Today's top news highlights:
Animoca executives: Plans to expand business focus to stablecoins, AI, and DePIN by 2026.
Analyst Murphy: The densest trading range for BTC is $94,000-$98,000 and $101,000-$118,000.
Only 11 public blockchains have earned more than $100,000 in the past 7 days.
Macro
An article published in China Newsweek, titled "Can the 40 Billion Yuan in Bitcoins Taken Away by Qian Zhimin Be Returned to China?", points out that Qian Zhimin, the main culprit in a money laundering case involving 60,000 Bitcoins, purchased a total of 194,951 Bitcoins, exceeding the 61,000 Bitcoins seized by the police. However, the court did not disclose the situation of the remaining 120,000+ Bitcoins, meaning that there is a high probability that more Bitcoins in Qian Zhimin's assets have not yet been discovered or confiscated. London Metropolitan Police detective Joe Lane revealed that Qian Zhimin claimed that the password to a wallet containing 20,000 Bitcoins had been lost. Based on the latest market price, these "lost" Bitcoins alone are worth approximately 12.5 billion yuan.
According to Yonhap News Agency, on the 28th local time, Lee Eok-woon, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission of South Korea, stated at the 19th Anti-Money Laundering Day commemoration ceremony of the Financial Intelligence Analysis Institute that the scope of the "travel rule," also known as the "cryptocurrency real-name system," will be expanded to include transactions below 1 million won (approximately US$680). He emphasized that money laundering activities using virtual asset transactions will be severely cracked down on, and virtual asset transactions with overseas exchanges with high money laundering risks will be prohibited. Furthermore, a strict review mechanism will be established to comprehensively examine the criminal records, financial status, and social creditworthiness of major shareholders of virtual asset businesses.
Security firm GoPlus analysis indicates that the Upbit attack raises several serious concerns: the hot wallet leak points to vulnerabilities in key management and internal network security vulnerabilities. Cold wallets remain secure. The incident is noteworthy for several reasons: 1. It was an "anniversary attack"—the date coincided with the $50 million hack in 2019 (six years ago); 2. The timing was opportune—launching the attack hours after the major merger announcement of Dunamu and Naver; 3. It exhibited typical Lazarus characteristics—the speed, methods, and symbolic significance of the attack; 4. Sophisticated money laundering methods—using multiple DEXs, potentially circumventing regulations (2200 SOL tokens transferred to Binance). All these signs suggest that the platform may have been under long-term infiltration by an Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) group. Previously, Upbit disclosed the theft of approximately 54 billion won in assets from its Solana network; South Korean authorities suspect the North Korean hacking group Lazarus is behind the attack.
Bitcoin holders accuse JPMorgan Chase of market manipulation.
According to Cointelegraph, after JPMorgan Chase filed an application with the U.S. SEC to launch leveraged Bitcoin-backed notes, Bitcoin enthusiasts accused the company of manipulating rules to suppress Strategy and Digital Asset Reserves (DATs). Previously, JPMorgan Chase launched structured notes linked to the BlackRock Bitcoin ETF, matching the four-year Bitcoin halving cycle.
The UK has proposed introducing a "no profit, no loss" tax rule for DeFi.
According to CoinDesk, the UK government is developing a new tax framework that could benefit DeFi users. A proposal released this week shows that HM Revenue and Customs supports a "no profit, no loss" principle for cryptocurrency lending and liquidity pool arrangements. Under the current system, DeFi users depositing funds into protocols, even just for profit or as collateral for loans, can trigger capital gains tax. The new measure will postpone tax payment until an economically meaningful asset disposal occurs. This means that users depositing cryptocurrency into lending protocols or providing tokens to automated market makers will no longer need to pay tax on the deposit itself, but only when they eventually sell or trade the assets and realize a profit or loss. The proposal aims to align tax rules with the actual operation of DeFi, thereby reducing the administrative burden and avoiding unreasonable tax outcomes. The new principle also applies to complex multi-token arrangements; if a user withdraws more tokens than they deposited, the profit will be taxed; if less, it will be considered a loss. However, this model is not yet finalized, and the government is still consulting with professionals and DeFi developers. While HM Revenue and Customs has not set a timetable for legislation, it has stated that it will continue to engage with the industry to assess the necessity of such legislation.
Bitwise has updated its filing for the spot Avalanche ETF, proposing to add staking functionality.
According to CoinDesk, Bitwise has updated its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its spot Avalanche ETF. This revision changes the ETF's ticker symbol to BAVA and sets the sponsorship fee rate at 0.34%, currently the lowest among similar products. In comparison, VanEck's Avalanche ETF has a fee rate of 0.40%, and Grayscale's is 0.50%. The updated S-1 filing also states that the trust will be allowed to stake up to 70% of its AVAX holdings on Avalanche's proof-of-stake network to earn additional tokens. However, the issuer is considering deducting 12% of the proceeds as fees, with the remainder distributed to shareholders. Since competitors have not yet launched staking services, their fees are currently limited to sponsorship fees. Bitwise is also offering a full fee waiver for the first month on its initial $500 million in assets, aiming to position BAVA as the lowest-cost way for traditional investors to gain exposure to Avalanche and earn staking income.
