GM, Anon! It appears that momentum is picking up in the market once again. ETF inflows have been robust, and Bitcoin is showing strong upward movement. Could we be on the verge of reaching new ATHs? Signs point to yes! Let’s dive in!

Bitcoin Updates & Metrics

• As reported by the Financial Times, major investment firms such as BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, Invesco, and Bitwise have initiated advertising campaigns for Bitcoin spot ETFs on Google's platform. 

• Amidst the upcoming Bitcoin halving event, mining costs have surged prompting miners to optimize operations for profitability. Additionally, Canaan secured over $50M in financing, signaling confidence in the mining hardware sector, while industry veteran Jihan Wu assumed the role of CEO at Bitdeer.

• BitFuFu, Bitmain's mining subsidiary, is poised for a United States listing via a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) in the near future. 

• Sam Altman is actively pursuing $7T in funding to tackle the global chip shortage. This ambitious endeavor aims to mitigate the semiconductor supply constraints that have impacted various industries worldwide.

• Ethiopia has rapidly ascended as one of the primary recipients of Bitcoin mining machinery globally. 

• Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood said that Bitcoin is actually replacing gold as a value storage asset.

• As the Bitcoin halving approaches, BTC miner CleanSpark is gearing up for reduced fees.

• Kraken and OKX are among the latest crypto exchanges expanding into new markets. Kraken has recently completed registrations in the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, and Ireland, ahead of the forthcoming implementation of the EU’s MiCA regulation.

• The New York Attorney General has broadened its legal action against Digital Currency Group, tripling the projected scale of fraudulent activities to over $3B.

• Coinbase's latest report highlights the potential cost-saving benefits of blockchain technology, suggesting that consumers could collectively save a substantial $74B in credit card transaction fees. 

Updates across various sectors:

• Federal Reserve Chairman Powell suggested a potential delay in interest rate cuts until after March to ensure sustainable achievement of the 2% inflation target. Expectations are for three cuts this year, though at a slower pace.

• US Treasury Secretary Yellen called for crypto legislation to address enforcement gaps, while concerns over central bank digital currencies and AI's power were expressed by Trump.

• The SEC introduced a rule that could require DEX liquidity positions above $50M to register. Additionally, a judge ruled in favor of the SEC in demanding Ripple disclose financial statements.

• Market-wise, New York Community Bank stock dropped by 25%, raising asset concerns, while Major French Bank SocGen announced plans to cut around 900 jobs.

• Solana partnered with Abu Dhabi Global Market to boost web3 adoption in the UAE, while OKX faced potential probes in South Korea. 

• Thailand exempted value-added tax on crypto gains, contrasting India's controversial stance.

• Hong Kong initiated an inquiry into Worldcoin over data privacy concerns. 

• Michael Saylor capitalized amidst market stagnation by acquiring an additional 850 BTC.

• In ETF updates, Ark Invest and 21Shares adjusted their joint application for a spot Ethereum ETF, focusing on cash-based transactions and hinting at ETH staking. 

• FTX filed a motion to offload a stake in AI startup Anthropic, while Binance faced a data leak on GitHub.

• Lastly, Chinese scholars stressed the importance of addressing crypto-related money laundering, with revisions to China's Anti-Money Laundering Law expected by 2025.

Inflows and Outflows Overview: Last week, digital asset investment products attracted substantial inflows, reaching $708M, bringing the year-to-date total to $1.6B, with global assets under management now standing at $53B.

• Bitcoin dominated these inflows, representing 99% of the total, while Solana also recorded noteworthy inflows of $13M.

• In the US, newly launched ETFs averaged $1.9B in inflows over the past four weeks, totaling $7.7B since inception.

• However, there were minor outflows totaling $5.3M from short-bitcoin products.

• Despite this, trading volumes in ETPs decreased compared to the previous week but remained considerably higher than the 2023 average.

• Regionally, the US observed $721M in inflows, with a notable slowdown in outflows from existing issuers.

• Additionally, there were significant outflows of $147M from one blockchain equities issuer, while others experienced inflows totaling $11M.

In January, the crypto venture capital sector witnessed 113 publicly disclosed investment projects, marking a 10.8% increase from December 2023 and a 1.8% increase from January 2023.

• DeFi emerged as the leading industry, securing approximately 19% of financing, followed by infrastructure projects at 12%, NFT/GameFi and CeFi each representing around 12% and 6%, respectively, with L1/L2 making up roughly 4%.

• Despite a 28.6% decrease from December 2023, the total fundraising amount for January reached $650M, showing a 3.2% increase from January 2023.

• Notable funding rounds included HashKey Group's Series A funding, Core Scientific's successful equity offering, Flowdesk's Series B round, and Sygnum's strategic financing round. 

• Additional investments were made in projects like Portal, Polymer Labs, Ingonyama, Axiom, Kiln, and SkyArk Chronicles, reflecting the diverse range of initiatives drawing investor interest in the crypto space.