Minseung Kang

Spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) listed in the United States recorded a total net inflow of $547.6 million (approximately ₩760 billion) this week. According to Farside Investors on the 16th (local time), BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, saw an inflow of $887.7 million this week, leading the way in capital inflows. In contrast, Fidelity's FBTC saw a net outflow of $73.8 million, and ARK 21Shares’ ARKB posted a net outflow of $183.9 million. Additionally, there were net outflows of $18.4 million from Bitwise's BITB, $95.9 million from Grayscale's GBTC, and $5.9 million from VanEck's HODL. Meanwhile, Invesco Galaxy’s BTCO recorded a net inflow of $4.9 million, and other ETFs saw a combined net inflow of $32.9 million.

SharpLink Gaming, a U.S.-based company that declared holding Ethereum (ETH), expanded its ETH holdings to 728,000 units (about $3.2 billion), thereby strengthening its financial strategy. However, it posted a loss of $103 million in the second quarter. According to BlockNews, a media outlet specializing in virtual assets (cryptocurrencies), SharpLink invested most of its Ethereum holdings in staking, generating revenue of 1,326 ETH. Nevertheless, a non-cash impairment loss of $87.8 million was recorded due to the application of U.S. GAAP accounting standards. This is a book value impairment loss reflected based on the lowest price ETH fell to during the quarter, which was $2,300, but no actual losses occurred from selling the assets. Meanwhile, SharpLink's Q2 revenue dropped 30% year-over-year to $700,000, and its share price plunged 15% immediately following the earnings release, closing at $19.85.

The supply of stablecoins issued on the Ethereum (ETH) network increased by $16.4 billion (approximately ₩22.796 trillion) over the past month. On the 16th, cryptocurrency-focused media BlockBeats, citing data from market data analytics firm Artemis, reported that "the supply of stablecoins issued on the Ethereum (ETH) network increased by a total of $16.4 billion over the past month." An increase in circulating supply of stablecoins typically signifies a rise in capital inflow into the cryptocurrency market.

Michael Saylor, CEO of Strategy (formerly known as MicroStrategy), the public company holding the largest amount of Bitcoin (BTC), has introduced a new funding model using Bitcoin as collateral. According to NewsBTC, a digital asset-focused media outlet, on the 16th Saylor plans to raise capital through 'Perpetual Preferred Stock' instead of traditional common stock issuance or convertible bonds (CB). This product has no maturity date and allows for deferral of dividend payments, offering significant flexibility for the issuer. Saylor aims to brand this as 'Stretch' and use it as the main source of capital over the next four years, alongside reducing convertible bond repayments and the issuance of common shares. He emphasized, "This kind of Bitcoin 'credit model' could raise up to $100 billion, possibly up to $200 billion if there is sufficient demand." Strategy raised approximately $6 billion this year alone through four separate issuances of perpetual preferred stock. Among them, the recent $2.5 billion issuance is noted as one of the largest short-term capital raises in the digital asset industry. The outlet added, "This model is a unique approach that encourages retail investor participation," but also noted that "the high dividend burden (8~10% annually) can pose a major risk for the company during market downturns."

An analysis has emerged suggesting that Ethereum (ETH) may maintain a stronger short-term bullish trend compared to Bitcoin (BTC). According to Cointelegraph, a crypto-focused media outlet, market data platform Santiment stated, "While Ethereum has outperformed Bitcoin over the past three months, investors remain relatively calm about ETH," adding, "This kind of cool investor sentiment may actually boost ETH's upside potential." Santiment highlighted that the ETH/BTC ratio has increased by 32.9% over the past 30 days. Santiment analyzed, "While Bitcoin saw a spike in the investor greed index near its all-time high, Ethereum is showing fewer signs of overheating." Previously, on the 14th, Bitcoin dropped 5.1% from its all-time high of $124,128 to its current price of $117,939, while Ethereum approached its 2021 all-time high ($4,878) before settling at around $4,448. Meanwhile, there are also observations pointing to improved market outlook. Crypto trader Yashasedu claimed, "If Bitcoin reaches $150,000, Ethereum could rise to as high as $8,656." Additionally, Standard Chartered recently raised its price target for Ethereum this year to $7,500 in its latest report.

