PA Daily | Silver's market cap jumps to the third largest globally; Flow suffers a $3.9 million loss due to hacking attack

Today’s Headlines:

1. Next Week’s Macro Outlook: Focusing on Fed Minutes Amid Low Liquidity

2. Silver Market Cap Surpasses Apple, Ranks Third Globally

3. Analyst: Bitcoin’s Correlation Deviations with US Stocks and Gold Have Occurred Historically; Last Time, BTC Price Increased 10x

4. Flow Suffered $3.9 Million Hack Loss, User Deposits Unaffected

5. 100 Million UNI Burned from Uniswap Treasury, Valued at $5.96 Billion

6. Bitmine Pledged 343,000 ETH in Two Days, Worth $1 Billion

Macro

Next Week’s Macro Outlook: Focusing on Fed Minutes Amid Low Liquidity

Despite the holiday season with Christmas, gold, silver, and platinum prices soared to record highs, continuing the historic end-of-year rally of precious metals. Looking ahead to next week, with New Year’s Day approaching, no major macroeconomic data releases are expected, and global financial markets will remain in a state of extremely low liquidity, with trading volumes likely well below normal levels. The true market start of 2026 may not occur until the second week of January. Here are the key points to watch in the coming week:

Tuesday 03:00 ET: Fed releases FOMC minutes

Wednesday 21:30 ET: US initial jobless claims for the week ending December 27

Friday 22:45 ET: US December S&P Global Manufacturing PMI Final

With Christmas and New Year’s Day back-to-back, no Fed officials will be speaking next week, nor will major central banks. Notably, the Fed will release its December meeting minutes. These minutes will be closely scrutinized as investors seek clues about the timing of the next rate cut and gauge policymakers’ concerns about inflation, especially those voting to hold rates steady. Selecting a consensus candidate within the highly divided Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is crucial. However, regardless of Trump’s choice, the new Fed Chair is almost certain to be more dovish than Powell, so this announcement may pose relatively low market risk.

Silver Market Cap Surpasses Apple, Ranks Third Globally

According to 8marketcap data, silver’s market cap has overtaken Apple, making it the third-largest asset globally.

Instagram influencer Andrew Tate Suspected of Crypto Money Laundering, $30 Million Deposited into Railgun Over Past Two Years

On X, on-chain analyst Specter posted that crypto KOL and Instagram influencer Andrew Tate may be involved in crypto money laundering. His associated wallet has deposited $30 million into Railgun over the past two years. Specter obtained Tate’s wallet address from a private message screenshot posted on June 9, 2024. Tracking revealed that this wallet is linked to a “pig butchering” scam case in Texas. Although Tate is not named as a defendant, the flow of funds in this wallet raises suspicions. The activities include common money laundering techniques such as nested services and high-risk exchanges for small and large transfers.

Viewpoints

Analysis: Strategy’s fundraising will prioritize paying dividends and debt interest rather than buying more BTC, shifting to a defensive stance

Recent analysis indicates that the stock price of Bitcoin treasury company Strategy remains low, and its Bitcoin premium indicator is declining. The critical decision of whether MSCI will remove Strategy from its index in January is approaching. In this context, Strategy is adopting a “defensive mode,” having recently built a cash buffer of about $2.2 billion to withstand Bitcoin bets. This fund is expected to be used for paying preferred dividends and debt interest rather than acquiring more Bitcoin.

Coinbase CEO: Will Not Allow Revision of the “Genius Act,” This Is Coinbase’s Red Line

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong posted on X that banks are lobbying the US Congress to amend the GENIUS Act. Coinbase will absolutely not allow any revisions to this law, which is a red line for the company, and will continue to defend the interests of customers and the crypto industry. Armstrong added that he personally predicts that in a few years, once banks realize the huge business opportunity brought by stablecoins, they will shift their stance and lobby Congress to allow stablecoins to pay interest and yields. For now, all efforts are futile (and unethical), as the dilemma for innovators persists.

It is understood that the current GENIUS Act prohibits stablecoin issuers from offering rewards, but platforms like Gemini, Coinbase, and Kraken can do so, and this is already incorporated into the current law. If traditional bankers revise the law to ban such activities, it would hinder stablecoin innovation.

Analysis: Crypto and Precious Metals Markets Show Rare “Split Market,” Possibly Driven by Non-Just Hedging Sentiment

According to Forbes, since reaching a historic high in October, Bitcoin and the broader crypto market have experienced a significant pullback. Bitcoin is now hovering around $90,000, down from its all-time high of $126,000, while gold, silver, and US stocks have accelerated their gains toward the end of the year. This creates a rare “split market,” which is not solely driven by risk aversion but may also reflect a “strategic response” by institutions and capital to the global monetary system. Ramnivas Mundada, head of GlobalData’s economic and corporate research, predicts that de-dollarization will accelerate as central banks continue to adjust reserve structures and reduce reliance on US dollar assets. By 2026, gold could further rise by 8%-15%, and silver by 20%-35%.

Analyst: Bitcoin’s Correlation with US Stocks and Gold Has Deviated Historically; Last Time, BTC Price Rose 10x

Crypto analyst Plan B posted on X that Bitcoin’s correlation with US stocks and gold has deviated, a phenomenon that has occurred before. Previously, when Bitcoin was below $1,000, it later surged 10 times. Although correlation is not absolute and current market conditions may differ, time will tell.

