News & Research

Esports company NIP Group plans to expand its Bitcoin investment and mining business, Decrypt reported. The company expects to mine 160 BTC per month but added that it may sell some of its holdings to cover operating costs, depending on market conditions.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has announced sanctions against eight North Korean bankers and two institutions for their alleged involvement in laundering millions of dollars in cryptocurrency. According to CoinDesk, a Treasury official stated that hackers backed by the North Korean government steal and launder money to fund the country's nuclear weapons program.

Nasdaq-listed semiconductor firm Sequans Communications has sold 970 BTC to repay 50% of its convertible notes, CoinDesk reported. The move reduced the company's debt from $189 million to $94.5 million. Sequans now holds 2,264 BTC. CEO Georges Karam said the company's long-term Bitcoin strategy remains unchanged.

Market maker DWF Labs is facing allegations that it concealed the theft of at least $44 million in a 2022 hack. An X user posting under the name tanuki42 claimed that in September 2022, a North Korean-linked hacking group known as AppleJeus stole the funds, which consisted primarily of USDC and USDT. The user noted that DWF Labs has never publicly addressed the incident. Prominent on-chain analyst ZachXBT reposted the allegation, commenting that it is not surprising that DWF would conceal a $44 million hack.

Bitcoin has entered a balanced, sideways market as it awaits new catalysts, according to a market analyst. CryptoQuant contributor Arabchain explained that Bitcoin is trading below its moving average, reflecting mild selling pressure and slowing upward momentum in recent days. However, the analyst noted that the unrealized loss indicator is at a significantly low level of 0.06, suggesting that only a minority of traders on Binance are currently at a loss. This indicates the market has not yet entered a large-scale sell-off phase, as selling pressure from long-term investors is not significant. Arabchain added that if the price recovers above the moving average, upward momentum could resume. Conversely, a drop below $100,000 could trigger the start of a full-blown correction.

The U.S. government shutdown has entered its 35th day, becoming the longest in the nation's history, SolidIntel reported.

An anonymous whale is aggressively accumulating ETH, according to on-chain analytics firm Lookonchain. Over the past two days, the investor withdrew 174,166 ETH, worth $621 million, from Binance. This activity follows a move two weeks ago when the whale borrowed 66,000 ETH against 610 million USDC in collateral on Aave before depositing the funds to the exchange. Lookonchain noted that after repaying the debt, the whale still holds 108,105 ETH, representing a profit of over $29 million.

The European Commission (EC) is preparing a draft proposal to grant the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) supervisory power over the crypto sector, a move that is drawing strong opposition from the industry, Cointelegraph reports. Faustine Fleuret, head of public policy at DeFi lending protocol Morpho, argued that granting excessive regulatory authority to ESMA could slow the pace of innovation in Europe's crypto and fintech industries. Fleuret stated that if ESMA were to handle all licensing and supervision, it would not only require vast resources but also reduce the decision-making speed and flexibility of startups and emerging projects. She noted that such a centralized approach could be particularly damaging for early-stage companies, for which close cooperation with their national regulators is essential.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said on X that Bitcoin spot ETFs are taking two steps forward and one step back. He noted that after advancing, it is now time for the "one step back" phase, adding that BlackRock's Bitcoin spot ETF (IBIT) is showing a similar movement. Balchunas also stated that the possibility of a larger retreat cannot be completely ruled out, describing the current situation as a natural part of any growth process. He concluded that it is impossible for Bitcoin spot ETFs to record net inflows every day.

Stablecoin payments infrastructure platform Zynk has raised $5 million in a seed round led by Hivemind Capital, with participation from other key investors including Coinbase Ventures and Alliance DAO, The Block reported. The company plans to use the funds to expand its business operations, enhance liquidity, and strengthen its technology and regulatory compliance infrastructure.