Bitcoin (BTC) has briefly recovered to the $119,000 level. As of 11:40 PM on the 14th, BTC is trading at $119,066 on the Binance USDT market, down 2.04% from the previous day (₩165,140,000 on Upbit standard). Earlier today, the United States released the Producer Price Index (PPI) for July, which rose by 0.90% month-on-month, reigniting concerns about inflation. Bitcoin temporarily gave up the $120,000 level following this announcement. Meanwhile, according to the cryptocurrency data platform Cryprice, Bitcoin’s Kimchi Premium stood at -0.33% today. This indicates that Bitcoin is being traded at a slightly lower price on domestic exchanges compared to the global market.

According to an analysis, the virtual asset (cryptocurrency) market rebounded significantly in July, led by Ethereum (ETH). On the 14th (local time), CoinDesk, a media outlet specializing in virtual assets, reported that global financial firm JPMorgan stated in a research report: "The average market capitalization of virtual assets rose by 12% last month, with steady gains observed across decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFT), and exchange-traded products (ETP)." JPMorgan cited as the backdrop for this rally: ▲ the passage of the 'GENIUS Act' by the U.S. Congress, ▲ an increase in cryptocurrency-linked IPOs, and ▲ deepened partnerships between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance. The report analyzed, "These factors, combined with stronger global risk asset appetite, may sustain the upward trend in prices and trading volumes for a while." In particular, Ethereum's market capitalization surged by 49%, far outpacing Bitcoin (BTC), which rose by 8%. An analysis also emerged that after the passage of the stablecoin regulatory bill, the GENIUS Act, last month, Ethereum—the foundation of major stablecoins—benefited from this development. Trading activity also increased significantly. JPMorgan said that in July, the average daily trading volume of virtual assets rose by 49% compared to the previous month. The report added, "Both the DeFi and NFT markets saw meaningful growth in trading activity".

Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the co-founder of Binance, stated that traditional financial (TradiFi) funds are flowing into the virtual asset (cryptocurrency) market. On the 14th (local time), CZ communicated through his X (formerly Twitter), saying, "TradiFi money pouring into crypto." He also included an article mentioning that BNB Chain is connecting Wall Street and virtual assets. Earlier that day, Binance Coin (BNB) hit an all-time high of $869.4. Cointelegraph reported, "BNB is evolving into an independent asset class that bridges traditional finance and the digital asset world, serving both institutional and retail investors."

James Wynn, a major investor based on Hyperliquid, predicted that the start of the altcoin season could be delayed. On the 14th, Wynn shared via X (formerly Twitter), "The altcoin season is being delayed," adding that it is "a very disappointing situation for investors." He also attached a news article reporting that the U.S. July Producer Price Index (PPI) exceeded expectations. On this day, the announced U.S. July PPI rose by 0.90% from the previous month. Year-on-year, it increased by 3.3%, exceeding the market expectation of 2.5%. Following the announcement of this leading indicator for consumer prices, which signals overheating in wholesale prices, Bitcoin (BTC) fell back from $120,000 and is showing a short-term downtrend.

The US-based food company DDC Enterprises has announced the additional purchase of 120 bitcoins (BTC). According to Business Wire on the 14th, they resumed purchases after a month-long pause and acquired an additional 120 bitcoins. As a result, the company’s total bitcoin holdings have reached 488 BTC, with an average purchase price of $98,737 per coin. Norma Chu, founder and chairperson of DDC, said, “The additional purchase of 120 bitcoins demonstrates our approach to expanding our bitcoin reserves,” adding, “We plan to hold 10,000 BTC by the end of this year and become one of the top three global public companies in bitcoin holdings within three years.”

