Suehyeon Lee

Korbit Research Center, under the domestic virtual asset (cryptocurrency) exchange Korbit, announced on the 24th that it has published the second asset allocation strategy report for institutional investors, 'Virtual Asset Allocation Strategy 2.0 for Institutional Investors'. This report has undergone a major update to reflect the rapidly changing market conditions and regulatory changes since the first edition was released in early 2022. In particular, Korbit Research Center presented Ethereum (ETH) as a key asset for diversifying institutional investors' portfolios. It emphasized that Ethereum has established its status as a strategic asset, not only as a store of value but also as a consumable asset necessary for network operation and as a capital asset through staking rewards. According to the report, incorporating Bitcoin and Ethereum into the traditional 60:40 (stocks:bonds) portfolio up to 8% increases the Sharpe ratio from the existing 0.87 to 1.74. This analysis supports that these two virtual assets provide an independent risk premium beyond high-risk assets as strategic assets. The report also includes an analysis of the appropriate proportion within the virtual asset portfolio. Based on quarterly rebalancing, a composition of 73% Bitcoin and 27% Ethereum recorded the highest Sharpe ratio (1.49), showing the most excellent risk-return ratio. Yoon-Young Choi, head of Korbit Research Center, said, "Including Ether in the portfolio is a strategic investment in future digital financial infrastructure beyond simple asset holding," adding, "Strategic allocation of Bitcoin and Ether shows the potential to improve expected returns relative to risk."

The US Bitcoin (BTC) Spot ETF saw an inflow of over $900 million the previous day. According to TraderT on the 24th (local time), the US Bitcoin Spot ETF recorded an inflow of $917.67 million (approximately 1.3119 trillion KRW) the previous day. This is the largest inflow since the first week of December last year, with a cumulative inflow of $2.2 billion over the past three trading days. On this day, BlackRock IBIT recorded an inflow of $643.93 million, Fidelity FBTC saw an inflow of $124.37 million. Additionally, ARK Invest ARKB had an inflow of $129.50 million, VanEck HODL saw $5.28 million, and Grayscale Mini BTC recorded an inflow of $29.84 million. On the other hand, Bitwise BITB recorded an outflow of $15.25 million. The remaining products had no net inflow or outflow.

The Bitcoin (BTC) Reserve Bill (HB 302) of New Hampshire, USA, has passed the Senate Ways & Means Committee. According to Bitcoin Law on the 24th (local time), the Bitcoin (BTC) Reserve Bill (HB 302) of New Hampshire, USA, passed the Senate Ways & Means Committee with 4 votes in favor and 1 against. The bill allows the state government to invest 5% of the general fund and revenue stabilization fund in digital assets. Previously, this bill had passed the House.

The Texas House Government Efficiency Committee held a hearing on the Bitcoin (BTC) Reserve Bill (SB21). According to Bitcoin Laws on the 24th (local time), the committee held a public hearing on the Bitcoin Reserve Bill, but the agenda was postponed, and a final vote has not been conducted. Previously, the bill had passed the Texas Senate.

Ethereum (ETH) network activity has surged in a short period, suggesting a recovery across the ecosystem. On the 23rd (local time), CryptoQuant author Carmelo_Alemán analyzed, "From April 20 to 22, 2025, the number of active Ethereum addresses increased from 306,211 to 336,366, rising 9.85% in 48 hours. This indicates that network activity has increased in tandem with the rise in Ethereum prices." He further stated, "The increase in active Ethereum addresses, especially alongside price rises, is a positive signal for the entire ecosystem. If the price of Ether skyrockets, there is a very high probability that the entire altcoin ecosystem will move together."

