be clear upward momentum at present." Donnelly added, "The trend of companies incorporating Bitcoin into their financial assets is cooling, and the seasonal flow after the halving has also shifted to bearish." Historically, Bitcoin's bull market peaked around 16–18 months after the halving, followed by about a year of bear market. Since the last halving was in April 2024, some analysts suggest this cycle may also turn downward. He continued, "Technically, Bitcoin recently broke down below the $111,982 support level, signaling a shift to decline, and has since been turning that area into resistance," and "if it fails to break above that area, it could lead to further declines," he projected. In the market, the US employment data to be released that day is cited as a factor that could decide short-term direction. If results exceed expectations, expectations for Fed rate cuts could weaken, increasing downward pressure on Bitcoin, observers say. At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), it was reported that some traders have been buying Bitcoin put options to hedge downside risk.

In the global virtual asset (cryptocurrency) market, Redstone (Redstone·RED) showed a short-term surge on news of being listed on Upbit's KRW market. Earlier, Upbit announced that it would list RED around 17:00 that day. According to crypto-focused media BlockBeats on the 5th, RED was trading at $0.7670 at 16:57, up 84% from the previous day. At one point that day, RED shot up to $1.19, rising more than 140% from the previous day. RED's market capitalization was estimated at about $134 million. Meanwhile, Redstone provides an 'oracle' service that connects external data to blockchains. It supports both fast transmission and low cost, and reduced fee burden by leveraging the security structure of EigenLayer (EigenLayer·Ethereum-based restaking platform). Redstone's native token RED is used for staking, security enhancement, and participation rewards.

Large sell-offs from whale wallets of Dogecoin (DOGE) and Cardano (ADA) have been detected in the global crypto market. Although the short-term price impact was limited, the possibility of increased selling pressure in the future has been raised. According to crypto-focused outlet CryptoPotato on the 5th, a total of 200 million DOGE was moved out from whale wallets holding 10 million to 100 million DOGE over the past 48 hours. On-chain analyst Ali Martinez said, "If the decline in holdings continues, DOGE could test the $0.19 support level." As of 16:46 that day, DOGE was trading around $0.21 and has fallen about 4% over the past week. Technically, analysts say no clear breakout signal has been identified. During the same period, wallets holding 1 million to 10 million ADA also sold a total of 50 million ADA. Martinez forecasted, "Cardano could attempt a bullish breakout after reconfirming the $0.80 support level." ADA is currently trading near $0.82, and the uptrend that persisted throughout August has slowed. Earlier, on the 4th (local time), Eric Balchunas, a Bloomberg ETF analyst, mentioned that Rex Shares is preparing to launch a Dogecoin ETF. In addition, an ADA ETF is under review by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), with a final decision scheduled for October 26.

Global crypto asset (cryptocurrency) exchange Binance is listing the artificial intelligence (AI) blockchain project OpenLedger·OPEN. On the 5th, Binance said via its official channel, "On the 8th at 22:00 (Korean time) we will list OPEN on Binance's spot market, and it will be tradable on the USDT·USDC·BNB·FDUSD·TRY markets." Deposits will be supported from 18:30 (Korean time) on the same day. Meanwhile, OPEN is a blockchain that secures liquidity for AI data, models, and agents to support monetization. This listing is Binance's 36th HODLer airdrop project, and users who deposited BNB into on-chain yield products last month will be eligible for the airdrop.

Bitcoin (BTC) briefly recovered to the 112,000 dollars level. As of the 5th at 16:02, BTC is trading on the Binance USDT market at 112,146 dollars (based on Upbit: 156,750,000 won), up 1.56% from the previous day. According to crypto asset data platform Cryprice, Bitcoin's Kimchi premium that day was recorded at 0.42%. This indicates that on domestic exchanges it is trading at a slightly higher price than the global market price.

A 'big player' trader on Hyperliquid, the crypto derivatives exchange, James Wynn was reportedly forcibly liquidated six times in a row from a 25x leveraged Ethereum (ETH) long position. Some in the market regard this as a 'top signal'. According to crypto-focused media BlockBeats on the 5th, on-chain data analyst OnChainLens said, "Wynn was liquidated six times recently," and "the ETH long position he currently holds has an average entry price of $4,378.62 and a liquidation price of $4,257.29, with a size of only about $130,000." Earlier, Wynn opened a full long position when ETH surpassed $4,400 on the 2nd, but it was liquidated the next day as the $4,280 level collapsed. Then on the evening of the 3rd he added another long near $4,440, but as ETH slipped into the $4,370s he was partially liquidated again. At that time the liquidation price of that position was $4,339, and the remaining size was about $320,000. On that day OnChainLens said on X (formerly Twitter), "James Wynn was liquidated six times in a row," and "trading against him always seems to be 'Wynn Wynn'."

Chinese authorities have reportedly uncovered a criminal organization conducting illegal foreign exchange transactions based on Tether (USDT) and found 18 related individuals guilty. The total transaction volume was estimated at 13.3 billion yuan (about 2.5931 trillion won). According to crypto-focused media CoinKu, the Putian City People's Court recently found 18 defendants guilty of illegal foreign exchange transactions and money laundering using USDT. Authorities tracked the network through technical investigations and are reported to have blocked the laundering process through cash withdrawals. The outlet said, "China's tough law enforcement could lead to tighter regulation of foreign exchange derivative trading in the future," but also assessed that "this action did not have a direct impact on the flows of major crypto assets such as Bitcoin or Ethereum."