The U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) for July far exceeded market expectations. Producer prices are considered a leading indicator for consumer prices, as they are eventually reflected in the final consumer goods prices after a certain period. According to the U.S. Department of Labor on the 14th (local time), the U.S. PPI for July rose 0.90% from the previous month. This is a figure that far surpasses the market expectation of a 0.20% increase. Year-on-year, the PPI rose 3.3%, also exceeding the market expectation (2.5%). During the same period, the number of new jobless claims in the U.S. last week was recorded at 224,000, slightly below the market expectation (225,000). Amid the release of indications that the wholesale price index, a leading indicator of consumer prices, is overheating, Bitcoin (BTC) gave back the $120,000 level. As of 21:34 on the same day on the Binance USDT market, BTC was trading at $118,576, down 1.24% from the previous day.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the sale of Bitcoin (BTC) holdings would be stopped and that gold would be maintained as a store of value. According to the overseas economic news channel Walter Bloomberg on the 14th (local time), Secretary Bessent stated, "The size of the U.S. Bitcoin reserves reaches about $15 billion to $20 billion, and (in the future) there will be no purchases; we plan to utilize seized assets." He also added that the likelihood of revaluing gold's assessed value is low. Regarding the Federal Reserve (Fed), the U.S. central bank, he said, "Someone who can rationalize the system is needed for the position of Fed Chair," and mentioned that there is room for continuous interest rate cuts. He emphasized, "We might start with a 25bp (0.25% points) reduction and could accelerate the pace," and "I have never asserted that the target rate should be lowered by 1.5% points." While drawing a line by stating, "I did not direct the Fed on what it should do," Secretary Bessent nevertheless hinted at a gradual rate-cutting stance.

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) will list the Bitcoin (BTC) spot ETF and Ethereum (ETH) spot ETF of the financial services firm 'MicroBit' on the 21st. According to the crypto-specialized media outlet Odaily on the 14th, HKEX will list the MicroBit Bitcoin spot ETF and MicroBit Ethereum spot ETF on the 21st. The annual management fee for both products is 0.5% of their net asset value (NAV), which is relatively low compared to currently listed crypto spot ETFs. The custodian and administrative operations of the two ETFs will be handled by BOCI Prudential Trustee Limited, while the crypto trading platform will be HashKey Exchange and the crypto segregation custody service will be provided by Hash Blockchain Limited. Securities firms participating in the listing include China Merchants Securities (Hong Kong), Eight Securities and Futures, Mirae Asset Securities (Hong Kong), Huaying Oriental (Asia), Huasheng Capital Securities, and Victory Securities.

Signals have emerged that short-term holders of Bitcoin (BTC) are defending against selling pressure near their average purchase price. According to on-chain analytics platform Glassnode on the 14th, the SOPR (Spent Output Profit Ratio) for short-term holders briefly dipped below the neutral line (1.0) but quickly rebounded. Glassnode explained, "This (indicator) rebound demonstrates that realized losses are limited, and new investors are showing determination to maintain their breakeven point at around $112,000." Meanwhile, the short-term holder SOPR indicator shows whether current investors holding coins for more than 1 hour and less than 155 days are in profit or loss. When this indicator is above 1, it means the proportion of investors who realized profits through short-term trading is high; below 1, the proportion of investors who incurred losses is higher.

The number of validators who have requested to unstake and withdraw Ethereum (ETH) is once again on the rise. According to ValidatorQ, which tracks Ethereum staking data, as of now, the amount of ETH pending withdrawal after ending staking on the Ethereum network is 702,703 ETH (approx. $3,315,350,000). This figure marks a recent rebound, and the expected waiting time is about 12 days and 5 hours. Currently, there are 1,085,337 active validators on the Ethereum network, and the total staked amount is approximately 35,600,000 ETH, accounting for 29.41% of the total supply of Ethereum.

Bitcoin (BTC) temporarily gave back the $121,000 level. As of 19:58 on the 14th, based on the Binance USDT market, the BTC price is trading at $121,029, up 0.43% from the previous day (₩166,500,000 on Upbit Exchange). Meanwhile, according to Cryprice, the kimchi premium for major cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC) is at -0.85%.