Upbit announced on the 24th that it will hold a 'Monday Check-in' event with Musinsa, offering Bitcoin (BTC) exchange vouchers worth a total of 2 billion KRW. Monday Check-in is a first-come, first-served prize draw event held on the 'Musinsa' application (app), running from 11 a.m. to midnight on April 28. Through the event, 100,010 participants will be randomly selected to receive 'BTC exchange vouchers' usable on Upbit. The first-place winners, 10 in total, will receive BTC exchange vouchers worth 1 million KRW each. The benefits are available to both existing and new Upbit users. The second-place winners, totaling 100,000, are targeted at 'new Upbit registrants' and can receive BTC exchange vouchers worth 20,000 KRW. However, the Bitcoin exchange vouchers can only be used by participants aged 19 and over. Those wishing to participate can click the 'Enter Event' button on the 'Monday Check-in' page within the Musinsa app. The event will end once all spots are filled. Regarding this joint event, a Dunamu representative said, "It's a great opportunity for the top players in the virtual asset and fashion industries to collaborate," and added, "We hope many users will experience virtual asset investment and explore various services of Upbit through this event with Musinsa." A Musinsa representative stated, "Monday Check-in is an event designed to provide Musinsa members with a special gift and joy as they start a new week," and added, "We hope this collaboration with Upbit will serve as an opportunity for new experiences based on synergy between different fields."

It has been reported that Charles Schwab, the largest brokerage firm in the United States, is pushing to introduce a Bitcoin (BTC) spot trading service within a year. According to a report by RIABiz cited by Cointelegraph on the 20th (local time), Rick Wurster, CEO of Charles Schwab, stated, "Our goal is to provide a direct spot cryptocurrency service within the next 12 months," and added, "We expect to be able to implement this as the regulatory environment changes, and we are already making progress." He also emphasized investor interest by citing a 400% surge in visits to the company's virtual asset (cryptocurrency) website. Meanwhile, CEO Wurster mentioned in an interview with Yahoo Finance last November, "If customers want to trade digital assets, we plan to support it. However, we will expand the service after clear regulations are established."

According to the Token Mindshare (a metric quantifying the influence of specific tokens in the virtual asset market) top gainer by the AI-based Web3 search platform Kaito, the top 5 virtual assets that people are most interested in as of the 20th are Solana (SOL), Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC), Kaito (KAITO), and AIXBT (AIXBT). Solana recently drew attention by surpassing $1.8 billion in decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volume, ranking first among blockchains. According to DeFiLlama data, as of the 19th, Solana's DEX trading volume recorded $1.887 billion, significantly ahead of Ethereum's (ETH) DEX trading volume of $1.182 billion. The price is also on a continuous rise. Currently, Solana is trading at $140.97 on CoinMarketCap, up 1.53% from the previous day. Ethereum is noted for breaking the $1,600 mark, with attention on whether the upward trend will continue. Currently, Ethereum is trading at $1,611.39 on CoinMarketCap, up 0.87% from the previous day. Bitcoin recently gained attention by surpassing a dominance of 64%. This is the highest record since early 2021, and excluding stablecoins, Bitcoin's dominance is estimated at 69%. Currently, Bitcoin is trading at $85,156.06 on CoinMarketCap, up 0.29% from the previous day. Kaito and AIXBT are presumed to have increased mentions online as their prices rose significantly in a day. Currently, Kaito is trading at $0.7736 on CoinMarketCap, up 6.46% from the previous day, and AIXBT is trading at $0.08529, up 8.4% from the previous day. Additionally, investors are also showing interest in BankerCoin (BNKR), HyperLiquid (HYPE), Sophon (SOPHON), MegaETH (MegaETH), and Monad (MONAD).

HashKey Capital has launched Asia's first XRP-based tracking fund. According to The Block on the 18th (local time), HashKey Capital has launched the 'HashKey XRP Tracker Fund'. This fund is part of a strategic collaboration with Ripple. The fund is designed for professional investors who want indirect exposure to XRP without holding it directly. Investors can participate in the fund with cash or in-kind contributions, with monthly subscriptions and redemptions available. Meanwhile, HashKey Capital is reportedly planning further collaborations with Ripple following this fund.

