gate Research Institute: The U.S. officially establishes Bitcoin strategic reserves, Google's security company confirms Bybit's assets being stolen are related to North Korean Hackers

Summary

• Bitcoin price fell by 4.97% to 87,612.3 USDT, Ethereum price fell by 5.91% to 2,156.88 USDT.
• Trump signs executive order, formally establishes US Bitcoin Strategic Reserve.
• Safe{Wallet} investigation confirms connection to North Korean hacker TraderTraitor in Bybit security incident.
• The ruling party in Japan plans to lower the tax rate on crypto transactions to 20%.
• Aave reduces high-risk loans by nearly $1 billion, showing a trend of market deleveraging.
• USDC Treasury has minted 66,499,000 USDC on the Ethereum chain, and the circulation continues to grow.

Market Review

• BTC - The BTC price has fallen by 4.97% in the past 24 hours, and the current price is 87,612.3 USDT. The BTC price fluctuates within a range, with a weak short-term trend. After approaching the upper range of the range twice, it encountered selling pressure. Short-term moving averages cross frequently, indicating that the market has not yet chosen a clear direction. The recent overall trading volume has not fluctuated much, but has increased at some key points, indicating some fund intervention, but it is not enough to push the price out of the range.

• ETH - The price of ETH has dropped by 5.91% in the past 24 hours, and the current price is 2,156.88 USDT. The ETH price is currently in a downtrend, with the price continuing to be suppressed by the downtrend line and forming support around 2,000 USDT. The volume has increased when the price touches the support area, indicating some buying support at that level, but there is no sign of sustained increase in overall volume. Currently, the moving averages are arranged bearishly, and the price is running below the moving averages, indicating slightly stronger bearish momentum, with a risk of further downside in the short term.

• ETF - According to SoSoValue data, the total net outflow of US Bitcoin spot ETF on March 6 was $13,400【3】, and the total net outflow of US Ethereum spot ETF was $25.88 million. Data as of 13:00 PM (UTC+8) on March 7【4】.
• Shanzhai Coin - The overall performance of Shanzhai Coin has been weak recently, with a general market pullback. Most sectors have experienced declines in the past 24 hours, indicating a lack of clear signs of capital inflow in the market. This suggests that overall investment sentiment remains cautious, and the short-term trend of Shanzhai Coin still faces pressure. [5]
• Three Major U.S. Stock Indexes - On March 6, the S&P 500 fell by 1.78%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.99%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 2.61%.【6】
• Spot Gold - The spot gold price is at $2,908.91 per ounce, down 0.21% intraday. Data as of March 7th, 13:00 PM (UTC+8).【7】
• Fear and Greed Index - Fear and Greed Index 34, the market is in a state of panic.【8】

Popular Tokens

According to the market data from Gate.io [9], combined with the trading volume and price performance in the past 24 hours, the following popular altcoins are:

**ROAM (Roam) **- Daily increase of about 678.74%, with a market capitalization of 32.73 million US dollars.

Roam aims to establish a global wireless network through decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN), providing users with secure, seamless, and free wireless connectivity. The project combines Web3 technology and aims to reshape the communication industry. It has been recognized by the Solana Foundation and is known as the “Star Chain” in the Web3 field. [12]

Recently, a certain CEX launched the ROAM token airdrop activity, and multiple mainstream exchanges simultaneously listed the ROAM token, greatly increasing the token’s exposure and trading liquidity. Secondly, Roam project itself has fundamental advantages, as the world’s largest decentralized WiFi operator, it also possesses a huge network scale advantage, and combined with the market heat of the DePIN track, it provides investors with positive expectations, these factors collectively promote the rise in token price.

**REZ (Renzo) **- Daily increase of about 37.60%, with a market capitalization of $63.3 million.

Renzo is a re-staking protocol designed to simplify and popularize the restaking process of Ethereum and Solana. It abstracts and manages liquidity restaking tokens (LRT) with AVS strategy, allowing users to easily participate in ecosystems such as EigenLayer, Symbiotic, and Jito Network.【11】

Recently, REZ was listed on a certain exchange, which brought higher exposure, greater liquidity, and broader investor participation to the REZ token. In addition, as a leading liquidity staking protocol, Renzo also has strong fundamental support. These factors together have contributed to the rise in the price of the REZ token.

**AVL (Avalon) **- The single-day increase is about 30.12%, with a market capitalization of $80.97 million.

Avalon Labs is committed to building a leading on-chain financial center for Bitcoin, providing services such as Bitcoin-backed lending, stablecoins, yield accounts, and credit cards, aiming to create a scalable, transparent, and accessible financial network.【10】

Recently, a certain CEX listed the AVL token, providing a wider exposure and increasing trading liquidity. At the same time, Avalon released the 2025 development roadmap yesterday, which not only includes the team’s long-term vision but also comes with a brand image update, clearly positioning itself as the ambitious mission of “making Bitcoin the cornerstone of the global capital market.” These factors together may have sparked investors’ confidence and interest in the AVL token, driving the token price up.