Opinion
Analyst Murphy: The densest trading range for BTC is $94,000-$98,000 and $101,000-$118,000.
According to a BTC Cost Base Distribution (CBD) heatmap shared by analyst Murphy, the most concentrated areas of BTC holdings are currently $94,000-$98,000 and $101,000-$118,000, corresponding to the historical fair price ($98,000) and the average cost of short-term holders ($104,000), respectively, serving as important reference lines for bull-bear market transitions. Furthermore, data shows that between November 21st and 23rd, 950,000 BTC accumulated in the $84,000-$85,000 range, of which 550,000 are related to Coinbase's wallet consolidation, and the remaining 400,000 represent actual trading, possibly related to whale activity. CBD uses an address-based calculation method, providing an important reference for observing market BTC distribution.
BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes published an article today titled "Survival of the Fittest: How Perpetual Contracts Are Disrupting Traditional Finance," pointing out that traditional finance (TradFi) is desperately trying to maintain its dominance in stock trading. It will be very interesting to observe how they respond to the rapid market acceptance of stock index perpetual contracts. The first perpetual contract sector to dominate the market will be offshore trading of US stock price risk. US stocks, and all stocks, will eventually be tokenized. However, stock index perpetual contracts do not rely on stock tokenization to succeed. Stock perpetual contracts already have mature infrastructure that allows for rapid scaling.
Alliance DAO co-founder: L1 token lacks a moat; betting on the application layer may be the way out.
QwQiao, co-founder of Alliance DAO, stated in an article on the X platform that he finds it difficult to convince himself to hold L1 public chain tokens long-term. The reason is not their high price-to-earnings ratio (P/E), but rather the lack of a moat, making them easily commoditized and difficult to capture meaningful value. Currently, cross-chain transfers are very convenient for users, and most application developers can quickly migrate their applications from one chain to another. Furthermore, launching a new chain is significantly easier than before, and the switching costs are far lower than infrastructure like AWS. QwQiao also mentioned that the only way for a chain to strengthen its moat is to develop vertically and control the application layer. He observed that chains like Solana, Base, and Hyperliquid have realized this and are actively taking action, as is the emerging enterprise-level chain Tempo. He firmly believes that the crypto industry will experience exponential growth, and betting on the application layer is the best way to express this view.
Project Updates
OKX donated HK$10 million to Hong Kong to support emergency relief and recovery efforts.
According to official sources, OKX has donated HK$10 million to Hong Kong to support local emergency relief and disaster recovery efforts.
YZi Labs announced on its X platform that, as a significant shareholder of CEA Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: BNC), it has filed a preliminary consent statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seeking written shareholder consent to expand the company's board of directors and add new board seats. YZi Labs stated that despite a significant increase in the value of BNC's main asset under management, BNB, the company's performance since the completion of its $500 million PIPE financing deal this summer has fallen far short of the expected results from that investment rationale. It believes BNC's poor performance is a direct result of poor strategy execution, insufficient investor communication, and a lack of effective oversight. YZi Labs also expressed concern about delays in key SEC filings, failure to promptly update investors on digital asset fund management and net asset value (NAV), and continued investor confusion regarding the company's identity, communication, and strategy.
The Wormhole Foundation announced the purchase of $5 million worth of W tokens.
According to official sources, the Wormhole Foundation announced that it has purchased $5 million worth of W tokens and added them to its balance sheet.
Balancer security incident update: DAO begins discussions on an $8 million recovery plan.
According to CoinDesk, weeks after a major vulnerability in Balancer v2 vaults led to the loss of over $110 million, the Balancer DAO has begun discussing a plan to distribute approximately $8 million in recovered assets to affected limited partners (LPs). The proposed scheme includes structured rewards for white-hat hackers and compensation based on snapshots of user pool assets at the time of the exploit, consistent with the Safe Harbor Protocol. This protocol stipulates a bounty cap of $1 million per incident, requiring white-hat hackers to undergo comprehensive KYC and sanctions screening. Several anonymous rescuers on Arbitrum have waived their bounty claims. Recovered tokens cover networks including Ethereum, Polygon, Base, and Arbitrum, with liquidity providers receiving compensation proportionally to the tokens initially provided and per pool. A claims mechanism is currently under development; if the proposal is approved, users will need to accept updated terms of use. Additionally, $19.7 million in osETH and osGNO were recovered by StakeWise and will be processed separately; $4.1 million recovered internally in collaboration with Certora is ineligible for a bounty due to a previous agreement. This exploit, caused by a smart contract flaw, marks Balancer's third major security incident, resulting in a plunge in total value locked (TVL) from approximately $775 million to $258 million, and a loss of about 30% in the value of BAL tokens.
