Minseung Kang

Pro-cryptocurrency U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis has claimed that the United States could reduce its debt by nearly half if it strategically reserves Bitcoin (BTC). According to cryptocurrency-focused media Atlas21, Lummis recently stated at the DC Blockchain Summit in Washington D.C. that "with the national debt reaching approximately $36 trillion (about 5,135.5 trillion KRW), there is a model suggesting that holding Bitcoin for 20 years could cut the national debt in half." Lummis added, "We strategically reserve oil, gold, and even cheese," noting that "Bitcoin, with its scarcity, immutability, and durability, holds strategic value akin to digital gold."

It has been revealed that a whale investor has made a large-scale sell-off of the meme coin OfficialTrump (TRUMP), themed after U.S. President Donald Trump. On the 28th, on-chain analyst ai (ai_9684xtpa) stated on X (formerly Twitter), "The whale investor with an address starting with EwkH5 has sold all 590,000 TRUMP held over the past 3 hours," adding, "The investor incurred a loss of 1.67 million USD (approximately 2.4 billion KRW) from this sale." ai added, "The current market is not easy. Even whales are cutting losses on meme coins and other altcoins."

The New York State Attorney General has settled with Galaxy Digital for $200 million (approximately 293.3 billion won) regarding the 'Terra·Luna' incident, concluding the case. On the 28th, local media Axios reported, "The New York State Attorney General announced a $200 million settlement with cryptocurrency investment firm Galaxy Digital." The prosecution claimed that Galaxy Digital actively promoted Luna (LUNA) to the public while failing to disclose that it sold millions of its holdings in the market. Previously, Michael Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital, declared, "I will get a tattoo if LUNA exceeds $100," and indeed posted a tattoo of a wolf howling at the moon on social media as part of the promotion. The media added, "Galaxy agreed to the settlement without admitting or denying the allegations, and the $200 million settlement will be paid in installments over three years."

Bitcoin (BTC) is expected to have a high possibility of breaking its all-time high within the second quarter. There is also an analysis that market participants are underestimating the speed of Bitcoin's rise. According to Cointelegraph, a cryptocurrency specialist media, on the 28th, Jamie Coutts, the chief cryptocurrency analyst at Real Vision, stated, "The market is underestimating the speed of Bitcoin's rise. There is a possibility of breaking the all-time high within the second quarter." He continued, "Bitcoin could reach $123,000 by June," adding, "This will be valid regardless of Donald Trump's U.S. tariff policies or recession concerns."

Terraform Labs announced that it will open a claim portal for creditors affected by the 'Terra·Luna' crash. On the 28th, Terraform Labs stated on X (formerly Twitter) that "the 'Crypto Loss Claim Portal' for compensating losses in the Terra ecosystem will open on the 31st." The claim deadline is until the 30th of next month (local time), and claims submitted after this will not be recognized. Terraform Labs added, "Creditors must register on the portal and submit documentation proving wallet address and asset ownership." Compensation amounts will be calculated based on the recognized loss scale, and some assets like Luna 2.0 are reported to be excluded from claims.

