A comprehensive overview of the week's events, updates and movements in the crypto space to stay up-to-date on the most important crypto stories and market-shaping events.

1.KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Decentralized Exchange Bitget Restructures Its Economic Model
• Bitwise, The World's Largest Crypto Index Fund Manager, Launches New Corporate ETF
• BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF Overtakes Gold ETFs in Growth
• Japan's Government Rejects Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Proposal
• Russia Moves Towards Cryptocurrency Adoption
• The notorious Lazarus Group Identified Behind the Hack That Led to The Collapse of Japan’s DMM Bitcoin Exchange

2.CONTENT

🔗 Bitget, a leading crypto exchange and Web3 company, announced its plans to streamline its ecosystem and expand global transaction use by 2025. The company is merging the Bitget Wallet Token (BWB) and Bitget Token (BGB) to enhance the utility of BGB utility- a decision that saw the token's value surge by 30%, reaching $6.86.

BGB will function as Bitget's sole ecosystem token, streamlining staking, lending, trading, and multi-chain payments for users. The decision comes at a time when many crypto experts and degens point out the disconnected and fragmented nature of DeF services and is a strategy that will see Bitget's exchange and wallet services align better.

🌐 In a strategic move signaling its confidence in growing corporate adoption of Bitcoin, Bitwise, the World's largest crypto index fund manager, announced an Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) targeted at companies that use Bitcoin as a corporate financial reserve. The new Bitcoin Standard Company ETF will comprise companies with at least 1,000 Bitcoin in holdings like tech giants MicroStrategy, Marathon Digital, Coinbase, and Tesla.

2024 saw a considerable shift in corporate interest towards cryptocurrencies as a hedge against risk with CEOs acknowledging that holding Bitcoin on corporate balance sheets will soon become a necessity. This view has been confirmed by recent moves of industry leaders like MicroStrategy who are seeking to increase their Bitcoin holdings.

With demand for Bitcoin and other altcoins expected to reach new heights in 2025, Bitwise is confident its new ETF will significantly impact the market.

💲 BlackRock, a top American multinational investment company, now holds 430,770 shares of its own Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), IBIT – worth over $17 million. This is a 117% increase since July and a 10x jump from earlier this year.

Although this Bitcoin investment is still a fraction (0.1%) of BlackRock’s $16.5 billion Global Allocation Fund, it highlights growing confidence in crypto. The company's Bitcoin ETF now holds more assets than its iShares Gold Trust, which is almost 20 years old. The newly launched iShares Bitcoin Trust reached $33.2 billion, overtaking the $32 billion held in BlackRock’s gold ETF, which is the second largest gold ETF by assets.
BlackRock’s aggressive move indicates increasing mainstream adoption of Bitcoin, reinforcing its position as a major financial asset for businesses and institutional investors.

🌏 Japan’s government has rejected the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve proposal, citing extreme volatility, insufficient information, and legal concerns. Despite taking a more proactive approach to adopting digital assets and exploring new regulations in 2024, the stability of the yen has been a factor in restraining cryptocurrency growth.

This choice comes after the controversial crypto tax reform that Japanese tax officials and the ruling party put forward in 2025. Earnings from cryptocurrencies are taxed at up to 55% in the country right now. Crypto holders, business groups, and politicians have all been calling for a separate 20% rate, like stocks. Business leaders have said that both plans are bad because the Japanese government has a history of making bad financial decisions. The Japanese government signed the Plaza Accord in 1985, which set off an economic crisis that lasted for 30 years.

This put the country in a position where it must choose between saving either the bond market or the currency market. They simply cannot save both. Bitcoin offered a solution to potentially save both at the same time.

However, the proposal to scrap the Bitcoin Reserve is considered as another mistake by many who point out the weakening yen needs to be backed by a hard and strong monetary asset like Bitcoin.

☑️ Russian companies have found a way to counter sanctions imposed by Western nations by using Bitcoin for cross-border trade. Cryptocurrencies allow Russia to bypass the US Dollar and the SWIFT system, both critical to global trade but heavily monitored.

Finance Minister Siluanov confirmed that Russian companies are already making cross-border Bitcoin transactions and expects this to grow in the coming year. President Putin criticized the US Dollar’s dominance, suggesting that Bitcoin is a neutral asset free from political interference. This points to a broader trend of countries exploring crypto as an alternative to traditional finance.

Russia’s embrace of Bitcoin for trade could accelerate global crypto adoption and shift international finance dynamics, reducing reliance on the US Dollar.

⚙️ The FBI has confirmed that North Korea’s TraderTraitor hacking group, linked to the notorious Lazarus Group, was behind the May hack of DMM Bitcoin, leading to the theft of 4,502 BTC (worth $308 million). This attack forced the Japanese crypto exchange to shut down.

DMM Bitcoin could not recover the funds and will shut down by March 2025 with customer accounts automatically transferring to SBI VC Trade, a Japanese exchange owned by SBI Holdings.

North Korean hackers have stolen $1.34 billion in crypto in 2024 alone, highlighting the rising cybersecurity risks in crypto and the increasing involvement of state-backed hackers.

3.MARKET MOVES

📈 In the last 24 hours, Bitcoin's price moved +0.44% to $96.09k and trading volume moved +17.68% to $46.93b.

The crypto market remains as dynamic as ever with new opportunities coming up every day. Whether you’re a seasoned trader, an investor or a beginner, this is your chance to stay ahead.

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The information does not constitute financial advice or recommendation and should not be considered as such. All content, including opinions and analyses, is intended for educational purposes only. It should not be considered as solicitation or recommendation for any investment decisions. We encourage you to conduct your own research prior to investing.