Wemix (WEMIX) shared updates on the progress of its first and second buybacks. On the 18th, Wemix announced through an official blog post that it plans to conduct a second buyback of 20 million WEMIX. This is an additional purchase of Wemix aimed at recovering from theft damage and rapidly stabilizing the ecosystem. Previously, Wemix conducted the first buyback starting from the 14th of last month to recover from the theft incident, completing the buyback of 8,654,860 stolen units today. Regarding this, Wemix explained, "The first buyback was implemented based on a scale of 10 billion KRW (8.75 billion KRW in damage valuation and an additional 1.25 billion KRW) and will continue until all remaining resources are used." Meanwhile, domestic virtual asset (cryptocurrency) exchanges Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax are expected to announce today whether Wemix will be delisted.

According to the Token Mindshare (a metric quantifying the influence of specific tokens in the cryptocurrency market) top gainers from the AI-based Web3 search platform Kaito, the top 5 cryptocurrencies currently attracting the most interest are Solana (SOL), Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC), Fartcoin (FARTCOIN), and Eigenlayer (EIGEN). Solana recently drew attention with the launch of the first Solana spot ETF in Canada. This product is officially listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with the ticker known as SOLX. Currently, Solana is trading at $133.94 on CoinMarketCap, up 3.04% from the previous day. Ethereum has recently been in the spotlight as the Google index rose alongside Bitcoin. As of March, Ethereum's Google search index is 19, slightly up from 16 in February. The Block diagnosed that "the rise in the Google search index reflects renewed interest from individual investors." Currently, Ethereum is recorded at $1580.64 on CoinMarketCap, down 0.11% from the previous day. Bitcoin has caught investors' attention as the U.S. spot ETF turned to net inflows just a day after net outflows. The previous day, the U.S. Bitcoin spot ETF recorded a net inflow of $106.81 million (151.8 billion KRW). On this day, BlackRock IBIT alone saw a net inflow of $80.91 million, and Fidelity FBTC showed a net inflow of $25.90 million. Meanwhile, Bitcoin is currently trading at $84,631.08 on CoinMarketCap, up 0.81% from the previous day. The Solana meme coin Fartcoin recently gained attention due to a sharp price increase. The previous day, Fartcoin rose by more than 10%, showing a steep upward trend. However, it is currently trading at $0.7632 on CoinMarketCap, down 13.02% from the previous day. The Ethereum restaking protocol Eigenlayer made headlines by introducing a slashing feature the previous day. This feature penalizes operators who do not provide services properly. Meanwhile, Eigenlayer is trading at $0.8037 on CoinMarketCap, up 3.66% from the previous day. Additionally, investors are also showing interest in AIXBT, Base is for everyone, Sui, Base, and Magic Eden.

The US Ethereum (ETF) spot ETF showed no net inflows or outflows the previous day. According to Paside Investor on the 18th (local time), the US Ethereum spot ETF recorded '0' net inflows/outflows the previous day. This is the first time in 8 trading days since the 7th that net inflows/outflows have been zero. Previously, the Ethereum spot ETF experienced a net outflow of $114.8 million over the past 7 trading days.

Bitcoin (BTC) is showing signs of easing overheating, raising expectations for a rebound this year. On the 18th (local time), CryptoQuant author CryptoDan explained, "The ratio of Bitcoin (BTC) held for less than 1 week to 1 month is typically a key indicator to gauge market overheating. When this ratio increases along with price rises, corrections or declines often occur afterward. In this cycle, such movements occurred twice on a small scale, and the intensity of overheating appeared at similar levels." The author continued, "Currently, this ratio has fallen to the range (yellow box) identified as the bottom of the 2024 adjustment phase, suggesting that a similar market environment is being formed. In other words, most of the market overheating has been resolved," and predicted, "In the short term, additional observation may continue, but with macroeconomic issues progressing, the Bitcoin market is likely to turn back to an upward trend in 2025."

The US Bitcoin (BTC) Spot ETF recorded a net inflow of over $100 million the previous day. According to TraderT on the 18th (local time), the US Bitcoin Spot ETF showed a net inflow of $106.81 million (approximately 151.8 billion KRW) the previous day. This comes just a day after recording a large net outflow on the 16th. On this day, $80.91 million was net inflowed into BlackRock IBIT, and Fidelity FBTC recorded a net inflow of $25.90 million. The other products had no net inflow or outflow.