Highlights Data

Beets TVL reached 1.79 billion US dollars

The current total value locked of Beets has reached 1.79 billion US dollars, an increase of 21.3% in the past 24 hours. Beets’ TVL has recently shown a significant growth trend, starting from around 50 million US dollars at the end of November 2024, and now reaching 1.79 billion US dollars, with a growth rate of over 200% in nearly four months. Beets’ TVL is concentrated on Sonic chain (1.67 billion US dollars), OP Mainnet (9.41 million US dollars), and Fantom (3.08 million US dollars) with a relatively small share.

Beets is a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform built on the Sonic chain, offering seamless staking and high-yield liquidity pool services related to Liquidity Staking Token (LST). The overall prosperity of the Sonic ecosystem is the cornerstone of Beets TVL growth. As a next-generation high-speed DeFi ecosystem, Sonic has seen continuous growth in TVL and activity since its launch. Beets, as an integral part of the Sonic ecosystem, benefits from the overall prosperity of Sonic, attracting significant attention and capital inflows.

Aave reduces high-risk loans by nearly $1 billion, showing a trend of market deleveraging

According to IntoTheBlock data, the high-risk loans on the Aave mainnet have decreased by nearly $1 billion since February, significantly reducing leverage risks in the market compared to the large-scale liquidation events in February. While some of the reduction can be attributed to forced liquidations, the main reason is likely the bearish market sentiment and cautious strategies of large holders. Many large holders are actively deleveraging to cope with potential further price pressure.

This trend indicates that market sentiment is becoming cautious, with investors reducing leverage risks to avoid experiencing large-scale liquidation again. In the short term, this may reduce extreme market volatility and lower systemic risks; but it may also lead to a decrease in market liquidity, affecting the capital utilization of the DeFi ecosystem. In the long run, if market confidence fails to recover, the continued decline in leverage levels may suppress the overall rebound of the cryptocurrency market.

USDC Treasury has newly minted 66,499,000 USDC on the Ethereum chain, and the circulation continues to grow

According to Whale Alert monitoring, USDC Treasury minted 66.499 million USDC on the Ethereum blockchain on March 6, with a total value of approximately 66.493 million US dollars. Large-scale stablecoin minting typically indicates an increase in market liquidity, potentially related to institutional fund inflows, exchange fund replenishment, or market demand growth. If subsequent funds flow to exchanges or on-chain protocols, it may drive short-term market liquidity changes, and investors can pay attention to fund flows and market reactions.

As of the latest data, USDC has the highest circulation on Ethereum, reaching $34.7 billion, accounting for 60.66%, demonstrating its dominant position in DeFi, on-chain transactions, and institutional settlements. Solana ranks second, reflecting its importance in high-performance payments and transactions.

As a major compliant stablecoin, USDC is widely used in exchanges, DeFi protocols, and cross-border payments. Its dominant position on Ethereum reflects the strong demand for stablecoins in the DeFi ecosystem, while Solana, as a low-cost, high-speed blockchain, has also attracted some USDC migrations. In the future, the circulation distribution of USDC may be affected by transaction fees, on-chain throughput, and ecosystem development, and the market landscape may continue to evolve. [15]

Hotspot Review

Trump signs executive order, officially establishing US Bitcoin Strategic Reserve

President Trump signed an executive order to establish a strategic reserve for Bitcoin, consisting of about 200,000 BTC obtained by the government through criminal or civil forfeiture proceedings, as long-term reserve assets, and pledged not to sell. In addition, the United States also established a digital asset reserve, storing encrypted assets other than BTC (such as XRP, ADA, ETH, SOL), but the government will not actively purchase, only obtain through asset forfeiture.

This decision marks the formal recognition of Bitcoin as a national strategic asset, which may trigger chain reactions in the global financial markets. In the short term, there is still uncertainty about the direction of the US government’s policy on holding BTC, but in the long term, the government’s accumulation of BTC may reduce market supply, strengthen the scarcity and value of Bitcoin. At the same time, Treasury Secretary Scott Benson and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick have been authorized to acquire more BTC in a budget-neutral manner to ensure that taxpayers are not burdened with additional financial costs. This not only means that the US government may continue to expand its BTC reserves, but also may prompt other countries to reassess the position of Bitcoin in the global financial system.

