Gate Daily (December 29): BitMine begins staking Ethereum holdings; plans to acquire a Korean exchange for 100 million in the future.

Bitcoin (BTC) opened this week with a rebound, currently around $80,082 as of December 29. BitMine has begun staking ETH and deposited $219 million into the Ethereum PoS contract. Mirae Asset Financial Group is in talks to acquire Korea’s fourth-largest cryptocurrency exchange, Korbit, for approximately 100 billion to 140 billion KRW ($70 million to $100 million).

Macro Events & Crypto Hotspots

1. Ethereum vault company BitMine has started staking its ETH holdings, depositing nearly $219 million worth of Ethereum into the proof-of-stake (PoS) system. On Sunday, multiple wallets associated with BitMine sent large ETH transfers to a contract called “BatchDeposit.” On-chain data from Arkham shows a total transfer of 74,880 ETH. This pattern is usually related to institutional staking setups, which concentrate funds before validator creation.

2. Mirae Asset Financial Group is negotiating to acquire Korea’s fourth-largest crypto exchange, Korbit, with a deal valued between 1,000 and 1,400 billion KRW ($70 million to $100 million). Reports indicate that this potential acquisition will be led by the group’s non-financial subsidiary, Mirae Asset Consulting, which is said to have signed a memorandum of understanding with Korbit’s major shareholders.

News Highlights

1. Huang Licheng reduced his ETH long position by 50 coins and increased his HYPE long position by 5,000 coins.

2. Report: The crypto market appears calm on the surface but is bubbling beneath. Although Bitcoin is in a downtrend, it may turn bullish in January.

3. A major whale, who previously built ETH long positions through cyclic loans, sold another 10,002 ETH.

4. Lu Lei: Future digital Renminbi will have the liability attributes of commercial banks, with functions including currency value measurement, value storage, and cross-border payments.

5. Flow: Is coordinating with key infrastructure partners to finalize the restart plan.

6. The People’s Bank of China will launch the “Action Plan for Further Strengthening Digital Renminbi Management Service System and Related Financial Infrastructure.”

7. Hyperliquid co-founder: 1.2 million HYPE tokens will be distributed to team members after unlocking on January 6.

8. By the end of 2025, focus on Federal Reserve policies and sector rotation, with US stocks surging to new all-time highs.

9. Data: El Salvador has increased its BTC holdings by 1,511 coins so far in 2025.

10. China’s Supreme Court academic journal publishes an article on the legal reforms of digital transactions, electronic money, and virtual assets.

11. Michael Saylor again posts Bitcoin tracker updates; MicroStrategy may disclose additional holdings this week.

Market Trends

1. Latest Bitcoin news: $BTC The week opened with a rebound, currently around $80,082. In the past 24 hours, $7.46 million was liquidated, mainly short positions.

2. On December 27, due to the Christmas holiday, trading was light, and US stocks pulled back slightly from their all-time highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 20.19 points, or 0.04%, to 48,710.97. The S&P 500 declined 2.11 points, or 0.03%, to 6,929.94. The Nasdaq dropped 20.21 points, or 0.09%, to 23,593.10. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 3.273 points, or 0.05%, to 7,207.641.

(Source: Gate)

3. According to Gate BTC/USDT liquidation map, with the current price at 88,195.00 USDT, if it drops near $87,038, total long liquidations exceed $112 million; if it rises to around $88,699, total short liquidations exceed $300 million. Short liquidations are significantly higher than longs, so it’s advisable to control leverage ratios to avoid large-scale liquidations during market volatility.

(Source: Coinglass)

4. In the past 24 hours, BTC spot inflow was $573 million, outflow was $640 million, net outflow $67 million.

(Source: Coinglass)

5. In the past 24 hours, net outflows led in contracts trading for $BTC, $ZEC, $RVV, $BNB, $SOL , indicating trading opportunities.

Selected Opinions from Key Opinion Leaders

Phyrex Ni (@Phyrex_Ni): “Sunday was as expected, with little change. Bitcoin maintaining slight volatility is already good. Next week, trading volume and liquidity are unlikely to improve much, and no major data is expected. If nothing unexpected happens, 2025 will likely pass like this. Hopefully, expectations for 2026 will be more accurate.”

“Before 2026, we don’t know if Trump will announce his successor for the Federal Reserve Chair. Short-term market impact may be limited, but at least it gives investors something to think about. The biggest issue is whether Trump can control monetary policy through this chair and the Fed seat. If not, it doesn’t matter who is in power.”

“Looking at Bitcoin data, the turnover rate further decreased on Sunday, which is expected. Investors tend to be very relaxed during holidays. Recently, BTC has been oscillating around $88,000, especially with nearly 800,000 coins at the $87,000 level. That’s not a good sign—when the supply at a single price level is too large.”

“History shows many instances of choosing to advance or retreat, with no clear answer. But one thing is certain: if supply at a single price continues to accumulate, there will be significant short-term volatility. This has never been missed in history.”

Today’s Outlook

1. US November NAR Existing Home Sales (seasonally adjusted, monthly rate), previous value 1.9%

2. US EIA crude oil inventory change last week (ten thousand barrels) (to 1219), previous value -127.4