PA Daily | Spot gold hits a new high; CryptoQuant CEO believes that the BTC bull market cycle has ended
Reprinted from panewslab
03/18/2025·3MToday's news tips:
CryptoQuant CEO: The market may have entered a bear market and will not short BTC
Spot gold is at $3,010 per ounce, setting a record high
Solana Futures Completes First Trading Day in CME
Morgan Stanley: Bank of Japan is expected to keep interest rates unchanged this week
Binance Alpha has added TUT online
Bithumb will launch BMT tokens in the Korean won market
Regulatory/Macro
According to official news, Japanese listed company Metaplanet announced that it would spend 1.879 billion yen (about 12.54 million US dollars) to increase its holdings of 150 bitcoins, with an average purchase price of 12,526,226 yen (83,583 US dollars), and the company's Bitcoin holdings rose to 3,200 bitcoins.
Microsoft discovers malicious Trojan StilachiRAT that steals encrypted wallets
Microsoft has discovered a new remote access Trojan (RAT) called StilachiRAT, which is specifically targeted at 20 cryptocurrency wallet extensions in Google Chrome, including Coinbase Wallet, Trust Wallet, MetaMask, and OKX Wallet. Microsoft's incident response team revealed that the malware can steal credentials, digital wallet information and clipboard data stored in the browser, and has detection, evasion and anti-forensics functions, such as clearing event logs and evading sandbox analysis. Microsoft said that StilachiRAT's WWStartupCtrl64.dll module steals information through various means, and it is currently impossible to determine the mastermind behind it. Microsoft recommends that users install antivirus software and anti-phishing tools to reduce potential risks.
Spot gold is at $3,010 per ounce, setting a record high
The market shows that spot gold has reached $3,010 per ounce, setting a record high. The cumulative increase of more than 14% so far this year.
Nvidia GTC conference is about to be held to focus on the iteration of AI computing power
According to financial reports, from March 17 to 21, local time in the United States, Nvidia will soon hold the top global AI summit - GTC2025. At that time, Huang Renxun will deliver a keynote speech to lock in the future development of AI agents, robotics and accelerate computing.
Ripple submits trademark applications for hosting services and wallets
According to Cointelegraph, Ripple Labs has submitted a trademark application for "Ripple Custody". According to the application documents, the trademark covers financial services, including the storage and management of crypto assets, to meet financial management needs.
Solana Futures Completes First Trading Day in CME
Solana futures were first traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group's U.S. derivatives exchange on March 17, Cointelegraph reported. According to preliminary data from the CME website, on March 17, the first trading day of the contract, SOL futures representing nearly 40,000 SOL nominal value changed hands on the exchange, accounting for nearly $5 million at the current price. Early pricing data show that traders may be bearish about SOL. CME will not release final data on daily trading volumes until the next business day. CME data shows that the trading price of April futures contracts is US$127 per SOL - US$2 lower than each token for contracts expired in March. On March 16, trading companies FalconX and StoneX said they completed their first SOL futures trading on CME. Previously, news from February, CME planned to list two types of SOL futures contracts: a standard contract representing 500 SOL and a retail-friendly "micro" contract representing 25 SOL.
Viewpoint
CryptoQuant CEO: The market may have entered a bear market and will not short BTC
CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju said that although the market has been bullish in the past two years, the current data has clearly weakened and the market may have entered a bear market. He pointed out that indicators based on the realized market value showed a lack of new liquidity, and a large amount of trading volume around $100,000 failed to drive prices, while ETFs experienced capital outflows for three consecutive weeks. He stressed that he would not short Bitcoin and would still hold spot. Previous news, CryptoQuant CEO believes that the bull market cycle of Bitcoin has ended.
He Yi: The WeChat account "heyibinance" is not me, don't cry when you are cheated
Regarding the screenshot posted by X user @xixi_kawayi, which shows that the WeChat account "heyibinance" was invited to join the group, Binance co-founder He Yi posted a message to clarify, "WeChat's heyibinance is not me, don't cry if you are cheated."
Dragonfly Managing Partner: I missed Solana seed round, the worst investment mistake ever
Dragonfly managing partner Haseeb Qureshi posted on X platform: "I missed Solana's seed round at $0.04 in early 2018, which is equivalent to 3,250 times the return at the current price. Solana was one of the first projects I came into contact with as a junior venture capital, when I wrote a memo for every missed deal. Now rereading this memo is simply an embarrassing pinnacle of junior venture capital. We were obsessed with the 'Ethereum Killer', consensus protocols, and what would replace EVM/eWASM. So, that's the unedited version (i.e. the memo it wrote) - the worst investment mistake ever."