Overall, the U.S. government’s decision to hold BTC may drive more institutions and countries to experience the FOMO effect at a national level, pushing the crypto market into a new development stage. The government’s commitment not to sell BTC further strengthens Bitcoin’s deflationary properties, providing support for long-term price trends. At the same time, this decision may prompt changes in the global regulatory landscape, leading countries to compete in digital asset reserves and accelerating the establishment of BTC as a global reserve asset.

Safe{Wallet} investigates Bybit security incident, confirms connection with North Korean hacker TraderTraitor

Multisignature wallet Safe{Wallet} disclosed that it has partnered with Mandiant, a cybersecurity company under Google Cloud, to conduct a forensic investigation to analyze the security incident that occurred on February 21. The investigation results indicate that the incident was a highly sophisticated, state-sponsored attack, and confirm that the FBI attributed the attack to the TraderTraitor group, tracked by Mandiant under the designation UNC4899, which has previously orchestrated multiple cryptocurrency thefts.

This attack involved compromising the laptop of the Safe{Wallet} developer (Developer1) and hijacking the AWS session token to bypass multi-factor authentication (MFA) controls. The developer is one of the very few with high access privileges. The attacker attempted to gain access to the Safe{Wallet} server using the infected workstation. The investigation is ongoing to further analyze the specific activities of the attacker.

Safe{Wallet} team has implemented significant security enhancements to strengthen infrastructure security, far exceeding the security protection level before the incident. At the same time, Safe’s smart contracts were not affected by this incident, ensuring the security of user funds. In addition, BlockSec has introduced the Safe{Wallet} dynamic security protection scheme, providing real-time transaction monitoring, risk analysis, and automatic security response, further enhancing wallet security and preventing similar attack risks.【17】【18】

The ruling party in Japan plans to reduce the tax rate on cryptocurrency transactions to 20%.

Japan’s ruling party is pushing for cryptocurrency tax reform. Member of the House of Representatives Akihisa Shiozaki revealed that the proposal plans to reduce the tax rate on cryptocurrency transactions from a maximum of 55% to 20%. Currently, it is in the feedback solicitation stage and is expected to be submitted to the Financial Services Agency (FSA) on March 31. The proposal suggests changing the legal classification of cryptocurrencies from the Payment Services Act to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, categorizing them as “financial products”, subject to a single tax rate of 20%, consistent with securities investment tax rates. This regulatory change may pave the way for Japan to introduce spot cryptocurrency ETFs, enhance market attractiveness, and drive institutional investment.

In the short term, the proposed tax reform still needs to go through policy discussions and depends on FSA approval, and the market may digest some of the benefits in advance. In the long term, if the tax reform is successfully implemented, Japan is expected to become an important participant in the global crypto market, driving the growth in demand for BTC and ETH, increasing institutional investment, and even promoting the listing of spot cryptocurrency ETFs, which will be a medium- to long-term positive for the market.

Financing Information

According to RootData, 5 projects announced funding in the past 24 hours, with a total funding amount exceeding $24 million. The highest single funding amount reached $15 million, involving infrastructure, AI, and other fields. The following are the specific details of the top three projects in terms of funding amount: [20]

Validation Cloud — Validation Cloud has completed a $15 million Series A financing round, with participation from True Global Ventures, Blockchain Founders Fund, and others. This round of financing will be used to expand the global infrastructure network, optimize low-latency blockchain access services, and drive the development of institutional-grade Web3 solutions. Validation Cloud is a Web3 data and artificial intelligence company focused on providing data and AI solutions for the Web3 ecosystem. Its product platform includes staking services, node API services, and data and AI services, aiming to accelerate on-chain data search time through AI technology, compressing data navigation that originally took hours to a matter of seconds.

In the short term, the financing has strengthened the competition in the blockchain API field; in the long term, it may accelerate institutional deployment in Web3, promote the prosperity of Layer1 & Layer2 ecosystems, and bring structural growth opportunities to the entire crypto market.

Seismic——Seismic has completed a $7 million seed round of financing, with participation from a16z, 1kx, and others. The funds will be used for technical research and development, ecosystem construction, compliance adaptation, and market promotion, to accelerate the application of privacy computing in the blockchain industry. Seismic aims to build a protocol-level encrypted blockchain, with the core goal of addressing the transparency bottleneck of existing blockchains. Unlike previous focus on wallet-level encryption, Seismic achieves application-level encryption by building encryption technology at the blockchain base layer, providing developers with the ability to build decentralized applications with privacy protection capabilities. This new funding will be primarily used to construct a private smart contract platform and promote its application in finance, social, and other fields.

Seismic’s financing marks an important progress in the privacy blockchain track. In the short term, it may attract attention from DeFi, enterprise chains, and institutional funds, promoting the popularization of private transactions. In the long run, it is expected to become a competitor to projects such as Aleo and Aztec, providing stronger privacy protection solutions for the Web3 ecosystem, while promoting the application expansion of blockchain within a compliance framework.

