Uk Jin

A whale address, identified as a Trump insider for taking extremely high-risk investments using enormous leverage on decentralized exchanges (DEX), appears to be predicting a downward trend for Bitcoin (BTC). On the 18th (local time), cryptocurrency data analysis account Amber CN announced via X (Twitter), "(The address) is completely selling off Bitcoin," adding "Currently, he is betting on Bitcoin's decline with a position worth $520 million using 40x leverage." They continued, "This is the largest position from this address. He has bet all the profits earned over the past month and his entire balance on Bitcoin's decline." Meanwhile, as of 10:23 AM today, Bitcoin is trading at $83,281, up 0.42% from the previous day according to CoinMarketCap.

The new meme coin MUBARAK on Binance Coin (BNB) chain recorded a 138.13% surge to $0.1878 as of 9:21 AM today, according to CoinMarketCap. MUBARAK is a new meme coin created about 5 days ago. Its value has increased approximately 2000 times from the 13th (local time) until now. In particular, investor sentiment has been further strengthened today as Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, launched MUBARAK perpetual futures products.

According to the virtual asset (cryptocurrency) data provider Alternative on the 18th, the virtual asset Fear & Greed Index recorded 34 points, up 2 points from the previous day. As of 9:02 AM, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $83,939 on CoinMarketCap, up 1.64% from the previous day. Most altcoins also rose on this day. At the same time, Ethereum rose by 2.03%, while XRP and Solana increased by 1.86% and 1.48%, respectively. Additionally, Binance Coin (+4.85%), ADA (+1.76%), and Dogecoin (+3.00%) showed strong performance during the day. The Fear & Greed Index is an indicator that expresses market sentiment, with a score closer to 0 indicating extreme fear and closer to 100 indicating extreme greed. This index is calculated based on volatility (25%), trading volume (25%), social media (15%), surveys (15%), Bitcoin market cap dominance (10%), and Google search trends (10%).

A claim has emerged that the bull market for Bitcoin (BTC), the leading cryptocurrency, has ended. On the 18th (local time), Ki Young Ju, CEO of CryptoQuant, stated through X (Twitter), "The Bitcoin bull cycle is over. It will move sideways or bearish for the next 6-12 months." Regarding the reasons for predicting a bearish or sideways movement, he added, "As new liquidity is depleted, new whales are selling Bitcoin at lower prices."

World Liberty Financial (WLFI), reportedly backed by President Donald Trump's family, has completed its token sales. The profits collected by President Trump and the operating company are predicted to approach $400 million. On the 17th, cryptocurrency news outlet Decrypt reported that DT Mark DeFi, operated by President Trump and his family, could record a total profit of $390 million. This is from the token sales of World Liberty Financial. World Liberty Financial conducted two rounds of token sales, measuring a total of $550 million in sales. According to World Liberty Financial's business plan, President Trump and DT Mark DeFi will receive 75% of the net profits earned by World Liberty Financial as compensation for promotion.

TON coin has been on an upward trend recently. The news of the Telegram founder's release over the weekend appears to have stimulated investor sentiment for TON coin. As of 6:26 AM on the 18th (Korean time), TON coin is trading at $3.46, up 1.04% from the previous day according to CoinMarketCap. This represents a sharp increase of 35.55% compared to the previous week. TON coin began its upward trend on the 15th when news broke that Telegram founder Pavel Durov had received permission from French judicial authorities to leave the country and departed for Dubai. Local media reported that Durov received permission to leave the country for several weeks and moved to Dubai. Previously, Durov was indicted in August last year on charges related to crimes committed through the Telegram messenger, including facilitating the distribution of child sexual exploitation material and drug trafficking. As a result, he had been staying in France with his passport confiscated.