CryptoQuant CEO believes Bitcoin bull cycle has ended
Ki Young Ju, founder and CEO of CryptoQuant, posted on the X platform that the bull market cycle of Bitcoin has ended and the price is expected to show a 6-12-month bearish or sideways trend; each on-chain indicator indicates the arrival of a bear market; as new liquidity drys up, new whales are selling Bitcoin at a lower price.
Derive: Bitcoin volatility approaches monthly lows and may rebound to 60%-70% in the future
According to analysis by Derive, the current calm of the Bitcoin (BTC) market may be just a short-term phenomenon and may usher in significant price fluctuations in the future. Derive founder Nick Forster said Bitcoin’s key volatility indicator is approaching its monthly low, with the current weekly volatility falling to 49%, compared with 91% at the beginning of the month. Despite this, volatility has the characteristics of mean regression and may rebound to the 60%-70% level in February in the future. In addition, potential volatility triggers include changes in the situation in Ukraine or adjustments to crypto-regulatory policies under the Trump administration. The Fed's upcoming interest rate resolution may also have an impact on the market. Although the market expects interest rate cuts to be cuts two to three times this year, BlackRock believes that the room for interest rate cuts may be limited, and continued inflationary pressure may limit the extent of interest rate cuts.
Matrixport: Bitcoin demand may grow as stablecoin inflows steadily rise
Matrixport said that the continued inflow of stablecoin funds has laid the foundation for the growth of Bitcoin demand. Although the surge in stablecoins slowed in the fourth quarter of 2024, the overall growth momentum continued, indicating that funds continued to flow into the crypto market. It is worth noting that although the European MiCA regulatory framework has had an impact on USDT, there has been no large-scale outflow of funds in the market. As stablecoin inflows steadily rise, Bitcoin demand may increase with it, further driving price increases.
Morgan Stanley: Bank of Japan is expected to keep interest rates unchanged this week
Morgan Stanley expects the Bank of Japan to keep interest rates unchanged at its meeting this week and will not immediately adjust its policy stance. The analysis pointed out that the Bank of Japan and Governor Kazuo Ueda may emphasize the uncertainty of global economic growth and inflation trends, showing patience before further policy adjustments, while strengthening his usual cautious stance.
GSR Lianchuang: BTC's intrinsic value is still $100,000, and the bull market is still in progress
GSR co-founder and Yellow founder said that Bitcoin’s intrinsic value is still $100,000, and is currently at a 20% discount due to market risks and uncertainty. He believes that it is only a matter of time before Bitcoin returns to the stable range. It will further appreciate after eliminating uncertainty, and stressed that the current market is still in a bull market. Although former U.S. President Trump has recently turned to support the crypto industry, his administration's aggressive tariff policies have caused investors to get risk aversion, Sirkia noted that Bitcoin has not yet become a long-term asset like gold in the eyes of institutional investors.
David Duong, head of research at Coinbase Institutional, said the market generally expects the Fed to keep interest rates unchanged at this week's FOMC meeting, but investors need to pay attention to potential changes in the quantitative tightening (QT) plan. He believes the Fed may suspend or end its QT program because bank reserves are close to 10-11% of GDP, a level seen as sufficient to maintain financial stability. He noted that the recent sell-off in the crypto market was mainly affected by macroeconomic concerns and deteriorating liquidity, but these factors could improve in the next quarter, thus supporting asset prices. He predicts that cryptocurrency prices may bottom out in the coming weeks and rebound to new highs later this year.
Project News
According to X user @supremeleadoor monitoring, aixbt is suspected to be attacked by the account @0xhungusman phishing, losing 55.5 ETH. The relevant transaction records show that the funds have been transferred, and the relevant conversations have been deleted, and only the on-chain transaction records can be checked.
MANTRA: More than 120,000 of the 217,000 wallets have been disqualified from GenDrop
Layer1 blockchain MANTRA, which focuses on RWA assets, said in its official blog that the results of the sybil survey show that 123,195 of the 217,351 wallets have been disqualified; 80,000 wallets are still unallocated due to failure to bridge and associate their mainnet wallet address; as a reward for discovering 1,066,480 OMs related to robotic activities, 29 community members were allocated 106,648 OMs for providing high-quality and effective witch reports; to ensure that legal participants receive their GenDrop credits, self-reports that cannot reliably verify their accuracy have been invalidated; therefore, according to the proposal, 26,942,144 OMs will be left for destruction. A governance proposal will be shared next, and the community can vote on the future of these OMs. Earlier in December last year, MANTRA's new proposal proposed to update the economics of OM tokens, including reducing on-chain inflation to 3%.
