0xScope Newsletter #27: BTC ETF-Driven Whale Moves

Also: Linea on Scopescan, our probe on Lazarus's BTC laundering schemes, the latest hot trends on Web3, and more.

Jan 11, 2024

Scoped on Scopescan: What were whales doing in preparation for spot BTC ETF approval?

Spot Bitcoin ETFs finally gained U.S. regulatory approval after months of anticipation (and a Twitter hack-related false start). Here are some major whale moves this past week:

An address connected to Cumberland received 261M $USDT in 2 days and sent them all to Binance.
A new crypto wallet got 160.91M $USDT from Tether, then deposited them to multiple CEXs.
Justin Sun deposited 54.9M $USDT to Binance shortly before the ETF approval.
After ETF approval, an $ETH whale withdrew $14.88M from Binance, growing its $ETH stash to $54.04M.
Another $ETH whale accumulated $40M, including $9.35M from Kraken recently.

Don’t miss out on the latest whale movements. Sign up for Scopescan here.

Scopescan now supports Linea

Here are some quick facts about Linea, the Ethereum Layer-2 platform created by MetaMask maker ConsenSys:

Total TVL: $61.2M (as of Jan. 11, all-time high)
Total ETH bridged: 336,666.77 $ETH
Top project by TVL: Mendi Finance ($11.41M)

Learn more about Linea in our new ecosystem overview here.

Lazarus launders BTC before ETF decision, SEC hack on X

Bitcoin ETF mania is running so wild, hacked X accounts notwithstanding, that even North Korean cybercrime group Lazarus had prepared for it. Our team looked into how Lazarus shifted its BTC around before the ETFs' approval. Read more here.

Web3 enters 2024 with a bearish $2.8B TVL loss

Web3 TVL was down by $2.8B last week, with 67% of all ecosystems suffering losses.

- Ethereum, Solana, BSC, Avalanche account for $2.2B of the industry's TVL losses

- Manta grew 20x over the past 3 weeks, from $18M to $356M, while Algorand lost half its TVL (-$94.3B)

- TinyTap by Animoca Brands adds 720K users in December, 118K this week

Read more Web3 Hot Trends here.

On-chain Data

BTC ETF frenzy leads to boosted asset inflows for most major exchanges

This week, all major exchanges (except for Bitget) saw net asset inflows of at least 4.5%, led by Crypto.com with 12.12%. Other exchanges with double-digit asset boosts are Kraken with 10.4% and Huobi with 10.31%, while Binance’s net assets jumped by almost $6B (+6.86%).

Token cliff unlocks for APE, AXS next week

In the upcoming week, you should pay attention to the unlocking of $22.31M worth of APR tokens (4.23% of circulating supply) on January 17, followed by AXS’s bigger $29.32M unlocking (2.53% of circulating supply) on January 18.

If you're a supporter of these tokens, please be mindful of potential price fluctuations in the days to come, and follow the 0xScope Twitter account for more information.

Company Announcement

Upcoming Changes to Scopechat: Trader-Focused Features

Scopechat is continuously upgrading to prepare for a bigger launch soon. The 0xScope team has unveiled a slate of updates that will boost Scopechat’s value as the ultimate AI trading companion. Read about these new upcoming enhancements here.

Make better trading decisions soon, join the Scopechat waitlist.

Be the next 0xScope Ambassador!

0xScope is looking for talent! Passionate about growing your community and showcasing your investigation skills? Become a 0xScope Ambassador, lead the charge, and get a chance to be featured here! If you think you are a good fit or know somebody who is, please reach out at hr@0xscope.com.

0xScope Community Highlights This Week

Quick Bites

First spot Bitcoin ETF in US begins trading in pre-market with double-digit gains - LINK

Gary Gensler voted to approve Bitcoin ETFs, despite public criticism - LINK

Ether ETF hopes drive smart money bets after historic Bitcoin ETF approval - LINK

Apple pulls Binance, Kraken, other crypto apps from India App Store - LINK

Digital Currency Group confirms settling $700M of debt with Genesis - LINK