According to the Token Mindshare Top Gainers from Kaito, an AI-based Web3 search platform (Token Mindshare is a metric that quantifies the influence of specific tokens in the virtual asset market), the top 5 virtual asset-related keywords that people are showing the most interest in as of the 17th are Solana (SOL), AIXBT, Hyperliquid (HYPE), Bitcoin (BTC), and USDC. Solana takes first place. Investor interest surged as Solana celebrated its 5th anniversary. However, the atmosphere isn't particularly positive as network activity has plummeted with the cooling popularity of pump funds. On the other hand, Solana has a major network upgrade called Firedancer scheduled for this year. Attention is focused on whether Solana can make a turnaround with this opportunity. Additionally, the start of Solana futures trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and the possibility of a spot ETF launch are expected to be key factors for investor sentiment. AIXBT takes second place. It's speculated that it made the interest rankings as investors' reliance on AI agents increased amid the bearish market. Many investors apparently posed numerous questions to AIXBT today to distinguish between legitimate and fraudulent meme coins. Hyperliquid takes third place. This comes as retail investors launched attacks against a Hyperliquid account that was identified as a Donald Trump associate or insider during the overnight session. Previously, this account had attracted investors' attention by successfully executing a high-risk investment with leverage of up to 50x before President Trump's statement. Bitcoin takes fourth place. David Bailey, CEO of Bitcoin Magazine and known as a close associate of President Trump, predicted through X that "if we rank bullishness based on news, this week will be in the all-time top 10," amplifying investor interest. Meanwhile, as of 1:16 PM today, Bitcoin is trading at $83,775, down 1.16% compared to the previous day. Finally, the stablecoin USDC takes fifth place. Analysis suggests that USDC naturally made the rankings as the issuance of stablecoins increased for buying at market bottoms. USDC's trading volume today surged by 47.53% compared to the previous day, recording $6.13 billion. In addition, investors showed interest in Wayfinder, Mantle (MNT), Melania (MELANIA), OKB, and iAgent (AGNT).

David Bailey, CEO of Bitcoin Magazine who served as a cryptocurrency advisor in Donald Trump's election campaign, has hinted that there will be big news this week. On the 16th (local time), David Bailey stated through X (Twitter), "It's going to be a huge week," adding, "If we were to rank weeks based on Bitcoin (BTC) bullishness due to news, this week would be in the top 10." Previously, he had announced that cryptocurrency-related content was included in the first 200 executive orders. In fact, President Trump has signed various cryptocurrency-related executive orders, including a strategic Bitcoin reserve plan and the establishment of a cryptocurrency task force.

On the 16th (local time), cryptocurrency media outlet Decrypt reported that digital asset broker FalconX completed a Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Solana (SOL) futures block trade. Block trades are private futures contracts conducted outside the formal exchange to avoid asset price fluctuations. FalconX stated in an announcement, "We are pleased to execute the first CME Solana trade together with StoneX. This is an opportunity for Solana to gain exposure to institutional investors in a regulated environment." Meanwhile, with the launch of Solana futures, expectations for a Solana spot Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) are also expected to amplify. Decrypt noted, "Previously, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) also had futures products appear before the launch of spot ETFs." Currently, numerous asset management firms including Franklin Templeton, Grayscale, 21Shares, Bitwise, VanEck, and Canary Capital have applied for Solana spot ETFs.

The address suspected to be a Donald Trump associate or insider that heated up the virtual asset (cryptocurrency) market overnight appears to be liquidating positions and taking profits. On the 17th (local time), virtual asset on-chain data analysis account Ember CN announced via X (Twitter) that "the suspected Trump insider address is liquidating Bitcoin short positions using a TWAP strategy." Specifically, according to data released by Ember CN, the address liquidated short positions equivalent to 108 Bitcoins over the past 90 minutes, and currently holds short positions amounting to 5,500 Bitcoins. The account made significant profits by taking ultra-high-risk investments with 50x leverage on decentralized exchanges, which led to community speculation that the account belongs to a Trump insider.