Another analyst, Willy Woo, responded that the Mt. Gox hack at the end of 2013 put pressure on Bitcoin’s price, and the 2014 block size debate led to whale sell-offs. The current question is whether investors will see quantum computing as an obstacle comparable to the “block size debate.”

Coinbase Report: Crypto Market Shifting Toward Structural Drivers; Three Sectors to Lead

A recent report from Coinbase Institutional states that the crypto market is transitioning from traditional boom-and-bust cycles to a model driven by structural forces, with activity increasingly concentrated in a few key sectors. These sectors will dominate the 2026 crypto landscape and shape the industry’s long-term future. The three sectors predicted to lead are: perpetual futures, prediction markets, and stablecoins & payments.

Project Updates

SlowMist’s Yuánzī: Debot-related user private keys stolen, hacker currently profits $255,000 and continues theft

SlowMist founder Yuánzī posted on X that they are investigating the Debot incident. On-chain data shows that user private keys related to Debot were stolen. The hacker has made off with assets worth $255,000 and is still stealing. If you are using Debot and the private key is assigned by Debot, then this key is at risk.

Flow Suffered $3.9 Million Hack, User Deposits Unaffected

Flow Foundation announced that on December 27, an attacker exploited a vulnerability in Flow’s execution layer, transferring about $3.9 million worth of assets off-chain before the validator execution coordinator halted operations. The attack did not affect user balances. All user deposits remain intact.

100 Million UNI Burned from Uniswap Treasury, Valued at $5.96 Billion

According to on-chain analyst Yuánjìn, after the fee burn proposal for Uniswap was approved the day before yesterday, 100 million UNI (~$5.96 billion) was burned from the Uniswap treasury at around 4:30 AM today. The proposal states that future fees collected by Uniswap will also be used for UNI burns.

Flow Foundation’s proposed protocol fix (Mainnet-28) has been unanimously approved by validators and successfully deployed

Flow announced that the protocol fix (Mainnet-28) proposed by the Flow Foundation has received unanimous validator approval and has been successfully deployed. The current network status: online and producing blocks, but in “idle/read-only” mode, with normal transaction submissions (ingestion) still paused.

Trust Wallet CEO: Over 2,630 Claims Received, Processing Accelerated

Trust Wallet CEO Eowync.eth posted an update on the browser extension incident: forensic investigation is ongoing, Google has responded that the support ticket has been upgraded. They hope to receive the Chrome Web Store review logs soon. Additionally, remote staff devices are en route to security teams for detailed inspection.

The extension now alerts affected users when a compromised wallet is detected on their device, urging immediate migration and abandonment of old wallets to prevent further losses. If users see this banner, they should act immediately. If not, their device is likely safe, and no action is needed.

Trust Wallet’s top priority is ensuring claims are paid to the rightful owners. Verifying ownership while filtering out scammers and hackers is complex, so processing times are longer than affected users expect. They are improving tools and processes and developing new features to enhance accuracy.

Trust Wallet has received over 2,630 claims and reimbursement reports, more than ten times the usual volume. Claim amounts range from $1.05 million to $3.5 million. Customer support is working overtime to process claims as quickly as possible and is actively recruiting additional support staff.

( Key Data

Bitmine Pledged 343,000 ETH in Two Days, Worth $1 Billion

According to Lookonchain, Bitmine continues to transfer ETH into staking. Over the past two days, Bitmine has staked 342,560 ETH (~$1 billion).

Bitcoin Spot ETF Net Outflows of $276 Million in One Day, Continuing 6 Days of Outflows

According to SoSoValue, on December 26, US Eastern Time, Bitcoin spot ETFs experienced a total net outflow of $276 million.

The ETF with the largest outflow on December 26 was Blackrock’s IBIT ETF, with a single-day outflow of $193 million. Its total net inflow since inception has reached $62.056 billion.

Next was Fidelity’s FBTC ETF, with a single-day outflow of $74.38 million. Its total net inflow since inception is $12.098 billion.

As of the time of writing, the total net asset value of Bitcoin spot ETFs is $113.53 billion, with an ETF net asset ratio (market cap as a percentage of total Bitcoin market cap) of 6.49%. Total net inflows since inception have reached $56.625 billion.

Ethereum Spot ETF Net Outflows of $38.69 Million in One Day, Continuing 3 Days of Outflows

According to SoSoValue, on December 26, Ethereum spot ETFs experienced a total net outflow of $38.69 million.

The ETF with the largest outflow on December 26 was Blackrock’s ETHA, with a single-day outflow of $22.12 million. Its total net inflow since inception has reached $12.602 billion.

Next was Grayscale’s Ethereum Trust ETF, ETHE, with a single-day outflow of $16.58 million. Its total net outflow since inception is $5.099 billion.

As of the time of writing, the total net asset value of Ethereum spot ETFs is $17.726 billion, with an ETF net asset ratio of 5.01%. Total net inflows since inception have reached $12.342 billion.

Whale’s Triple-Phase UNI Trades Profited Over $23.4 Million

According to on-chain analyst Ai Yī, after burning 100 million UNI, the price again surpassed $6. The “whale” who made a profit of $21.54 million since September 2020 sold 662,605 UNI five months ago, with a cost basis of $5.99 and a sale price of $8.82. Although not sold near the peak of around $12, they still made a profit of $1.875 million. Since September 2020, this whale’s three-phase UNI trades have accumulated profits of over $23.415 million, with a 100% success rate.