Binance launches Binance Alpha 2.0 test version for some countries
According to an update from the Binance Support Center article today, Binance Alpha 2.0 extends the functionality of Binance Alpha by integrating it directly into the Binance Exchange, while it is still available in the Binance Wallet. This innovative solution bridges the gap between CEX and DEX transactions, improving user liquidity, capital efficiency and accessibility. With Binance Alpha 2.0, users can explore and buy on-chain tokens directly on the Binance Exchange without having to withdraw assets to external wallets or create on-chain wallets. The product enables Binance Exchange users to seamlessly use funds from their spot accounts, capital accounts, and other accounts supported by Binance Pay to purchase Alpha tokens. By leveraging CEX funds for DEX trading, Binance Alpha 2.0 eliminates unnecessary steps, reduces transaction costs and simplifies the trading experience. The main difference between Binance Alpha and Binance Alpha 2.0 is the platform they are available: Binance Alpha is available in Binance Wallet, allowing users to explore and purchase featured tokens directly from Binance Wallet. Binance Alpha 2.0 is integrated in the Binance Exchange, allowing users to trade Alpha tokens using their spot and fund accounts without the need for an external Binance wallet. Binance Alpha 2.0 is currently in beta and is only available to users in a few specific countries.
Binance Alpha has added TUT online
According to the official page, Binance Alpha has added TUT (Tutorial).
Four.Meme posted a document on X platform to confirm that it is currently under attack, saying that it has suspended the Launch function for an emergency investigation. Four.Meme says it will compensate the affected users and provide a loss submission form to collect relevant information. No details of the attack, the scope of impact or specific compensation plans have been disclosed yet.
Ethereum L2 network Lisk opens empty investment inquiry
According to official news, Ethereum Layer2 network Lisk announced that it has opened empty investment query, and users can check whether they are eligible for the first season of LSK rewards by entering their wallet address.
Bithumb will launch BMT tokens in the Korean won market
According to the official announcement, South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb will launch BMT tokens in the Korean won market.
According to the official blog, Trump's crypto project WLFI announced the completion of a total of $550 million token sale, with more than 85,000 participants completing KYC certification. WLFI's "macro strategy" also allocates a variety of digital assets in its strategic reserve plan, including BTC, ETH, TRX, LINK, SUI and ONDO tokens. The “macro strategy” may be used in part to support WLFI funding innovation projects, promote ecosystem growth, and “create new opportunities” in the rapidly growing DeFi sector.
Tokenization company Ethena Labs plans to migrate its $6 billion DeFi ecosystem to Converge, a new Ethereum-compatible blockchain it has built in partnership with Securities, according to The Block. According to an announcement on Monday, Converge is built on Ethereum virtual institutions and aims to make DeFi more accessible to institutions by providing compliant settlement and hosting services. The public network will integrate native KYC (Know Your Customers) features and provide access to Ethena and Securitize whitelisted investment products. The two companies have selected Copper, Fireblocks, Komainu and Zodia for hosting services, and have invited major DeFi protocols Aave, Ethereal, Maple Finance, Morpho and Pendle as startup partners. The protocol is licensed to be accessed without permission and will run in parallel with Converge's "Limited Application Set" product. Converge is expected to launch sometime in the second quarter of 2025. The network will be protected by validators who stake Ethena's ENA tokens.
Important data
A trader made more than $1.58 million in profit by buying $40,000 mubarak and $42,000 TUT
According to Lookonchain data, a trader made a total profit of more than $1.58 million by trading $mubarak and $TUT. He bought 8.7 million $mubaraks for $40,000, and made a profit of $248,000 for 2.7 million, and the remaining 6 million were worth about $1.08 million. At the same time, he bought 11.1 million $TUT for $42,000, and made a profit of $32,000 for 2.9 million, and the remaining 9.2 million were worth about $312,000.
Vitalik minted about 315,000 DAIs and sold multiple Meme coins for a total of 71.69 ETHs
According to OnchainLens monitoring, Vitalik cast 315,382 DAIs. He also sold several Meme coins for a total of 71.69 ETH (worth $136,684), including 146.18 billion FML for 2.51 ETH; 180.88 billion SHIB for 0.987 ETH; 7.17 billion VB for 1.57 ETH; and 366.47 million AWESOME for 1.44 ETH. Previously, he sold 5,000 DHNs for 65.19 ETH.