Bitget will donate a total of HK$12 million to Hong Kong to support emergency relief efforts, assistance to affected families, and post-disaster reconstruction following the Hung Fook Court fire. The donation will be received and implemented by three reputable local charitable organizations.
Binance donated HK$10 million to Hong Kong to support fire relief and reconstruction.
According to an official announcement from Binance, Binance will donate HK$10 million to the fire-stricken area of Hung Fook Court in Tai Po, Hong Kong, to support rescue and reconstruction efforts. Binance stated that it will implement the donation through relevant channels and extend its condolences to the affected people.
To fully support emergency relief, disaster relief, and reconstruction efforts following the Tai Po fire in Hong Kong, Matrixport Group, through its Hong Kong branch, donated HK$3 million to relevant relief organizations. This donation, jointly made by the Group and its employees, will be specifically used for disaster relief and reconstruction.
Important data
Only 11 public blockchains have earned more than $100,000 in the past 7 days.
According to crypto KOL AB Kuai.Dong, citing Nansen data, only 11 public blockchains have generated over $100,000 in revenue in the past seven days. The top six are Tron, Ethereum, Solana, BNB, Bitcoin, and Base. They account for over 95% of on-chain user spending. The vast majority of the remaining public blockchains have low activity, with some generating close to zero revenue.
According to on-chain analyst @ai_9684xtpa, the "whale that opened short positions on October 11th" has closed its long positions. He just closed his long positions of 15,000 ETH (US$45.32 million) in batches, ultimately making a profit of US$846,000. This long position ultimately ended in profit in less than four days. As of now, only the BTC long position from November 8th is in a loss position; all others are profitable, with the account accumulating a total profit of US$101 million.
CryptoQuant analyst Martunn wrote that the latest data shows that over the past 30 days, Bitcoin whales have poured $7.5 billion into Binance, the highest level in a year. This surge in inflows is similar to the pattern seen during previous periods of high market volatility (such as March 2025), when Bitcoin's price plummeted from approximately $102,000 to a low of $70,000. In these situations, whales typically move funds into exchanges to take profits or manage risk when the market weakens. Given that the 30-day inflow indicator is still climbing, the current data does not yet indicate that selling pressure has stabilized. For investors, this mainly means that the risk zone has not yet been fully resolved. Large inflows into exchanges often act as a barometer of pressure: they indicate that funds are being mobilized, but do not necessarily predict when a trend reversal will occur. In similar periods in the past, it took the market about a month to find a local bottom.
Investment and Financing/Acquisition
According to official news, Entrée Capital has announced the successful raising of a new $300 million fund focused on early-stage investments. This brings the company's total assets under management to $1.5 billion. The new funds will primarily be deployed in pre-seed, seed, and Series A investments in Israel, the UK, Europe, and the US. The new fund will target founders in the following areas: Artificial Intelligence (covering native AI applications, vertical AI, and enabling infrastructure); Deep Technology and Quantum Computing (including computing technologies, science-driven systems, and advanced materials); Software, Data, and B2B Productivity Enhancement; Cryptocurrency (primarily focusing on infrastructure and security); and unconventional cutting-edge innovation. Entrée Capital has previously invested in Web3 domain registrars such as Freename and Bitcoin payment startup Breez.
Animoca executives: Plans to expand business focus to stablecoins, AI, and DePIN by 2026.
According to Cointelegraph, Keyvan Peymani, Chief Strategy Officer of Animoca Brands, stated that the company plans to expand beyond the gaming sector next year, enriching its existing portfolio of approximately 600 companies. In an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, he elaborated, “We invest in dozens of companies every year, covering artificial intelligence, DePIN, DeFi, gaming, and any emerging areas and new opportunities related to stablecoins. Our core objective has always been to focus on the expansion of the ecosystem we operate in.” He further emphasized, “We strive to be a market leader whenever there are interesting and exciting developments in areas like stablecoins and RWA.” He added that Animoca is committed to bridging the gap between the retail industry and the transformation within the Web3 ecosystem, “You can expect us to continue to delve deeper and uncover potential projects that we believe will disrupt the industry. Stablecoins are a major focus for the company recently.”
Institutional holdings
The Bhutanese government transferred 160.35 ETH, worth $483,000, to QCP Capital.
According to Onchain Lens, the Royal Government of Bhutan transferred 160.35 ETH (worth $483,000) to QCP Capital and may deposit more funds thereafter.
Bitmine has purchased 14,618 ETH from BitGo, worth $44.34 million.
According to OnchainLens monitoring, Bitmine has purchased 14,618 ETH from BitGo, worth $44.34 million.
