YM Lee

Global Banking Corporation Standard Chartered (SC) predicted that the stability of Stablecoin will lead to large-scale asset selection (tokenization). On the 28th (local time), Standard Chartered stated in a research report, "Initially, Stablecoin was used as a trading target in virtual asset exchanges, but it is gradually being used as a means of payment in global banking." The report explained that as the demand for fast and accessible cross-border transactions increases, Stablecoin has become notable. Standard Chartered stated, "Stablecoin provides a solution that can transfer assets digitally at a speed similar to email by utilizing the accessibility of existing communication and banking systems in the emerging market where accessibility is declining." Countries such as Brazil, Turkey, Nigeria, India, and Indonesia are examples of traders utilizing Stablecoin for products, service payments, and cross-border settlements. Standard Chartered emphasized, "Such usage cases are expected to continue to grow. Especially if the U.S. Stablecoin regulation is passed, growth will accelerate."

Robinhood's European subsidiary, Robinhood EU, has integrated the USDC stablecoin. According to a report by Crypto News on the 28th (local time), Robinhood Europe emphasized that by integrating USDC, they are aiming to increase stablecoin adoption rates in Europe and provide diverse regulatory-compliant asset services.

Global virtual asset exchange Coinbase has announced that it will not support the Layer 2 migration of Celo (CELO), receiving significant criticism from the community. According to a report by The Block on the 28th (local time), Coinbase stated that it would not support the transition plan from Celo's Layer 1 to Layer 2 in the superchain ecosystem. As Coinbase does not support the migration, investors holding Celo L1 (Coinbase's ticker CGLD) must withdraw their funds by January 13, 2025. Marek Olszewski, CEO of Celo's main developer, cLabs, pointed out that "Coinbase seems to have taken a stance against the central road map of Celo's Layer 2."

After Bitcoin (BTC) surpassed the $90,000 mark, the trading volume of the Inverse ETF products that short Bitcoin has surged significantly. According to CoinDesk on the 28th (local time), the trading volume of ProShares Ultra Short Bitcoin ETF (SBIT) listed on Nasdaq recorded over 8 million shares on November 13, when Bitcoin surpassed $90,000, marking the highest level ever. During the period when Bitcoin maintained a range of $90,000 to $100,000, the daily trading volume of the Inverse ETF averaged 5 million shares, significantly higher than the figures from the past few months. The exchange explained, "As Bitcoin approaches the critical resistance level of $100,000, there is an attempt to protect against a price drop through long positions in Bitcoin."

The decentralized AI platform SingularityNET (AGIX) announced that it will accelerate the development of decentralized AI by utilizing zero-knowledge (ZK) technology through its collaboration with Mina (MINA). According to a report by Cointelegraph on the 28th (local time), the two companies plan to advance multi-faceted cooperation, including innovative solution development, personal information and data protection, and the development of secure decentralized AI (AGI).

Celsius distributed the proceeds from the second sale to creditors. According to the Doublelock report on the 28th (local time), this second distribution of sale proceeds was divided into cash, which accounts for about 60.4%% of the creditor's claim value, and BitCoin, with the average distribution value set at 9,5836.23 dollars. Creditors who cannot receive movable property or virtual assets through designated distribution agents are expected to receive their assets in cash. In January this year, Celsius distributed approximately 2 billion dollars worth of virtual assets to a total of 1,716,672 creditors, achieving a 57.65%% recovery rate of eligible claims.

On the 26th, Gifto (GFT), which was announced to be delisted from Binance, issued an additional 1.2 billion GFT. On the 28th (local time), the online analyst JakXBT stated through his X (Twitter) that "the Gifto team issued an additional 1.2 billion GFT on BSC a few hours ago, doubling the total supply. Subsequently, deposits were made to various exchanges such as KuCoin, MEXC, HTX, Bithumb, Binance, OKX, and Gate.io," urging caution to investors. Prior to the delisting announcement, GFT was traded at 0.012 dollars, but it is currently trading at 0.0067 dollars, a 39.10%% decrease compared to the previous day on the CoinMarketCap standard.

Global investment firm VanEck's CEO, Jan van Eck, expressed an optimistic outlook on Bitcoin. According to a report by CryptoDNES on the 28th (local time), Jan van Eck emphasized that Bitcoin's true value comes from being a 'value transfer network'. Jan van Eck stated, "Historically, Bitcoin has seen significant price increases after new supply decreases. As its use and adoption increase as a 'value transfer network', its overall value will rise." He predicted that Bitcoin will become a competitive asset against gold. Van Eck mentioned, "Bitcoin can ultimately compete with gold as a value storage, and in the long term, it could reach half of the total gold market capitalization. In this bull market cycle, it is expected to reach $15 to $18 million, and in the subsequent cycle, it could surpass $40 million."

Metaplex, a well-known Japanese Web3 company, announced that it will issue new shares worth up to 620 million dollars. On the 28th (local time), Metaplex stated through its official X (Twitter) that it will issue new shares aimed at raising up to 9.5 billion yen (620 million dollars) to accelerate Bitcoin (BTC) acquisition.

An analysis has emerged that MicroStrategy's (MSTR) aggressive Bitcoin (BTC) purchases could act as a temporary risk to the market. According to a report by Crypto Policy on the 28th (local time), a virtual asset analyst warned, "MicroStrategy's Bitcoin strategy aligns with the company's asset conversion objectives. If shareholders do not convert their assets into stocks before the conversion, MSTR may have to liquidate Bitcoin to address shareholder conditions." If MicroStrategy's stock price does not consistently rise in relation to Bitcoin as it does now, such a situation could arise.

As interest from investors in the virtual asset (cryptocurrency) market increases, the demand for decentralized finance (DeFi) is also rising. On the 28th (local time), the virtual asset specialized media Cointelegraph reported using Uniswap data that "Uniswap recorded a trading volume of 38 billion dollars in major Ethereum L2 networks such as Arbitrum (ARB), Polygon (POL), and Optimism (OP). This is about 4 billion dollars higher than the highest record set last March," it reported. Henrik Anders, a top crypto investor at Apollo, stated, "The increase in Uniswap trading volume is attributed to the increased demand for DeFi assets and stablecoins in the broader DeFi ecosystem," adding, "The recent upward trend could mark the beginning of a long-awaited success for the Ethereum ecosystem."