ANIS ALI MALLIK

14 February 2025Macro/TradFiUS CPI inflation came in at 3% year-on-year, slightly higher than expectations of 2.9%. The month-on-month increase of 0.5% is the highest since August 2023. The Producer Price Index (“PPI”) also came in higher than expected at 3.5% year-on-year, up from 3.3% the previous month.Strategy acquired 7,633 BTC for US$742M at US$97,255 per Bitcoin. It holds now 478,740 BTC acquired for ~US$31B at an average of ~US$65,033 per Bitcoin.Energy storage company, KULR, which recently committed to a Bitcoin Treasury strategy, has acquired 100 BTC for US$10M, with its total holdings reaching 610 BTC. CoinShares has become the latest issuer to file for XRP and LTC ETFs. Bloomberg analysts recently analysed the various spot ETF filings in the U.S. and concluded that Litecoin has the highest chances of 2025 approval, followed by Dogecoin, Solana and XRP. Grayscale has filed for the first-ever Cardano (ADA) spot ETF.CryptoL1/L2:The TON chain has integrated with LayerZero to support cross-chain transfers across multiple chains, including Ethereum, Solana, and Tron. DeFi:Uniswap Labs has launched its Ethereum L2 chain, Unichain. Unichain is built on the OP Superchain and promises 1-second block times and gas costs ~95% lower than Ethereum L1. They also implement ERC-7683 to improve cross-chain interoperability. Leading Ethereum liquid staking provider, Lido, has released v3. V3 introduces stVaults, which are modular smart contacts, designed to allow institutions to tailor staking setups to ensure better compliance and operational control. Others:The NEAR Foundation has launched a US$20M AI Agent Fund, focusing on scaling the development of fully autonomous and verifiable agents built on NEAR technology. Ethereum security platform, Drosera, has raised US$3.25M.Latest Binance Research Publications Check out our latest publications:Monthly Market Insights - February 2025From Challenges to Opportunities: How DeSci Reimagines ScienceFull-Year 2024 & Themes for 2025That’s a wrap!Binance ResearchAbout Binance Research: Binance Research is the research arm of Binance, the world's leading cryptocurrency exchange. The team is committed to delivering objective, independent, and comprehensive analysis and aims to be the thought leader in the crypto space. Our analysts publish insightful thought pieces regularly on topics related but not limited to, the crypto ecosystem, blockchain technologies, and the latest market themes.General Disclosure: This material is prepared by Binance Research and is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast or investment advice, and is not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities, cryptocurrencies or to adopt any investment strategy. The use of terminology and the views expressed are intended to promote understanding and the responsible development of the sector and should not be interpreted as definitive legal views or those of Binance. The opinions expressed are as of the date shown above and are the opinions of the writer, they may change as subsequent conditions vary. The information and opinions contained in this material are derived from proprietary and non-proprietary sources deemed by Binance Research to be reliable, are not necessarily all-inclusive and are not guaranteed as to accuracy. As such, no warranty of accuracy or reliability is given and no responsibility arising in any other way for errors and omissions (including responsibility to any person by reason of negligence) is accepted by Binance. This material may contain ’forward looking’ information that is not purely historical in nature. Such information may include, among other things, projections and forecasts. There is no guarantee that any forecasts made will come to pass. Reliance upon information in this material is at the sole discretion of the reader. This material is intended for information purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell in any securities, cryptocurrencies or any investment strategy nor shall any securities or cryptocurrency be offered or sold to any person in any jurisdiction in which an offer, solicitation, purchase or sale would be unlawful under the laws of such jurisdiction. Investment involves risks.

According to PANews, BlackRock (BLK) has disclosed in its latest 13G filing that it has increased its stake in Strategy (MSTR) to 5%, amounting to approximately 11.2 million shares. This marks a rise from the 4.09% stake reported on September 30, 2024, reflecting a 0.91% increase. The 13G filing is typically used to report passive investments, indicating that the investor does not intend to influence or control the company. Meanwhile, Strategy's perpetual preferred stock (STRK) has been listed on Nasdaq, experiencing a 2% increase on its first trading day with a volume exceeding 650,000 shares, and a further 5% rise in pre-market trading.