Amid renewed momentum in the virtual asset market, driven by expectations of a US interest rate cut and large-scale institutional buying, there are also warnings from some that a short-term correction could occur soon. On the 14th, cryptocurrency derivatives exchange BitMEX stated on its blog, "With the US July inflation rate coming in lower than expected, expectations for a rate cut in September have grown," and analyzed, "As risk appetite increased, Bitcoin surpassed $124,000 on the day." It further added, "Ethereum has surged 59% in a month, surpassing $4,750 and coming within just 3% of its all-time high of $4,868 recorded in November 2021. Its market capitalization also crossed $570 billion." The recent rally was also fueled by the US passing the stablecoin bill last month. The bill permits the use of US dollar-based stablecoins for international settlements, sparking increased demand for Circle, the issuer of USDC, and the Ethereum Network. However, there are also suggestions that Bitcoin may enter a technical correction phase in the short term. Quoting Blockchain.com data, BitMEX said, "Bitcoin network hashrate declined from 965 million TH/s on the 7th to 892 million TH/s on August 13," and analyzed, "Given the traditional correlation between price and hashrate, this suggests a possible correction."

Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy, simultaneously emphasized the long-term profitability of Bitcoin (BTC) and the undervaluation of his company's stock. In an interview with Fox Business on the 4th, Saylor stated, "Bitcoin is an asset aimed at long-term holding, and to date, it has demonstrated an average annual return of over 50% in the long run." He said, "MicroStrategy employs a strategy to double both the returns and volatility of Bitcoin," and explained, "This involves issuing short-term credit products that provide fixed income to certain investors, while the remaining returns accrue to shareholders." He pointed out that Wall Street still undervalues the company. He added, "We are the fourth most profitable financial firm in the United States, but based on metrics such as market capitalization or price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, we remain undervalued," and, "It will take more time for Wall Street to fully grasp the potential of digital capital and the Bitcoin ecosystem." He also emphasized, "(Bitcoin) cannot be stopped, as there are people around the world supporting the network with energy, computing power, and political and economic strength," and, "It continues to strengthen and spread like a swarm of hornets." Saylor further emphasized, "If you use traditional government bonds as capital, you lag behind the S&P 500 by 10% each year, but with Bitcoin, you outperform by over 40%," and, "The adoption of the Bitcoin Standard by other companies is similar to the waves of adoption seen with electricity, internal combustion engines, the internet, and semiconductors."

Bitmain, the Bitcoin (BTC) mining company that holds the most Ethereum (ETH) among all publicly listed companies worldwide, is reported to have purchased additional Ethereum. On the 14th, on-chain analyst EmberCN (@EmberCN) stated, "A total of 13 wallet addresses, presumed to be affiliated with Bitmain, collectively purchased an additional 33,401 ETH (worth approximately $158 million) on institutional platforms such as FalconX, Galaxy Digital, and BitGo." Previously, these addresses have accumulated a total of 379,000 ETH through the same channels since the 4th of this month. The estimated value is about $1.8 billion.

Chainlink (LINK) has achieved its highest price in 3 months amid a surge in trading volume. Analysts attribute the uptrend to expanding demand for oracle services and increasing adoption of the Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP). According to the crypto-focused media outlet Cryptopolitan on the 14th, LINK recorded $2 billion in trading volume over the past 24 hours and has soared about 50% so far this month. As of 17:30 today, LINK was trading at $23.37, with both price and volume at their highest levels this year. The media reports that Chainlink holds a 61% market share in the oracle market. The company also provides price data to 453 projects across 21 blockchains. In addition, it was mentioned as a representative oracle example in the White House digital asset framework. CCIP utilization, in particular, saw a sharp rise in July and August. There has been increasing demand to transfer stablecoins like USDC and LBTC across different chains, and a noticeable traffic uptick has occurred on Layer 2 chains such as Arbitrum and Base. The media added, “Chainlink is one of the top 10 assets included in the ‘Made in USA’ narrative and is expected to benefit from the favorable crypto regulatory environment in the United States.” Meanwhile, oracles in blockchain technology refer to solutions that bring external data onto blockchains. The CCIP (Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol) is a Chainlink technology that allows secure transfers of tokens and data between different blockchains.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has initiated review procedures for the Solana (SOL) spot Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) jointly filed by Invesco and Galaxy Digital. On the 14th, crypto-specialized media outlet Cointelegraph, via X (formerly Twitter), reported: “The US SEC has officially confirmed receipt of the Solana spot ETF application submitted by Invesco and Galaxy Digital.” The SEC will now conduct a review before making a decision to approve, reject, or delay. As of 16:27 on the same day, SOL was trading at $206.12 in the Binance USDT market, up 4.53% from the previous day.