🐍The Year of the Snake | #68
SBR, Sony launches Soneium, TON goes exclusive on Telegram, China's central bank studies crypto, Russia and Bitcoin mining, SignalPlus, Keplr Wallet, Metaplanet, Sora Ventures
Welcome back to BlockchainAsia! I am Coco. In this issue, I'd like to share my insights on the SBR and spotlight some exciting investments and developments across Asia.
First, I want to wish you a Happy Chinese New Year of the Snake! The Snake symbolizes wisdom and strategic thinking. This year, businesses should focus on long-term planning and careful decision-making. Embracing the Snake's strategic approach, patience, and adaptability could lead to financial growth and success.
I'm particularly excited about the idea of creating the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR). The Executive Order signed by Trump asks the Working Group to evaluate the possibility of creating and maintaining a national digital asset stockpile. This stockpile could potentially be derived from cryptocurrencies lawfully seized by the Federal Government through its law enforcement efforts.
One common argument against the SBR is that it might undermine the US dollar. Nic Carter of Castle Island Ventures explains this in his recent article "I don’t support a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, and neither should you." Nic argues that a Bitcoin reserve wouldn't bolster the dollar because the US already issues the global reserve currency. He suggests that while other nations might benefit from acquiring Bitcoin, the US doesn't need to hedge its exposure to the dollar.
Matthew Sigel, Head of Digital Assets Research at VanEck, rebuts Nic’s article point by point on X. I agree with Nic that the SBR can start with the seized Bitcoin the government possesses. This approach wouldn't require too much political capital from Trump and his cabinet and would allow the US to take a baby step.
However, I disagree with Nic that creating a strategic reserve for Bitcoin signals a loss of confidence in the Dollar. The reality is that the rest of the world has been uncomfortable with US monetary and fiscal policies. Some major emerging markets' central banks have been looking for ways to decrease their exposure to US treasuries and turn to gold.
Matthew's rebuttal resonates with me. He argues that the Dollar doesn't need to fear Bitcoin as long as the US maintains a productivity and growth advantage, keeps debt at reasonable levels, and ensures the USD remains legal tender. He believes that projecting power in an emerging asset like Bitcoin is a strategic move.
I welcome your thoughts on this topic. Please feel free to leave your comments below.
Developments
Sony Block Solutions Lab launched Mainnet Soneium: Sony Block Solutions Lab, a joint venture between Sony Network Communications and Startale Labs, has launched Mainnet Soneium. This project, built on the Superchain and Op Stack developed by Optimism Foundation, focuses on serving content creators and their fans, enabling profit-sharing on-chain.
According to their press release, “Soneium's Day 1 ecosystem has shown great potential, with over 14 million unique addresses and 47 million transactions during the testnet phase.”
I'm excited about Soneium, which is backed by the Web2 conglomerate Sony Group, whose products and services expand from electronics to media & entertainment, and believe it will help migrate more users to Web3.
Meanwhile, I wonder when American companies similar to Sony Group, such as Apple and Amazon, will dip their toe into Web3 like Sony.
TON becomes the exclusive blockchain solution for mini-apps on Telegram: Toncoins are now the exclusive non-fiat cryptocurrency accepted for services like Telegram Stars, Premium services, Ads, and other digital assets on Telegram.
China’s Central Bank studying cryptocurrency: The 2024 Financial Stability Report mentions cryptocurrency 49 times and dedicates a session to research the global regulatory framework. The report highlights the reluctant approval of BTC ETFs by the US SEC and its warnings to investors regarding Bitcoin and crypto-related products.
Russia stepping up on Bitcoin mining: Russia's largest state-owned electricity giant, Rosseti, plans to utilize excess energy from underused power centers for Bitcoin mining. Russia officially legalized cryptocurrency mining in November 2024, with new regulations including a 15% tax on Bitcoin mining profits.
According to Hashrate Index, the US has a 36% hashrate global market share, Russia 16%, and China 14%.
Deals & Investments
SignalPlus: Singapore-based company providing software and infrastructure solutions for crypto derivatives, raised $11M in a Series B round from appWorks, OKX Ventures, Avenir Group, and HashKey Capital. SignalPlus' clients include Binance, Bybit, Deribit, OKX, and Paradigm.
Keplr Wallet: Singapore-based multi-chain wallet, raised a $5M seed round from 1confirmation, Coinbase Ventures, HashKey Capital, and Chorus One.
Metaplanet: a Japanese financial services company, is raising $745M by issuing 21 million shares of non-discounted warrants. The funds will be used to acquire 10,000 Bitcoin by the end of 2025 and 21,000 by the end of 2026 to add to the company's treasury. Metaplanet's stock performance ranked at the top of the Tokyo Stock Exchange after adding Bitcoin to its treasury.
Sora Ventures: Taiwan-based VC fund, recently launched a $150M fund to help publicly traded companies in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, and Thailand emulate MicroStratgy’s Bitcoin strategy. Metaplanet is Sora Ventures’ first case.
By the end of 2024, among the top 15 publicly traded companies with the largest Bitcoin holdings, two (Boyaa Interactive International Limited and Metaplanet) are Asian, and one (Bitcoin Group SE) is European.
Announcements
I uploaded to 中文頻道 a Chinese version of the Executive Order STRENGTHENING AMERICAN LEADERSHIP IN DIGITAL FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY signed by Donald Trump. Please help spread the word. It is a monumental EO for our industry.
I have also created a collection of the highlights from the 2024 BlockchainAsia Podcast episodes. The guests are thought-provoking!
Thank you for reading, until next time.
Coco
I am Coco Kee, author and host of World Ledger with Coco Kee newsletter and podcast, a rebrand from BlockchainAsia, the Co-founder of Kee Global Advisors, and a dog lover with a Goldendoodle Lucy.
My podcast is available on Substack, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Podcast, and many other major platforms like iHeart Podcasts, Goodpods, and Amazon Music Podcasters.
Email: worldledger@substack.com
The content in the newsletter and podcast is for informational and educational purposes only, represents personal views and opinions, and does not constitute investment advice or recommendations.