Changpeng Zhao, former CEO of Binance, made an interesting remark about Binance Coin (BNB), calling it a 'meme coin'. On the 18th (local time), Changpeng Zhao stated on X, "Binance Coin is a meme coin." He also cited the news of Kraken listing BNB spot trading pairs. Kraken will support a total of 4 spot trading pairs: BNB/EUR, BNB/USD, BNB/USDC, and BNB/USDT, starting at 23:00 on the 22nd (KST). Meanwhile, Binance Coin is currently trading at $588.45 on CoinMarketCap, up 0.92% from the previous day.

While the price of Ethereum (ETH) is hitting a low, Justin Sun, the founder of TRON (TRX), made it clear that he has no plans to sell his Ethereum holdings. On the 18th (local time), Justin Sun stated on X, "Even though the price of Ethereum is low, I have no intention of selling my ETH holdings," and added, "I will seek opportunities to collaborate with more Ethereum developers to advance the industry together." Meanwhile, Ethereum has been trading below the $1600 mark as the downward trend intensifies. According to CoinMarketCap, Ethereum is currently trading at $1584.50, down 0.05% from the previous day.

A phenomenon has been observed where the UTXO realized price of Bitcoin (BTC) short-term holders is lower than that of mid-term holders, raising the possibility of an adjustment along with a change in market sentiment. According to CryptoQuant author BilalHuseynov on the 18th (local time), the UTXO realized price bands of Bitcoin short-term holder groups, 1 week to 1 month (green) and 1 month to 3 months (purple), have recently fallen below the 3 months to 6 months (blue) band. Regarding this, the author explained, "This indicates that short-term holders are disposing of their holdings at a loss, or that the average purchase price of new entrants has become lower than that of existing holders," adding, "In the past, such patterns have occurred just before Bitcoin (BTC) entered a correction phase or cooling period."

Recently, as gold prices hit an all-time high, the market is focused on whether Bitcoin will follow suit. On the 18th (local time), Joe Consorti, the Chief Growth Officer of Bitcoin custody company Theya, told Cointelegraph, "Looking at past cases, Bitcoin also broke historical highs after a certain time lag following a surge in gold prices." In fact, after gold rose 30% over several months in 2017, Bitcoin also rose to $19,120. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, gold reached an all-time high of $2,075 per ounce, and in 2021, Bitcoin broke through a high of $69,000. Consorti said, "Bitcoin follows gold's direction with a time lag of about 100-150 days," adding, "When liquidity is released, gold reacts first, and Bitcoin follows more strongly. Accordingly, there is a possibility that Bitcoin will set a new all-time high between the third and fourth quarters of this year."

Fuzzy Penguin (PENGU) is joining hands with Lotte to enter the Korean market. On the 18th (local time), Fuzzy Penguin announced on X, "We are pleased to introduce Fuzzy Penguin to Korea with limited edition figures and NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) in collaboration with Lotte," revealing the partnership. This collaboration is part of a strategic partnership between Fuzzy Penguin and Lotte Group's Daehong Communications, marking the first official event targeting the Korean market. A total of 500 limited edition figures have been produced, priced at $299 each (approximately 420,000 KRW). Sales will begin at 10 a.m. (Korean time) on the 19th through a designated website.

In the Google search volume index, the keywords 'Bitcoin (BTC)' and 'Ethereum (ETH)' both recorded their highest levels in 2025. According to The Block on the 18th (local time), Bitcoin's Google search index was 34 in March, up 26% from February, and Ethereum also rose from 16 in February to 19 in March, marking the highest level of the year. The Google search index is an indicator that quantifies the search volume for specific keywords from 0 to a maximum of 100. The Block analyzed this increase in search volume as an indicator that "investors' interest in the virtual asset (cryptocurrency) market is reviving."