According to SoSoValue data, yesterday (March 17 Eastern Time), the total net inflow of Bitcoin spot ETFs was US$275 million. Yesterday, the Bitcoin spot ETF with the largest single-day net inflow was Fidelity ETF FBTC, with a single-day net inflow of US$127 million. Currently, the total historical net inflow of FBTC reached US$11.373 billion. The second is Ark Invest and 21Shares' ETF ARKB, with a single-day net inflow of US$88.5301 million. Currently, the total historical net inflow of ARKB has reached US$2.683 billion. As of press time, the total net asset value of Bitcoin spot ETF was US$94.481 billion, the net asset ratio of ETF (market value compared to the total market value of Bitcoin) reached 5.67%, and the historical cumulative net inflow has reached US$35.579 billion.
Blur unlocked on January 1, 4 hours ago unlocked 21.69 million BLUR
According to on-chain analyst Ember Monitor, Blur, which was unlocked in January, unlocked 21.69 million BLUR (about 2.32 million US dollars) four hours ago, and will be transferred to Coinbase Prime as before. Since Blur entered the unlocking cycle on June 15, 2023, it has unlocked 35% of the total amount of BLUR (1.044 billion pieces) and transferred to Coinbase Prime to enter the market for circulation. Based on the price at the time of transfer, it is worth US$337 million. The average transfer price is $0.32.
Vitalik sells 5000 DHNs for 65.19 ETH
According to OnchainLens monitoring, Vitalik sold 5,000 DHNs for 65.19 ETH (worth $124,672). The sale caused the DHN token price to plummet by about 57% from $38 to $16 (currently $22.5). He still holds 5,000 DHNs (worth $113,000).
Trump and his partners netted $390 million from WLFI token sales
According to Decrypt, the Trump family’s DeFi project World Liberty Financial (WLFI), announced on Monday that it had completed $550 million in WLFI governance token sales. According to World Liberty’s gold filing, Trump and his business partners will receive 75% of the project’s net revenue after deducting operating costs, including WLFI token sales. Of the funds raised from WLFI sales, $30 million has been designated to pay for company fees, compensation and obligations. According to the project’s golden documents, Trump and his partners at DT Marks DEFI LLC will receive 75% of the remaining amount — a total of $390 million — as a reward for Trump to promote the project “from time to time” and allow him to use his name and image. It is not clear who else will receive funds from the LLC besides the president himself. DT Marks DEFI is located in Jupiter, Florida, and is located at the Trump Organization's executive office, according to SEC documents.
Financing
Decentralized forecasting market developer Opinion Labs announced that it had completed a $5 million seed round earlier, led by Yzi Labs, and other investors include the angel investment community Echo, Animoca Ventures, Manifold Trading, Amber Group, etc.
Exactly Protocol completes a new round of financing of US$2 million
ExactlyProtocol, a decentralized lending protocol based on the Ethereum main network, announced the completion of a new round of financing of US$2 million, bringing its total financing to US$5 million. The latest round of financing was invested by Bodhi Ventures, Newtopia, NXTP Ventures and Kaszek Ventures, as well as Synthetix founder Kain Warwick and Decentraland co-founder Esteban Ordano. According to reports, the Exactly Protocol team has developed an open source, non-custodial DeFi protocol that provides floating and fixed interest rates to lenders, and it plans to go online on the Ethereum layer two network Optimism in the next few months.
The decentralized business network Domin Network announced that it has received strategic investments from Animoca Brands, KuCoin Labs, Web3Labs.club, IBC Group Official, DWF Ventures, Presto, Outlier Ventures, KnightFury, ThreeDAO, Awakening Ventures and AB DAO. According to reports, Domin Network is a decentralized business network that uses NFT and DePIN Rollup technology to connect software, hardware and consumer behavior data to the chain, which enables users to receive encrypted rewards by sharing their consumption data.
Solana Eco-Gold Tokenization Project ORO completes US$1.5 million in Pre-Seed Series Financing
ORO, the Solana ecological gold tokenization project, announced the completion of a US$1.5 million Pre-Seed round of financing, led by 468 Capital, and investors such as Fasset, Dead King Ventures and many angel investors participated. According to reports, ORO aims to expand real-world assets that generate returns on Solana through gold tokenization.
Slingshot DAO completes $16 million in financing, SLING tokens are about to go online
According to official Slingshot DAO, the project has successfully completed a $16 million financing, and investors include Dragonfly Capital, Animoca Brands, Digital Currency Group (DCG), Sfermion, Standard Crypto, Sanctor Capital, Collab+Currency, Alphabit and other well-known Web3 institutions. In addition, Slingshot DAO revealed that the SLING token will be launched soon and hinted that trading will be opened soon.
Kamigotchi completes a seed round of $1.3 million
Kamigotchi, an on-chain game built on Initia's Interwoven Stack, announced a $1.3 million seed round, with investors including angel investors such as Seed Club VC, TempleDAO and DCF God.
jinse
