Quick Take
- Bitcoin’s realised price (average acquisition price) reached an all-time high of US$43,000; State of Wisconsin Investment Board and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment disclosed their bitcoin ETF holdings; South Korea is expected to allow universities and charities to sell crypto donations.
- US spot bitcoin ETFs had a net outflow of $580 million last week (vs a net inflow of $204 million the week before). Spot ether ETFs saw a net outflow of $26 million last week (vs a net inflow of $420 million the week before).
- On the macro side, the US consumer price index rose 0.5% in January and 3.0% annually, higher than the 0.3% and 2.9% estimated by Dow Jones, respectively. US retail sales dropped by 0.9% in January, worse than the 0.2% decline estimated by Dow Jones, which coincided with cold weather in some parts of the country and falling auto sales. The producer price index increased 0.4% in January, higher than the Dow Jones estimate of 0.3%. The latest CME FedWatch Tool showed a 97% probability of a March rate cut in the US (vs 92% last week).
- Notable updates: Uniswap’s (UNI) Unichain mainnet went live on 11 February; Jupiter (JUP) announced that JUP buybacks will commence on 17 February; the Crypto.com App listed Story (IP), Solayer (LAYER,) and USC Stablecoin (USC)
- Notable events in the coming week: Australia’s RBA and New Zealand’s RBNZ interest rate decision, US FOMC minutes
Weekly Market Index
Price index was up by +1.26%, while volume and volatility indices decreased by -49.56% and -35.57% last week, respectively. XRP (+12.2%) and ADA (+11.4%) led the increase. This coincided with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) acknowledging Grayscale’s filing for a Grayscale XRP Trust. In addition, NYSE Arca filed to create a spot Cardano ETF on behalf of Grayscale, which will be Grayscale’s first standalone Cardano investment product if approved.
Chart of the Week
Bitcoin’s realised price reached an all-time high of $43,321 on 16 February, according to CryptoQuant. The realised price increased by 86% in the past year, while bitcoin’s market price increased by 84% in the same period.
Realised price measures the average acquisition price of the token weighted by the supply, which some investors interpret as a support price or its fair value in the long term.
Weekly Performance
BTC and ETH increased by +0.7% and +1.3%, respectively, in the past seven days. Prices of most other selected top market capitalisation tokens were up.
All key categories increased in market capitalisation in the past seven days. AI category increased the most.
Notable Updates
| Token | Ticker | MC | 7D (%) | Category | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uniswap | UNI | $5.8B | +6.6% | DeFi | Unichain mainnet went live on 11 February. It boasts 1-second block times and gas costs that are around 95% cheaper than Ethereum Layer-1s (L1). Unichain is designed for DeFi and is expected to support native interoperability in the future. |
| Jupiter | JUP | $2.3B | +6.4% | DeFi | Jupiter announced that JUP buybacks will commence on 17 February, using 50% of the protocol fees. According to the team, the tokens will be locked for three years. |
| Token | Uniswap |
|---|---|
| Ticker | UNI |
| MC | $5.8B |
| 7D (%) | +6.6% |
| Category | DeFi |
| Remarks | Unichain mainnet went live on 11 February. It boasts 1-second block times and gas costs that are around 95% cheaper than Ethereum Layer-1s (L1). Unichain is designed for DeFi and is expected to support native interoperability in the future. |
| Token | Jupiter |
| Ticker | JUP |
| MC | $2.3B |
| 7D (%) | +6.4% |
| Category | DeFi |
| Remarks | Jupiter announced that JUP buybacks will commence on 17 February, using 50% of the protocol fees. According to the team, the tokens will be locked for three years. |
Newly Listed Tokens in Crypto.com App
| Token | Ticker | MC | 7D (%) | Category | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Story | IP | $424M | -33.0% | L1 / AI | Story Protocol is an L1 blockchain designed for intellectual property (IP). Creators can register their IP as an ‘IP Asset’ on the protocol, add usage terms to their IP, and make IP programmable on the blockchain. IP serves as the native token. |
| Solayer | LAYER | $150M | -26.2% | DeFi | Solayer is an advanced staking protocol on the Solana blockchain designed to empower on-chain dapps with improved network bandwidth and enhanced L1 security. Its architecture comprises two main approaches: restaking and a shared validator network that secures systems and applications on Solana. LAYER serves as the governance token. |
| USC Stablecoin | USC | $18M | -0.2% | Stablecoin | USC is a native stablecoin of the Orby Network, a crypto lending protocol on the Cronos blockchain designed to facilitate DeFi lending and interest-free USC borrowing. USC is a decentralised, overcollateralised stablecoin that is soft-pegged to the US dollar. |
| Token | Story |
|---|---|
| Ticker | IP |
| MC | $424M |
| 7D (%) | -33.0% |
| Category | L1 / AI |
| Remarks | Story Protocol is an L1 blockchain designed for intellectual property (IP). Creators can register their IP as an ‘IP Asset’ on the protocol, add usage terms to their IP, and make IP programmable on the blockchain. IP serves as the native token. |
| Token | Solayer |
| Ticker | LAYER |
| MC | $150M |
| 7D (%) | -26.2% |
| Category | DeFi |
| Remarks | Solayer is an advanced staking protocol on the Solana blockchain designed to empower on-chain dapps with improved network bandwidth and enhanced L1 security. Its architecture comprises two main approaches: restaking and a shared validator network that secures systems and applications on Solana. LAYER serves as the governance token. |
| Token | USC Stablecoin |
| Ticker | USC |
| MC | $18M |
| 7D (%) | -0.2% |
| Category | Stablecoin |
| Remarks | USC is a native stablecoin of the Orby Network, a crypto lending protocol on the Cronos blockchain designed to facilitate DeFi lending and interest-free USC borrowing. USC is a decentralised, overcollateralised stablecoin that is soft-pegged to the US dollar. |
News Highlights
Investment Vehicles
- Mubadala Investment Company, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, disclosed a $437 million investment in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) as of 31 December 2024. The State of Wisconsin Investment Board also disclosed a $321 million investment in IBIT.