Recently, in contrast to President Donald Trump's strong intention to make the US a 'Bitcoin Superpower', China is strengthening its crackdown on virtual assets (cryptocurrency) while challenging the dollar hegemony, leading to observations that the 'showdown' between the US and China, as well as digital assets and traditional assets, has begun in earnest. Despite the US's market promotion measures, the price of Bitcoin (BTC) remains trapped in a box range, showing limited upward momentum. Market experts suggest that Bitcoin could continue its recovery if it stably breaks through the $86,800 level, but if it falls below the $82,000 support line, the possibility of further decline increases. As of 3:44 PM on the 23rd, Bitcoin is trading at 124.45 million won on the Upbit KRW market, up 0.24% from the previous day (based on Binance USDT market, $84,199). At the same time, the Kimchi Premium (price difference between overseas and domestic exchanges) has recently shown a decreasing trend, standing at 0.84%. This Year's Interest Rate Cut 'Twice' Maintained... Trump's Tariff Uncertainty Remains Global stock and virtual asset (cryptocurrency) markets showed an upward trend immediately after the March Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) interest rate decision, but turned mixed as concerns over 'tariff bomb' uncertainty returned the gains. The US Federal Reserve (Fed) decided to keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged and maintained the outlook for two interest rate cuts within the year, which relieved the market, but concerns about the uncertainty brought by Trump's tariff policy remain. Fed Chair Powell stated at a press conference held immediately after the FOMC on the 19th (local time) that "some of the inflation clearly stems from tariffs," but also noted that "if the current inflation is expected to disappear without any particular measures as a transitory phenomenon, sometimes just watching can be appropriate." Powell particularly mentioned 'uncertainty' 16 times that day, maintaining a cautious stance on adjusting monetary policy. Additionally, US President Trump reaffirmed that he would fully implement reciprocal tariffs on the 2nd of next month. Reciprocal tariffs can be explained by the principle of an eye for an eye, a tariff for a tariff. On the 16th, President Trump expressed that "April 2nd is the day America is liberated," emphasizing that "we are finally reclaiming the wealth that the historically foolish presidents gave away." He intends to impose tariffs on countries that have caused trade deficits for the US. Market participants are paying attention to the US's February Core Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) Price Index, which will be announced at 8:30 AM local time (9:30 PM KST) on the 28th. Core PCE is a key inflation indicator that the Fed focuses on and can affect the pace and extent of future interest rate cuts. Meanwhile, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) FedWatch forecasts an 85.7% probability that the Fed will keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged in May as of 3 PM that day. June is likely to be the first interest rate cut, with a 67.3% probability of implementation. 'Strategic Asset' Bitcoin vs Soaring Gold... Who is the Winner of the US-China 'Money War'? Recently, President Trump emphasized that he would make the US a 'Bitcoin Superpower' and strengthen financial hegemony using stablecoins. On the other hand, China is showing a contrasting stance by strengthening its crackdown on virtual assets while hoarding gold to challenge the dollar hegemony. With gold prices surpassing $3,000 and hitting a record high, there are observations that the aftermath of Trump's tariff war is spreading to a 'money war' between Bitcoin and other virtual assets and gold. On the 20th, President Trump emphasized in a speech at a digital asset conference that "I will make the US a solid 'Bitcoin Superpower' and a global cryptocurrency hub." He also stated that "dollar-based stablecoins will contribute to further expanding the dominance of the dollar." Previously, the US government had announced at a cryptocurrency summit that it would utilize stablecoins to maintain the dominant reserve currency status of the dollar. Typically, stablecoins often use US Treasury bonds as collateral to support their value. Therefore, the increase in demand for stablecoins is linked to demand for US Treasury bonds, which is expected to help alleviate the fiscal deficit. In fact, the US Treasury Department has analyzed that demand for US Treasury bonds has increased somewhat as stablecoins have grown. In contrast, China, which was once the largest holder of US Treasury bonds, is steadily selling them and accumulating gold in large quantities, challenging the dollar hegemony. Wang Qing, chief macro analyst at Chinese credit rating agency Dongfang Jincheng, analyzed that "the increase in the People's Bank of China's gold holdings can create favorable conditions for strengthening the credit of sovereign currency and promoting the internationalization of the yuan." China's gold holdings increased to 2,279 tons last year, more than tripling compared to 2000. There are also observations that China is strongly cracking down on virtual assets to prevent national wealth from flowing overseas. As China challenges the dollar hegemony, there is also an analysis that the US has taken out stablecoins as a countermeasure. Kim Ki-heung, honorary professor of economics at Kyonggi University, diagnosed that "as the US Fed is expected to continue cutting interest rates (within the year), the opportunity cost of holding gold has decreased," and "Trump's tariff policy and geopolitical factors have further increased gold prices." He also added that "the Trump administration is unlikely to welcome the situation where China is accumulating gold and challenging the dollar hegemony," and "the US is pursuing a policy to strengthen dollar-based stablecoins as an alternative." As gold prices rise, the US's internal situation becomes more complex. This is because the Trump administration's policy direction is somewhat conflicting and complex. Jo Dae-hyung, professor of economics at National Suncheon University, explained that "recently, President Trump expressed his intention to enforce tariff policies to resolve trade deficits, but the strength of gold can lead to the weakness of the dollar (which is in a substitute relationship), which can be a positive factor for US trade in terms of exchange rates," but "if the Trump administration wants to boost risky assets such as the stock market, it may view the rise in gold prices, which stimulates safe-haven sentiment, negatively." Recently, there have been claims in the US political circles that some of the gold held by the US should be sold and used to purchase Bitcoin. Cynthia Lummis, a US senator with a pro-virtual asset stance, stated that "the gold held by the US government is recorded on the books based on the 1974 price. It should be re-evaluated at the current price and used for purchasing Bitcoin." It is also reported that the Trump administration is discussing various ideas for purchasing Bitcoin. In fact, the 8,133 tons of gold held by the US have been fixed at a book value of $42.22 per ounce since 1973. When converted to the current price, the total value rises 70 times to $780 billion compared to the book value. Therefore, there is also a rising 'US Gold Revaluation Theory' suggesting that the re-evaluated gold should be used to resolve the US fiscal deficit. Meanwhile, since the Nixon Shock in 1972, the US has transitioned to a fiat currency system and does not necessarily need to hold gold in the process of issuing dollars. However, there is a need to hold a significant amount of gold to maintain the credibility of the dollar as a reserve currency. "Bitcoin, Losing Direction and 'Volatile Market'... Testing the $82,000 Support Line" Market experts believe that Bitcoin has a high possibility of continuing its recovery if it stably breaks through $86,800, but if it falls below $82,000, the decline could widen. On-chain analysts have analyzed that liquidity is shrinking in both the on-chain and futures markets, and investors' risk aversion is increasing. There are forecasts that Bitcoin's short-term recovery may be constrained as it approaches major resistance levels. Ayush Jindal, a researcher at CoinChapter, stated that "recently, traders have been showing a pattern of selling when Bitcoin rebounds," and "Bitcoin is facing resistance around $86,800, and $90,000 is likely to be a psychological and technical resistance level." The support lines for further decline are estimated at $83,500 and $82,000, and if these are breached, the decline could widen to $77,000. Rakesh Upadhyay, a researcher at Cointelegraph, also analyzed that "Bitcoin attempted to rebound after falling to $77,000 but faced selling pressure without breaking through the $87,500 resistance line," and "currently, Bitcoin is trading in a narrow box range." He predicted that "if Bitcoin breaks through the $87,500 resistance line, the upward trend could gain momentum again," but "if the current upward trend line collapses, it could fall to $80,000 or $76,606." There is also analysis that Bitcoin has passed its bottom. Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, diagnosed that "considering that the US Fed is scheduled to slow down the pace of quantitative tightening (QT) from April, Bitcoin is likely to have a bottom at $77,000." Previously, the Fed announced at the March FOMC meeting that it would slow down the pace of balance sheet reduction, and the market is interpreting this as dovish (favoring monetary policy easing). There is also an analysis that Bitcoin's volatility may intensify for the time being. Christopher Lewis, an analyst at FXPro, diagnosed that "Bitcoin has been continuing a sideways trend without a clear direction recently," and "at this point, it is a phase of exploration to find new momentum in either direction, and in such an environment, Bitcoin's volatility can only increase." He continued, "Currently, Bitcoin is forming a box range between $75,000 and $90,000," and "the current price range corresponds to the middle point of the box range, so the mixed market trend is a natural flow." He predicted that Bitcoin is likely to continue a volatile box range market without a clear trend for the time being. Kang Min-seung, Bloomingbit Reporter minriver@bloomingbit.io

