Bitcoin rebounds off of crucial $90k level as Trump admin reaffirms support
Weekly Market Update #56
Before diving into this week’s report, be sure to check out some of our recently released research content:
Major developments for the week:
Spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs: Net flows were $312.8 million for Bitcoin ETFs and -$186 million for Ethereum ETFs
Tether announced plans to relocate its operations to El Salvador
MicroStrategy purchased an additional $243 million worth of Bitcoin
Sol Strategies secured a $25 million credit line to invest in SOL tokens and staking
Elixir and Securitize partnered to enable DeFi access for Hamilton Lane’s SCOPE Fund
ai16zdao released ElizaOS v0.1.8
HyperliquidX published a review of its 2024 activities
HYPE stakers will receive $ANIME from Azuki
Animecoin revealed its new tokenomics
Over this five‐day window, total inflows and outflows across all tracked spot Bitcoin ETFs netted to a positive $312.8 million, despite several days of pronounced volatility. The first trading day saw a substantial combined inflow of nearly $979 million, largely propelled by strong additions to FBTC and IBIT. After that burst of inflows, overall flows moderated significantly on January 7 to about $52 million, as IBIT continued to attract new capital while FBTC, BITB, ARKB, and GBTC experienced notable redemptions. The third day witnessed a swing toward heavy outflows, culminating in a net withdrawal of $568.8 million, the sharpest single‐day decline in this dataset. No flows were recorded on January 9, while the final session concluded with net outflows of $149.4 million, offset in part by positive flows into FBTC and GBTC. In aggregate, IBIT emerged as the largest net gainer at $497.6 million, whereas ARKB and GBTC posted some of the largest net losses.
On another Bitcoin related note, MicroStrategy recently acquired an additional 2,530 Bitcoin for $243 million, with an average purchase price of $95,972 per Bitcoin. The purchase was financed through the sale of 710,425 company shares. This latest acquisition brings the company's total Bitcoin holdings to 450,000 BTC, accumulated at an average cost of $62,691 per Bitcoin, with a total investment now reaching $28.2 billion. Despite ongoing market fluctuations, MicroStrategy remains committed to its aggressive Bitcoin acquisition strategy as part of its long-term value approach.
Over this same five‐day period, spot Ethereum ETFs registered a net loss of roughly $186 million, driven mainly by a series of sizable redemptions after an initial inflow on January 6. On the first day, inflows totaled about $128.7 million, stemming almost entirely from ETHA’s substantial capital additions. However, large outflows in FETH on the subsequent two sessions (January 7 and 8), combined with negative flows from ETHE and Grayscale ETH, pushed the aggregate balance sharply lower, culminating in a -$159.4 million move on January 8 alone. No notable activity took place on January 9, while January 10 concluded with further net outflows of -$68.5 million, largely attributable to FETH’s continued redemptions. Ultimately, although ETHA’s early inflows offered a brief positive start, the heavy outflows in the remaining four days left the market for spot Ethereum ETFs decisively in the red by the period’s close.
Elixir and Securitize Partnered
Another interesting development came from Elixir last week. Elixir is a decentralized protocol designed to enhance liquidity for DEXs through an orderbook-based model. It operates on a Delegated Proof of Stake consensus mechanism, ensuring scalable and secure market functionality. A key innovation of Elixir is deUSD, a fully collateralized synthetic stablecoin backed by assets such as stETH and sDAI. This stablecoin facilitates liquidity provision and yield-generating opportunities across DeFi platforms. The protocol also supports cross-chain interoperability, integrating with multiple blockchain ecosystems to deliver decentralized liquidity solutions while reducing dependence on centralized market makers.
Elixir recently partnered with Securitize to provideDeFi access for Hamilton Lane’s Senior Credit Opportunities Fund (SCOPE Fund). Beginning January 13, 2025, institutional asset holders will be able to leverage Elixir’s decentralized stablecoin, deUSD, to engage in DeFi activities while maintaining isolated exposure to the fund. Tokenized on Solana in July 2024, the SCOPE Fund benefits from improved liquidity and composability via deUSD, without impacting its underlying investment yields. This partnership marks a significant step in bridging traditional finance with blockchain ecosystems, expanding DeFi utility for institutional real-world assets.
Sol Strategies secured a $25 million credit line
On a shorter note, Sol Strategies, a Canadian investment firm, has secured a CAD $25 million (approximately $17.4 million USD) revolving credit facility to bolster its investments in SOL and expand staking operations. The facility, offered by chairman Antanas Guoga at a 5% annual interest rate, will be used to acquire SOL tokens, improve validator operations, and pursue acquisitions in decentralized finance and liquidity provision. To date, the firm has utilized $4 million of the facility and plans to allocate the remaining funds by 2027, reinforcing its position within the Solana ecosystem. Below is an overview of the current Solana validator landscape as provided by solanabeachio:
HyperliquidX Published a Review of its 2024 Activities
The final update of this week comes from Hyperliquid who released their 2024 report. At the start of 2024, Hyperliquid began as a little-known perpetual DEX and ended it as a leading decentralised finance hub, processing billions in daily volume with a vibrant ecosystem of builders, traders, and community members. It achieved record-breaking growth without any external funding, returning all trading fees to the community - reflecting Hyperliquid’s commitment to crypto’s core ethos of fair, permissionless finance.
Key highlights from 2024
Core releases: HIP-1 and HIP-2 (native spot token standards), HyperBFT consensus, Testnet EVM, builder codes, HYPE genesis event, staking
Exclusive builds: HypurrFun (memecoin trading and cabal creation), Pvp.trade (Telegram bot for trading and alpha sharing), HypurrScan (blockchain explorer)
Native token launches: VAPOR, FARM, plus memecoins like CATBAL and PIP
Ecosystem integrations: deBridge, Synapse, DEX Screener, CCXT, Hummingbot, Notifi, Push, STFX, Copin, and more
Community-led initiatives: HypurrCo (events and advocacy), HyperActive (early-stage investment), Hyperliquid KR (Korean user community)
Growth metrics: Daily volume rose from $1B to $15B, open interest from $178M to $4.3B, TVL from $56M to $2.1B, user count from 31k to 300k, and daily revenue surpassed $3.5M
Looking ahead to 2025, Hyperliquid aims to expand its mission to house all finance, welcoming more builders, users, and community-driven innovation.
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Disclaimer: This research report is exactly that — a research report. It is not intended to serve as financial advice, nor should you blindly assume that any of the information is accurate without confirming through your own research. Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, and other digital assets are incredibly risky and nothing in this report should be considered an endorsement to buy or sell any asset. Never invest more than you are willing to lose and understand the risk that you are taking. Do your own research. All information in this report is for educational purposes only and should not be the basis for any investment decisions that you make.