- Cboe BZX Exchange filed with the US SEC to allow staking for 21Shares Core Ethereum ETF. The filing mentioned that it intends to stake a portion of the Trust’s ether “from time to time”. New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Arca also filed to allow staking for Grayscale’s spot Ethereum ETF.
- NYSE Arca filed to create a spot Cardano ETF on behalf of Grayscale. If approved, it will be Grayscale’s first standalone Cardano investment product.
- Franklin Templeton launched its Onchain US Government Money Fund (FOBXX) on Solana. FOBXX invests in US government securities, cash, and fully collateralised repurchase agreements, and is currently available on Ethereum, Avalanche, Arbitrum, Base, Polygon, Aptos and other blockchains.
- Donald Trump-backed World Liberty Financial (WLFI) unveiled the ‘Macro Strategy’ strategic reserve for bitcoin, ether and other cryptocurrencies. The purpose of the reserve is to enhance stability by diversifying holdings across a range of assets and foster growth within the DeFi landscape. WLFI is also working with traditional finance institutions to contribute tokenised assets to the reserve.
- US SEC acknowledged several ETF filings last week, including spot Solana ETFs filed by Cboe BZX Exchange on behalf of 21Shares, Bitwise, VanEck, and Canary Capital, as well as Grayscale’s XRP Trust and Dogecoin Trust. In addition, the SEC is seeking comments on a proposal to allow in-kind redemptions for bitcoin and ether ETFs. This would allow the redemption and creation of ETF shares using spot crypto instead of cash, which is expected to improve the funds’ after-tax performance.
Adoption
- South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (SFC) is expected to allow institutions, including universities and charities, to sell their crypto donations in the second half of 2025. As part of the pilot programme, 3,500 corporations and professional investors will be allowed to open “real-name” accounts in crypto exchanges in the first half of 2025 before being able to sell their assets.
- State Street plans to launch a digital asset custody business in 2026, according to The Information. The business is expected to offer custody and transfer agency services for tokenised assets.
- Thailand‘s former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra proposed to establish a crypto sandbox in Phuket to enable foreign nationals to conduct transactions using crypto. The sandbox is set to launch in October 2025 and aims to boost tourism.
- North Carolina and Michigan joined the list of other US states that have introduced a bill to allow the State Treasurer to invest in digital assets. North Carolina’s proposal states that no more than 10% of the fund’s balance can be allocated to crypto assets. Similarly, Michigan’s proposal also included a 10% cap on crypto investments from the state’s general fund and economic stabilisation fund.
Recent Research Reports
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The Evolution of the Institutional Crypto Market: From Liquidity to Global Adoption | From Trading to Broader Adoption: The Significance of Meme Coins |
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| The Evolution of the Institutional Crypto Market: From Liquidity to Global Adoption |
| From Trading to Broader Adoption: The Significance of Meme Coins |
- DeFAI: DeFi x AI: DeFi is witnessing a fresh wave of innovation, with one of the most exciting developments being the fusion of DeFi and AI — often referred to as DeFAI. In this report, we look into the DeFAI landscape and delve into Griffain and HeyAnon as case studies, both of which are notable examples in the abstraction protocol category.
- The Evolution of the Institutional Crypto Market: From Liquidity to Global Adoption: This article presents the institutional crypto market, focusing on liquidity and global adoption.
- From Trading to Broader Adoption: The Significance of Meme Coins: The launch of US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania’s meme coins, TRUMP and MELANIA, drove the meme coin hype to a new level. Meme coins are going beyond acting as an investment vehicle and becoming tools for community engagement, capital raising, and user acquisition.
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Polkadot vs. Avalanche – Comparing Two Leading Multichain Protocols | Will Quantum Computing Threaten Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Security? |
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- Will Quantum Computing Threaten Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Security?: Explore the potential impact of quantum computing on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency security.
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