Cynthia Lummis, a US Senator with a pro-cryptocurrency stance, has argued that the US government should sell its gold reserves and purchase Bitcoin (BTC). According to Watcher Guru, a cryptocurrency-focused media outlet, Senator Lummis participated in the 'New York Bitcoin Investor Week' and stated, "The gold held by the US government is recorded on the books at the 1974 price," adding, "It should be re-evaluated at the current market price and used to purchase Bitcoin." Lummis emphasized, "If we apply this method, we can purchase 200,000 Bitcoins annually for five years," and highlighted, "Not a single dollar of taxpayer money would be used." She explained that re-evaluating the gold alone would provide sufficient funds to purchase Bitcoin. Meanwhile, the 8,133 tons of gold held by the US have been recorded at a book value of $42.22 per ounce since 1973. When converted to the current market price, the total value surges 70 times to $780 billion.

Bitcoin (BTC) is expected to continue its upward trend even without clear support from President Trump. According to Benzinga, a U.S. investment media outlet, Nigel Green, CEO of the world's largest financial advisory firm Devere Group, predicted that "Bitcoin could reach a six-figure price this year even without clear support from U.S. President Donald Trump." He said, "The recent rise in gold prices is influenced by macroeconomic uncertainties such as Trump's tariff policies," adding, "If the U.S. Federal Reserve cuts interest rates and the dollar weakens, investors are likely to turn to Bitcoin." CEO Green maintained his previous forecast that Bitcoin would reach $150,000 by the end of this year.

