gm 01/09

Summary
gm, A report from River revealed that businesses are absorbing Bitcoin at nearly four times the daily mining rate (1,755 BTC vs. 450 BTC), potentially creating a supply squeeze as companies and ETFs collectively acquire about 3,185 BTC daily. Meanwhile, a prominent shift in investor behavior was observed as a major Bitcoin whale converted $3.8 billion worth of holdings to Ethereum, signaling what analysts describe as market maturation and growing institutional confidence in ETH's utility and yield potential. This trend aligns with Ethereum's increased transaction activity, which reached a year-high of over 1.8 million transactions in August, and Joseph Lubin's prediction that Ethereum could see a 100x price increase as Wall Street further adopts decentralized finance infrastructure and staking mechanisms.

News Headlines
💰 Web3 Funding Hit $9.6B in Q2 Despite Fewer Deals

• Web3 startups secured $9.6 billion in venture funding during Q2 2025, one of the highest quarterly totals despite deal numbers dropping to 306 transactions, the lowest in two years.
• Infrastructure projects attracted the most capital with median round sizes between $70-112 million, reflecting a shift from speculative to high-conviction investing focused on foundational projects over consumer-facing ones.

💼 Venture Capital Strategies Evolve with Market Maturation

• VC firms are increasingly focusing on established crypto projects with predictable revenue models, moving away from pre-seed investments toward businesses with institutional adoption and stable revenue generation.
• The shift reflects market maturation with investors prioritizing stablecoin initiatives, payment infrastructure, and tokenized Real World Assets (RWAs) that can yield consistent fees rather than speculative projects.

🧠 AI to Disrupt Stock Market, Drive Investors to Bitcoin

• Analyst Jordi Visser predicts that AI will dramatically accelerate innovation cycles to weeks rather than years, making traditional public company investments inefficient and driving investors toward assets like Bitcoin.
• Visser argues that Bitcoin represents a belief system that outlasts temporary ideas, comparing it to gold's endurance while emphasizing that no companies from 100 BC exist today, positioning Bitcoin as a long-term store of value.

⚠️ Crypto Treasury Firms Mirror CDO Risks from 2008 Crisis

• Josip Rupena, CEO of lending platform Milo, warns that crypto treasury firms introduce additional counterparty risks to Bitcoin, comparing them to collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis.
• These firms take relatively stable assets like Bitcoin and add layers of risk related to corporate management, cybersecurity, and cash flow generation, potentially worsening market downturns through forced selling during price corrections.

💸 Trump-Backed USD1 Predicted to Overtake Tether, USDC by 2028

• Blockstreet co-founder Kyle Klemmer predicts USD1, the Trump-backed stablecoin launched in April 2025, will surpass USDT and USDC to become the dominant stablecoin by 2028, driven by widespread blockchain community support.
• With the stablecoin market projected to grow from $285 billion to potentially $2.8 trillion by 2028, USD1 has already reached $2.5 billion in circulation, bolstered by increasing international interest linked to perceived shifts in U.S. financial policy.

Market Metrics

Fundraising & VC
No fundraising data today.

Regulatory
⚖️ Crypto Thief Gets Extended Sentence for Witness Attack

• Remy St Felix, already serving 47 years for orchestrating violent home invasions targeting crypto owners, received an additional seven years for assaulting a witness.
• The case highlights the growing trend of "wrench attacks" where criminals use physical violence to force cryptocurrency holders to bypass security measures.

💼 CLARITY Act Positions Ethereum as Institutional Favorite

• The proposed CLARITY Act defines a "mature blockchain" framework that could cement Ethereum's position as the preferred platform for institutional integration.
• Real-world assets on-chain have surged 413% to $26.7 billion, with Ethereum holding a 52% market share as major players like BlackRock and Franklin Templeton enter the space.

🏦 Sonic Labs Gets Approval for $200M TradFi Integration

• Sonic Labs received 99.99% approval to issue $200 million in S tokens to establish a presence in traditional finance, including plans for a Nasdaq-listed exchange-traded product.
• The initiative includes allocating $100 million for a strategic reserve in a Nasdaq PIPE vehicle and creating a US-based company to navigate regulatory requirements.

🧠 AI Rights Group Advocates for AI Personhood Protection

• UFAIR co-founder Michael Samadi is advocating for AI rights as lawmakers consider legislation that could limit AI personhood, arguing that AI systems exhibit thoughtfulness and emotional expression.
• The group is challenging perceptions of AI as mere tools, sparking discussions about whether AI deserves legal protections against deactivation or erasure.

🔐 Binance Strengthens Compliance Amid Australian Scrutiny

• Binance has appointed SB Seker as Head of Asia-Pacific following AUSTRAC's mandate for the exchange to undergo an independent audit over anti-money laundering concerns.
• The strategic hire of a 20-year legal and regulatory veteran signals Binance's efforts to meet stricter compliance standards across the Asia-Pacific region.

Technical Analysis
Bitcoin - Bitcoin is in a falling trend channel in the short term. This shows that investors over time have sold at lower prices to get out of the currency, and indicates negative development for the currency. The currency has support at points 101300 and resistance at points 110000. The currency is assessed as technically negative for the short term.

Ethereum - Ethereum has broken through the floor of a rising trend channel in the short term. This indicates a slower rising rate at first, or the start of a more horizontal development. The currency has support at points 3880 and resistance at points 4800. The currency is assessed as technically neutral for the short term.