Daily News | Solana Mobile Exceeded 100K; Argentina is Enthusiastic about Purchasing Stablecoins, Flare's Market Cap Once Again Exceeded $1 Billion

2024-02-14, 02:47

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## Crypto Daily Digest: Solana Mobile exceeded 100,000 bookings, Flare's market cap has once again exceeded $1 billion

According to Coinglass data, the total market value of spot <a href="/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin</a> ETFs has reached $35.564 billion, with total asset management (AUM) reaching $32.071 billion.

Among them, the top three Bitcoin ETFs in terms of asset management scale are: GBTC with an asset management scale of $23.358 billion; IBIT's asset management scale reached $3.312 billion; FBTC's asset management scale reached $2.746 billion.

In addition, according to the official update of spot Bitcoin ETF holdings by digital asset management company Grayscale, as of February 12, GBTC held a total of 465,387.7758 Bitcoins. However, due to the rise in Bitcoin prices, GBTC's asset management scale (non GAAP) increased to $23,357,966,045.25, and its circulating share decreased to 521,100,100.

Meanwhile, BlackRock officially updated its spot Bitcoin ETF holdings data, showing that as of February 12, IBIT's Bitcoin holdings reached 95,276.8466 BTC, with a market value of over $4.725 billion. In addition, the number of circulating shares in IBIT has increased to 154,080,000.

Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy, a Bitcoin whale institution, stated in an interview with CNBC that the demand for Bitcoin spot ETFs far exceeds the supply of mining companies.

Saylor stated that the reason why Bitcoin is currently popular is because it is not related to traditional risk assets, does not involve quarterly performance of any specific country or company, product cycle competitors, is not affected by weather, and does not involve employee groups or supply chains. Saylor also stated that MicroStrategy will reshape its brand as a Bitcoin development company to reflect its strategy of acquiring more Bitcoin and promoting the development of the Bitcoin network.

The latest report from the Russian Central Bank shows that financial fraud cases involving cryptocurrencies have significantly increased in 2023, with the number of illegal entities increasing by 15.5% year-on-year, reaching 5735 cases. The report emphasizes that almost all financial pyramids and illegal brokers provide domestic token investment or accept crypto investment.

These fraudulent projects mainly operate online through social networks and Telegram applications, and the organizers of the scams actively use "popular lifestyle bloggers" for advertising promotion. To combat these illegal activities, the Russian central bank has taken measures to restrict the use of domain names and subdomains by entities engaged in illegal financial activities.

In 2023, over 1500 financial pyramid domains and subdomains were blocked. In addition, the central bank also shares information on illegal entities and financial pyramids with law enforcement agencies, the Russian Federation Anti Monopoly Service, and the Russian Federation Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media Supervision Bureau. In 2023, more than 125 criminal cases and 620 administrative cases were initiated, and more than 1,300 other response measures were taken.

According to CryptoSlate, <a href="/price/solana-sol" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Solana</a> Mobile announced that its upcoming mobile device "Chapter 2" has achieved a pre-order volume of 100,000 in less than 30 days, exceeding the original planned production by five times. The product will be shipped in the first half of 2025. Previously, Solana's first Saga smartphone was sold out due to a surge in the price of BONK coins. Although it is unclear whether the "Chapter 2" device will continue its previous profit model, Solana Mobile promises that users will enjoy multiple reward programs.

According to the latest crypto market report, Argentina has become the main country in Latin America to purchase and hold stablecoins in the past six months. The report states that Argentina purchases five times more digital dollars than other cryptocurrencies, with 60% of crypto purchases allocated to stablecoins based on the US dollar, such as USDT and USDC, while Bitcoin only accounts for 13%.

This trend reflects the enormous demand for stablecoins among Argentine residents in response to inflation and currency depreciation. Argentina ranks second in global crypto penetration in Latin America and 15th globally. In addition, according to the report, Bitcoin remains the preferred cryptocurrency for Latin American users, accounting for 53% of their portfolio holdings, slightly higher than the global average of 50.4%.

In terms of data, according to The Block, the outstanding <a href="/price/ethereum-eth" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Ethereum</a> options contracts of CME in February have reached $468 million, exceeding the full month data of January ($385 million). Due to nearly two weeks remaining until the end of month expiration date on February 23, the open interest contracts for Ethereum options in February are expected to reach a historic high. The current historical high is $510 million in December last year.

According to Defillama data, Flare's market value has exceeded $1.121 billion, marking the second time this month that its market value has exceeded 1 billion. It is reported that <a href="/price/xrp-xrp" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">XRP</a> is preparing to join the <a href="/price/flare-network-flr" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Flare Network</a> recently. The co-founder of Flare stated that FXRP will run as a encapsulated XRP on the Flare network, enhancing the flexibility of the protocol for developers.

## Macro: CPI exceeds expectations, with a probability of 84.5% not lowering interest rates in March
On Tuesday, the expectation that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged in March was strengthened due to the higher-than-expected January price increase in the United States.

The US dollar index rose sharply during the US session and briefly approached the 105 level, reaching a new high in three months. It ultimately closed up 0.69% at 104.85. The yield on US Treasury bonds further rebounded, with the benchmark 10-year yield reaching the 4.3% mark and closing at 4.326%. The yield on interest rate sensitive 2-year US Treasury bonds returned above the 4.6% mark and closed at 4.670%.

Spot gold plummeted nearly $40 before the US market, falling below the $2,000 mark for the first time in two months and dropping to an intraday low of $1,990.17 before closing down 1.33% at $1,993.20 per ounce; Spot silver closed down 2.53% at $22.12 per ounce.

Due to the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, but due to the market's belief that the Federal Reserve needs to wait longer to lower interest rates, the increase in oil prices has been suppressed. WTI crude oil remained stable above $77 and ultimately closed up 1.14% at $77.76 per barrel; Brent crude oil rose 0.74% to $82.56 per barrel. The US stock market index closed down 1.35%, the S&P 500 index fell 1.37%, and the Nasdaq fell 1.8%.

Due to the high housing prices putting pressure on consumers, the CPI in January exceeded expectations and failed to return to the "2 era."
The non quarterly CPI annual rate in January in the United States recorded 3.1%, higher than the expected 2.9%; The monthly rate recorded 0.3%, higher than the expected 0.2%. The non-quarterly core CPI annual rate in the United States for January recorded 3.9%, exceeding the expected 3.7%; The monthly rate recorded 0.4%, the largest increase since May last year, exceeding expectations of 0.3% and the previous value of 0.3%. The swap market fully priced the Fed's interest rate cut, which was postponed from June to July.

According to the analysis of CME Group's ChiNext FedWatch tool, the probability of the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States maintaining interest rates in the range of 5.25% to 5.50% in March is 84.5%. Meanwhile, the data shows a 15.5% probability of a 25 basis point interest rate cut.

<div class="blog-details-info">
<div>Author:**Byron B.**, Gate.io Researcher
<div class="info-tips">\*This article represents only the views of the researcher and does not constitute any investment suggestions.
<div>\*Gate.io reserves all rights to this article. Reposting of the article will be permitted provided Gate.io is referenced. In all cases, legal action will be taken due to copyright infringement.
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