The market capitalization of stablecoins such as Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) has shown a slight increase compared to the previous week. According to the decentralized finance (DeFi) dashboard DeFiLlama on the 22nd, the market cap of stablecoins including USDT was recorded at approximately 231.156 billion USD (about 338.7591 trillion KRW). This is an increase of 0.86% compared to the previous week. Currently, Tether accounts for 62.36% of the total stablecoin market cap. Generally, an increase in the issuance and holdings of stablecoins can act as a factor for rising buying pressure in the market, which is considered a bullish signal. Conversely, it can be interpreted as a decrease in demand for virtual assets.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is reported to have lifted sanctions on Tornado Cash (TORN), a virtual asset (cryptocurrency) mixer service. According to virtual asset specialist media Atlas21 on the 22nd, the U.S. Treasury announced in a statement on the 21st (local time) that it officially lifted sanctions on Tornado Cash. Previously, Tornado Cash had been sanctioned due to its association with illegal activities. The U.S. government lifted the sanctions on the mixer but added that it will continue to monitor illegal actors such as North Korea. The Treasury emphasized that it will continue to exercise its authority to respond to malicious actors seeking illegal profits by exploiting digital assets and ecosystems. On this day, the price of TORN is trading at $11.47, up 36% from the previous day. Meanwhile, a mixer refers to a service that anonymously transfers virtual assets.

The circulation of the dollar-based stablecoin USDC has increased by $1 billion (approximately 1.4655 trillion KRW) over the past 7 days. On the 22nd, Circle, the issuer of USDC, announced on its official website that it issued USDC worth $3.6 billion and redeemed USDC worth about $2.6 billion over the past 7 days. It disclosed that the USDC circulation increased by about $1 billion. As of this day, the total circulation of USDC is $59.2 billion (approximately 86.7576 trillion KRW). Typically, an increase in the issuance and holdings of stablecoins can act as a buying pressure in the market, which is considered a bullish signal. Conversely, it can be interpreted as a decrease in demand for virtual assets.

As the volatility index of Bitcoin (BTC) declines, there is a possibility that the market will remain stagnant for a while. On the 22nd, Lin, head of Deribit Asia-Pacific business, stated on X (formerly Twitter), "The volatility index of Bitcoin, DVOL, has fallen below 50, currently recording 47," and analyzed, "The significant decline in volatility suggests that the market does not expect Bitcoin to rise or fall significantly in the near future, but rather to remain stagnant within a certain range." Lin added, "In the past year, the times when DVOL was lower than this accounted for only 4% of the total, with the highest being 92 and the lowest being 41."

The total fee revenue of the Ethereum(ETH) network has decreased by nearly 50% compared to the previous week. On the 21st, the cryptocurrency media IntoTheBlock reported on X (formerly Twitter) that "this week, the total fee revenue of the Ethereum(ETH) network decreased by 50%," analyzing that "this is due to the continued slowdown in on-chain activity." According to the media, this week's total Ethereum fee revenue is $6 million (approximately 8.7 billion KRW), a decrease of 49.9% compared to the previous week.

It has been detected that the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX has transferred some of its Solana (SOL) to another wallet. On the 21st, blockchain analysis platform Arkham Intelligence announced, "Solana (SOL) tokens worth 3.3 million dollars (approximately 4.8 billion KRW) are moving from the FTX wallet."

It is reported that the Trump administration is discussing various ideas for purchasing Bitcoin (BTC), and some of them may actually be implemented. According to Bitcoin Magazine, a media outlet specializing in virtual assets (cryptocurrency), Beau Hines, head of the White House Digital Asset Presidential Task Force, said, "There were countless ideas to buy Bitcoin," and "We will implement the best of those ideas."

An analysis has emerged suggesting that the influx of stablecoins into the virtual asset (cryptocurrency) market is increasing potential buying pressure. On the 21st, Crypto Dan, an analyst at the virtual asset analysis platform CryptoQuant, stated in a Quicktake report, "In the current adjustment phase, unlike last year's adjustment, the supply of stablecoins is actually on the rise," adding, "This can be interpreted as buying standby funds gradually accumulating." The analyst added, "The current market is in a state with the potential to rebound quickly if a strong catalyst emerges," and "It is still too early to conclude that this cycle has ended." As of today, the total market capitalization of stablecoins is 230.45 billion dollars (approximately 337 trillion won), with an additional 2.3 billion dollars added over the past week. Compared to the same period last year, this is an increase of 56%. Typically, an increase in the issuance and holding of stablecoins can act as buying pressure in the market, considered a bullish signal. Conversely, it can be interpreted as a decrease in demand for virtual assets.