A new cryptocurrency-related bill has emerged in the South American country of Brazil. A bill has been proposed to legalize salary payments using Bitcoin (BTC). According to local media on the 16th (local time), Congressman Luis Felipe Orleans-Braganza submitted a bill to the legislature that would allow workers to legally receive Bitcoin as salary. The bill is reportedly designed not to mandate Bitcoin salary reception but to provide workers with an opportunity to be exposed to new technology. Workers will be able to receive Bitcoin salaries after going through an agreement stage with their employers. Measures have also been prepared to preserve the value of the Brazilian legal tender, the real. At least 50% of the minimum salary must be maintained in the Brazilian legal currency, the real. Congressman Felipe claimed, "This bill will enable Brazil to leap forward as a digital asset hub." He added, "The purpose is to attract related industry investments to Brazil and guarantee workers' autonomy and labor rights." Meanwhile, Brazil has been accelerating the national promotion of the cryptocurrency industry this year. Previously, the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission approved the world's first XRP spot ETF, and the Brazilian state-owned postal service Correios is also in the process of selecting relevant companies to utilize artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology.

According to the virtual asset (cryptocurrency) data provider Alternative on the 17th, the virtual asset Fear & Greed Index recorded 32 points, up 2 points from the previous day. As of 9:02 AM, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $82,582 on CoinMarketCap, down 2.08% from the previous day. Most altcoins also fell on this day. At the same time, Ethereum fell by 2.52%, while XRP and Solana decreased by 3.86% and 7.13%, respectively. Additionally, Binance Coin (-2.79%), ADA (-5.61%), and Dogecoin (-4.31%) showed weakness during the day. The Fear & Greed Index is an indicator that expresses market sentiment, with a score closer to 0 indicating extreme fear and closer to 100 indicating extreme greed. This index is calculated based on volatility (25%), trading volume (25%), social media (15%), surveys (15%), Bitcoin market cap dominance (10%), and Google search trends (10%).

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has increased its Solana (SOL) holdings. According to Arkham Intelligence on the 17th (Korean time), Binance currently holds about 21.5 million Solana (approximately $2.7 billion), which is a 40% increase compared to the previous month. Binance's Solana holdings reached an all-time high of 26 million in August last year, but had been declining until last month before rebounding this month. Meanwhile, as of 8:34 AM today, Solana is trading at $125.86, down 7.17% from the previous day.

North Korea has risen to become the world's third-largest Bitcoin (BTC) holder following the hack of global cryptocurrency exchange Bybit. According to Bitcoin.com on the 17th (local time), North Korea has converted all Ethereum (ETH) hacked from Bybit into Bitcoin, now holding 13,562 bitcoins. As a result, North Korea now ranks third in national Bitcoin holdings, following the United States (198,109) and the United Kingdom (61,245). Bhutan (10,635) and El Salvador (6,117), previously ranked third and fourth, have each been pushed down one position. Meanwhile, some analysts suggest that North Korea carried out this cryptocurrency theft with U.S. policy in mind. Bitcoin.com noted, "The timing of North Korea's cryptocurrency theft coincides with the United States' strategic stockpiling of Bitcoin," adding, "The motive behind North Korea's cryptocurrency theft is questionable."

Claims have emerged that cryptocurrency whales have started selling in the market. On the 17th (local time), Ali Martinez announced via X (Twitter) that "over 100 million Ada were sold last week" and that "whales are cashing out." As of 7:17 AM today, Ada is trading at $0.7, down 7.27% from the previous day according to CoinMarketCap.

Solana (SOL), a cryptocurrency that has been struggling in the market recently, has reached its 5th anniversary. There is growing interest in whether Solana can escape its crisis through major upgrades scheduled for release this year. According to cryptocurrency media outlet The Block on the 16th (local time), Solana celebrated its 5th anniversary today. Regardless of the anniversary, Solana has not been performing well in the market recently. As of 7:03 AM on the 17th (Korean time), Solana is trading at $126.50, down 6.82% from the previous day according to CoinMarketCap. Investor sentiment toward Solana has reportedly worsened as network activity has decreased dramatically in recent months. The number of active addresses on the Solana network has been decreasing every month since reaching its peak last November. Pump.fun, a meme coin creation protocol based on Solana, is cited as the most decisive factor affecting the decrease in activity within the Solana network. Pump.fun received significant attention in the market after its launch in May last year. Many investors were intrigued by the fact that anyone could easily create meme coins and promote them to earn profits, which led to a surge in network activity. However, the number of Pump.fun users has been rapidly declining this year. Users became angry after allegations of rug pulls and insider trading emerged regarding some meme coins associated with celebrities, such as Argentina's meme coin project LIBRA and MELANIA. Meanwhile, Solana is preparing for the full release of Jump Crypto's Firedancer this year. Firedancer is an update aimed at significantly improving transaction processing capabilities and network security. The Block assessed that "Firedancer will be a great help for Solana to achieve its goal of processing one million transactions per second."

