Weekly Market Information Issue No.7

1. Mining Company Update

• Hong Kong's West Data Group to collaborate with Ethiopian Investment Holdings for Bitcoin mining

• Hong Kong's West Data Group to collaborate with Ethiopian Investment Holdings for Bitcoin mining

Hong Kong's West Data Group, through its Data Center Service subsidiary, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Ethiopian Investment Holdings. The two parties will collaborate on a $250 million project to establish data center infrastructure and artificial intelligence training in Ethiopia, which includes cooperation in Bitcoin mining. (February 20, BlockBeats)

2. Ranking of PoW

 

This week, currencies were ranked by annual production value; Syscoin was newly added; Both

coin prices and hashrate fluctuated within a small range.

3. Market Overview

• Following the ruling party of South Korea, the Democratic Party of Korea is also pushing to allow spot Bitcoin ETFs as an election pledge
• Bitwise's Bitcoin ETF (BITB) surpasses $1 billion in assets under management
• Bitcoin mining difficulty increases by 8.24% to 81.73 T, setting a new historical high
• Digital asset investment products saw an inflow of $2.45 billion last week, setting a new historical high
• QCP Capital predicts Bitcoin will break through its historical high by the end of March
• CME "FedWatch Tool": The probability of the Fed keeping rates unchanged in March is 91.5%

 

• Following the ruling party of South Korea, the Democratic Party of Korea is also pushing to allow spot Bitcoin ETFs as an election pledge

According to the Seoul Economic Daily, the Democratic Party of Korea is pushing to allow investments in spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) as part of its election pledges for the April 10 elections. Last month, the country's financial regulator reiterated its ban on financial institutions from launching any type of cryptocurrency ETFs. The Democratic Party's policy coordination committee revealed on the 20th that the party will announce this plan for the "institutionalization of virtual assets and revitalization of investments" on the 21st. For this purpose, the Democratic Party plans to allow domestic financial investment companies to trade overseas spot Bitcoin ETFs after consulting with the Financial Services Commission, by amending the Capital Markets Act. In addition, the Democratic Party plans to allow investment in spot Bitcoin ETFs through individual asset management accounts (ISAs). He explained that "investment profits obtained through ISAs are tax-exempt up to 2 million Korean won, so people can reduce their tax burden while investing." (February 20, CoinDesk)

• Bitcoin mining difficulty increases by 8.24% to 81.73T, setting a new historical high

According to data from BTC.com, Bitcoin mining difficulty adjusted at block height 830,592 (2024-02-15 22:41:50), increasing by 8.24% to 81.73 T, setting a new historical high. The current average network hash rate is 567.92 EH/s. (February 18, BTC.com)

• TRON announces its Bitcoin Layer 2 solution and roadmap

TRON is set to launch its Bitcoin Layer 2 solution. This integration will not only connect TRON with Bitcoin but also facilitate the flow of funds into the Bitcoin network, injecting financial vitality into Bitcoin. According to the published roadmap: In the α phase, Bitcoin will be accessible through cross-chain connections with the TRON network. Assets based on the Bitcoin network will be expanded to TRON. Efforts will be made to integrate multiple TRON tokens such as USDT, TRX, BTT, JST, SUN, NFT, WIN, USDC, etc., into the Bitcoin network through cross-chain technology. This will enable TRON's tokens to seamlessly interact and interoperate with the Bitcoin network. There are also plans to invest in user-friendly wallets and tools that support BRC-20 tokens. (February 17, Twitter)

• Digital asset investment products saw an inflow of $2.45 billion last week, setting a new historical high

Digital asset investment products recorded a historical high in inflows last week, totaling $2.45 billion, with the year-to-date inflows reaching $5.2 billion. Regionally, the United States dominated, accounting for 99% of the inflows, totaling $2.4 billion. Bitcoin accounted for over 99% of the inflows, with some investors taking the opportunity to increase their short positions in Bitcoin, resulting in an inflow of $5.8 million. Ethereum saw inflows of $21 million. Recent Solana outages affected market sentiment, leading to an outflow of $1.6 million. Avalanche, Chainlink, and Polygon respectively saw inflows of $1 million, $900,000, and $900,000, with consistent inflows every week this year. (February 19, IntoTheBlock)

 

• QCP Capital predicts Bitcoin will break through its historical high by the end of March

QCP Capital released a report stating that the price of Bitcoin has broken through the $50,000 mark for the first time in over two years, mainly due to massive inflows into the spot Bitcoin ETF, with an average daily purchase volume of 10,000 to 13,000 BTC, equivalent to a daily inflow of approximately $500 million to $650 million. QCP Capital expects this inflow trend to continue as global liquidity continues to flow into spot ETFs. With financial giants like Fidelity announcing the inclusion of cryptocurrencies as 1-3% of their All-in-One conservative ETF, the crypto asset class has become a focal point for mainstream investors. In addition to spot inflows, there was also a significant purchase of Bitcoin call options this week, with nearly $10 million spent on options premiums for strike prices between $60,000 and $80,000 expiring from April to December. With these capital flows, QCP Capital predicts that the price of Bitcoin is expected to easily surpass its historical high before the end of March. (February 19, Bloomberg)

• CME "FedWatch Tool": The probability of the Fed keeping rates unchanged in March is 91.5%

According to the CME "FedWatch Tool" data, the probability of the Federal Reserve maintaining rates in the range of 5.25%-5.50% in March is 91.5%, with the probability of a 25 basis point rate cut being 8.5% (February 19, Twitter)