Fortytwo - Fortytwo has completed a $2.3 million seed round of financing, with participation from Big Brain Holdings, CMT Digital, and others. Fortytwo focuses on the decentralized computing power market, optimizing the allocation of computing resources to improve the scalability and computational efficiency of the Web3 ecosystem.

Fortytwo fills the gap between Web3 computing demand and computing resource supply through the decentralized computing power market. This round of financing will support its technological development, node expansion, and ecosystem construction, while promoting further development of the DePIN track.

Airdrop Opportunity

Elixir

Elixir is a modular network focused on high-throughput liquidity scenarios, providing decentralized market-making solutions that significantly reduce the cost of liquidity acquisition for projects in CEX (centralized exchanges) and DEX (decentralized exchanges). Its goal is to create a more democratic, transparent, and efficient encrypted market-making ecosystem, thereby improving the overall market liquidity situation. [21]

According to the official distribution plan of ELX tokens, 41% of the token supply is allocated to the community. Among them, the first season airdrop accounts for 8%, aimed at rewarding early supporters and expanding the community base. In addition, 21% of the tokens will be used for airdrops and LP incentives in the future, indicating that Elixir plans to continuously promote network development and enhance community activity through long-term incentive mechanisms.

Way to participate:

1. Visit the Elixir official website and link your wallet and social accounts.【22】
2. Staking assets to earn points.
3. Promote the project and recommend friends to participate to earn more points.

Tip: Airdrop plans and participation methods may be updated at any time. Users are advised to follow Elixir’s official channels for the latest information. At the same time, users should participate cautiously, be aware of risks, and conduct sufficient research before participating. Gate.io does not guarantee subsequent airdrop rewards distribution.
Reference:

1. Gate.io,https://www.gate.io/trade/BTC_USDT
2. Gate.io,https://www.gate.io/trade/ETH_USDT
3. SoSoValue,https://sosovalue.xyz/assets/etf/us-btc-spothttps://sosovalue.xyz/assets/etf/us-btc-spot(
4. SoSoValue,[https://sosovalue.xyz/assets/etf/us-eth-spot])https://sosovalue.xyz/assets/etf/us-eth-spot(
5. CoinGecko,[https://www.coingecko.com/en/categories])https://www.coingecko.com/en/categories(
6. Investing,[https://investing.com/indices/usa-indices])https://investing.com/indices/usa-indices(
7. Investing,[https://investing.com/currencies/xau-usd])https://investing.com/currencies/xau-usd(
8. Gate.io,[https://www.gate.io/bigdata])https://www.gate.io/bigdata(
9. Gate.io,[https://www.gate.io/price])https://www.gate.io/price(
10. X,[https://x.com/avalonfinance_/status/1897482403020698102])https://x.com/avalonfinance_/status/1897482403020698102(
11. X,[https://x.com/RenzoProtocol/status/1897706084363571703])https://x.com/RenzoProtocol/status/1897706084363571703(
12. X,[https://x.com/weRoamxyz/status/1897817450110239020])https://x.com/weRoamxyz/status/1897817450110239020(
13. X,[https://defillama.com/protocol/beets])https://defillama.com/protocol/beets(
14. X,[https://x.com/intotheblock/status/1896846613714543032])https://x.com/intotheblock/status/1896846613714543032(
15. X,[https://x.com/whale_alert/status/1897554698049134889])https://x.com/whale_alert/status/1897554698049134889(
16. X,https://x.com/davidsacks47/status/1897802280738734236 )https://x.com/davidsacks47/status/1897802280738734236(
17. X,[https://x.com/safe/status/1897663514975649938])https://x.com/safe/status/1897663514975649938(
18. BlockSec,[https://www.blocksec.com/safe-wallet-monitor])https://www.blocksec.com/safe-wallet-monitor(
19. X,[https://x.com/WatanabeSota/status/1897614367857971249])https://x.com/WatanabeSota/status/1897614367857971249(
20. Rootdata, [https://www.rootdata.com/Fundraising])https://www.rootdata.com/Fundraising(
21. X,[https://x.com/elixir/status/1897403017080803427])https://x.com/elixir/status/1897403017080803427(
22. Elixir ,[https://www.elixir.xyz/])https://www.elixir.xyz/(

Click [link])https://www.gate.io/learn/category/research to go now

Disclaimer Cryptocurrency market investment involves high risks. Users are advised to conduct independent research and fully understand the nature of the assets and products purchased before making any investment decisions. Gate.io is not responsible for any losses or damages resulting from such investment decisions.