Successfully Listed on Exchanges Despite Multi-Level Marketing Controversy Payment Supported at Over 100 Stores in Seoul Alone "No Regrets" Despite Price Crash After Listing Industry Concerns About 'Legality' What is the most actively used cryptocurrency as a payment method in South Korea? While most people might think of major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) or XRP, in reality, Pi Network, commonly known as 'Pi Coin (PI),' is the most widely used. Pi Coin is a controversial cryptocurrency in the industry. Despite being a major project with over 60 million users, key information such as what blockchain technology is used, how mining works, and who the main project members are has not been disclosed. Because of this, some consider Pi Coin a multi-level marketing scam (Ponzi scheme), and criticism continues unabated. Despite these controversies, the trust level within the domestic Pi Coin community remains quite high. The number of domestic users reaches approximately 1.3 million, and the largest domestic community, PiPaPa, has over 120,000 members. As of the 14th, there are 585 stores in South Korea that accept Pi Coin as a payment method. In particular, Pi Coin received significant market attention when it was first listed on global centralized exchanges such as OKX on February 20th. However, as of today, Pi Coin's price is $1.67, which is significantly lower compared to when it was traded for up to 100,000 won in P2P transactions before listing. What position do self-employed business owners who adopted Pi Coin as a payment method, especially those who have been using it since 2021, currently hold? We looked into this in detail. What is 'Pi Coin'? First, Pi Coin is a project developed to provide the experience of 'free mining' using mobile devices. According to the Pi Coin whitepaper, Pi Coin's ultimate goal is to become the most widely used P2P (peer-to-peer) cryptocurrency in the world, stating that it aims to provide an environment where all users can easily use cryptocurrency. As it emphasizes easy accessibility, the mining method is also simple. Users who want to mine Pi Coin can download the Pi app through the App Store and simply press the mining button once a day, like checking attendance. Mining rewards vary depending on the user's contribution to the community. Contribution is measured through a referral system. In other words, the more you introduce Pi Coin to people around you and gather referrals, the more mining rewards you receive. However, there has been continuous controversy within the industry regarding Pi Coin's operating method. In particular, many have pointed out that the mainnet launch was uncertain, and there was a high possibility that actual coins would not be issued or would fail to be listed on exchanges. There was also criticism that the method of bringing in people around you for mining was similar to a multi-level marketing scam. However, Pi Coin finally launched its mainnet on February 20th at 5 PM (Korean time), about 6 years after its initial issuance, and also succeeded in being listed on multiple global centralized exchanges such as OKX, Gate.io, and MEXC. Despite Post-Listing Crash... Pi Payment Businesses Say "Still Trust It" According to Pi Store, which provides information related to Pi Coin, as of the 14th, 585 stores in South Korea accept Pi Coin as a payment method. More than 100 stores in Seoul alone use Pi Coin as a payment method, and Pi Coin payment-accepting stores are distributed throughout the country, including Gyeonggi, Jeolla, Gyeongsang, Gangwon, and Jeju. The types of businesses are also diverse. Various stores utilize Pi Coin, including restaurants (133), beauty salons (64), construction businesses (56), and sports/leisure facilities (49). The reasons these self-employed business owners adopted Pi Coin as a payment method can be narrowed down to two main factors: trust in Pi Coin and promotional purposes. Mr. A, who runs a cafe in Jeonju, said, "Pi Coin is currently hovering around 2,000 won, but I think the price of Pi Coin will rise significantly in the future. The community is growing very quickly," adding, "Currently, I only accept Bitcoin and Pi Coin for cryptocurrency payments because I believe only these two cryptocurrencies have future potential." Mr. B, the owner of a beauty salon in Seoul, said, "After reading Pi