It is reported that the decentralized finance (DeFi) project Jaws, based on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain, has been hacked again. Previously, on the 6th, Jaws also suffered a loss of $285,000 due to an attack targeting a vulnerability in the liquidity pool. On the 21st, the cryptocurrency-focused media Decrypt reported, "The Ethereum-based real-world asset (RWA) linked DeFi platform Jaws has been hacked again," adding, "Assets worth a total of $8.87 million (approximately 12.9 billion KRW) were leaked in this attack." The attacker is understood to have distributed the funds by swapping tokens multiple times and changing wallets, ultimately securing about 4,223 ETH. Blockchain security firm PeckShield explained, "This type of attack usually occurs when the private key of a wallet or smart contract is exposed externally," adding, "It appears that the attacker who stole the administrator privileges withdrew the assets." Jaws stated, "We are currently conducting a thorough investigation of the incident with our security partners," and "We are taking all necessary measures to minimize the impact and resolve the issue." However, they did not specifically disclose how the private key was leaked.

Strategy has expanded the issuance scale of Series A perpetual stripe preferred stock for additional Bitcoin (BTC) purchases from 500 million dollars to 722.5 million dollars (approximately 1 trillion won). On the 18th (local time), Michael Saylor, founder of Strategy, announced on X (formerly Twitter), "Strategy has finalized the public offering price of stripe perpetual preferred stock and increased the offering scale from the initial 500 million dollars to 722.5 million dollars." Strategy explained, "The company plans to use the net proceeds from this offering for additional Bitcoin purchases and general corporate purposes, including working capital."

US asset management firm Canary Capital has submitted an application for a Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) spot exchange-traded fund (ETF). According to crypto-specialized media outlet iHodl.com on the 21st, Canary Capital submitted an application to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the launch of a Pudgy Penguins spot ETF. This ETF is designed to hold both the governance token PENGU and various Pudgy Penguins NFTs. The media added, "Investors in this ETF will hold both spot tokens and various Pudgy Penguins NFTs," noting that "it could become the first ETF in the US to include NFTs, drawing attention."

Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced the listing of perpetual futures for Bedrock (BR) and Plume (PLUME). On the 21st, Binance announced on its official website, "Binance will list BR perpetual futures at 21:45 (KST) today. Following that, PLUME perpetual futures will be listed at 22:00." Binance added, "Perpetual futures contracts will have up to 25x leverage," and "these tokens are already listed on Binance Alpha."

The Corporate Finance Department of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has stated that blockchain networks using the Proof of Work (PoW) method are not subject to securities regulation. According to Atlas21, a media outlet specializing in virtual assets (cryptocurrency), the SEC announced in a statement on the 20th (local time) that "cryptocurrency mining activities inherently linked to the programmatic operation of open and permissionless networks do not constitute 'issuance and sale of securities' under securities law under certain conditions." This interpretation applies to both individual miners and mining pools. The media explained, "The SEC document does not explicitly mention specific blockchains that fall under this category, but the principle can be applied to open blockchains where mining is used as a consensus mechanism." It added, "Virtual assets such as Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Litecoin, and Monero could also be subject to this application." On the same day, the virtual asset media CoinPaprika stated, "This announcement follows the trend of the SEC easing cryptocurrency regulations," and predicted, "Due to regulatory changes, several (PoW-based) altcoin ETFs could be approved by the end of the second quarter this year."

Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced that it will adjust the leverage for Orca(ORCA) futures contracts. On the 21st, Binance stated through its official channel, "We will change the leverage and margin tiers for ORCAUSDT futures contracts effective at 17:15 (local time) today." With this adjustment, the maximum leverage for ORCAUSDT perpetual futures contracts will be reduced from 75x to 25x. Meanwhile, ORCA has been increasing its volatility since being listed on the domestic cryptocurrency exchange Upbit. According to the global cryptocurrency market tracking site CoinMarketCap, the ORCA price rose 165% compared to the previous day.