Coin's whitepaper, I thought it could be of great help to small business owners," adding, "During COVID, most self-employed people went through difficult times, and I started accepting Pi Coin payments to overcome the crisis through the Pi community." Mr. C, who operates a Pi Coin taxi in Suwon, also said, "I visited the Pi Network Foundation website and did my own research, and I liked the vision of the project founded by individuals from the famous Stanford University in the US," adding, "I introduced Pi Coin payments to not miss the opportunity." In particular, the feature that anyone with a mobile device can participate in mining for free attracted their hearts. Mr. B said, "Pi Coin mining doesn't cost anything. This is what makes the Pi Coin community even stronger," adding, "More offline stores can accept Pi Coin payments. As the community grows, the value of Pi Coin will increase," expressing confidence. Meanwhile, before being listed on centralized exchanges on the 20th, Pi Coin was traded for up to 100,000 won in P2P transactions. However, as of 4:11 PM today, according to CoinMarketCap, Pi Coin is at $1.67 (about 2,400 won), down about 97% from its pre-listing peak. Stores that allowed Pi Coin payments before it was listed have essentially provided services at a huge loss. Nevertheless, most self-employed business owners expressed confidence, saying, "No regrets. It will rise anyway." Mr. D, who runs a restaurant business in Jecheon, Chungbuk, said, "I've allowed Pi Coin payments since December 2022, and at that time, I accepted transactions at 10,000 won per Pi. Currently, I accept Pi Coin payments at the price shown on centralized exchanges and CoinMarketCap," adding, "The founder of Pi Coin has kept all the promised roadmaps so far. I expect its value to increase significantly in the future." Industry Controversy Continues... "Artificially Created Ecosystem, Nothing But a Scam" However, concerns about Pi Coin continue to be voiced in the industry. A representative figure who has raised strong criticism regarding Pi Coin's listing is Ben Zhou, CEO of the global cryptocurrency exchange Bybit. Regarding Pi Coin's listing, he said, "I still think Pi Coin is a scam. I will never list it on Bybit," adding, "There are still questions about Pi Coin's legality." A domestic industry insider also claimed, "Generally, ecosystems surrounding cryptocurrencies are formed through the intrinsic value of the cryptocurrency, but Pi Coin is not like that," adding, "Especially the domestic Pi Coin ecosystem is an artificially created ecosystem by overpromoting to people who lack knowledge about cryptocurrencies, attaching businesses to Pi Coin, which has no value. This is nothing but a Ponzi scheme." He further warned, "Eventually, a structure will be created where only those who buy Pi Coin to use it as a payment method or store owners who have adopted Pi Coin as a payment method will be harmed."

Bitcoin (BTC) first sidechain Rootstock announced its upgrade plan on the 13th. This upgrade focuses on three key areas: △cost reduction △decentralization △speed improvement. First, regarding cost reduction, network fees have been reduced by 60%. This has already been implemented on the network, significantly reducing users' costs for deploying and maintaining smart contracts. Rootstock explained, "The fee reduction was possible thanks to optimization by merge mining partners," adding, "Users will incur lower costs when interacting with dApps and smart contracts. Developers will also be able to reduce costs for maintaining smart contracts." The Lovell upgrade has also been announced. This focuses on Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility, enhanced security, and decentralization. Specifically, it will improve the native Bitcoin bridge PowPeg functionality, establishing the foundation to increase the number of signers from 9 to 60. The Lovell upgrade will be implemented from 1 AM on the 14th (Korean time). Additionally, the Faster protocol currently under development will be introduced. Through the Faster protocol, transaction speed will improve by 6 times, and block generation time is expected to be reduced from 30 seconds to 5 seconds. Daniel Fogg, CEO of Rootstock Labs, said, "Through this major upgrade, we have been able to improve accessibility for users participating in the Rootstock ecosystem."