The Daily: Strategy's Saylor predicts bitcoin will 'double or triple' S&P returns, BitMine buys $84M in ETH as Tom Lee flags an 'attractive' entry point, and more
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
Happy Tuesday! CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju said bitcoin is "not pumpable right now," with $308 billion worth of inflows in 2025 coinciding with a $98 billion drop in market cap, as selling pressure overwhelms any multiplier effect.
In today's newsletter, Michael Saylor predicts bitcoin will "double or triple" S&P returns, BitMine buys another $84 million in ETH, South Korea launches an official probe into Bithumb, and more.
Meanwhile, jailed FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried filed a motion seeking a new trial.
P.S. Don't forget to check out The Funding, a biweekly rundown of crypto VC trends. It's a great read — and just like The Daily, it's free to subscribe!
Saylor says bitcoin will 'double or triple' S&P returns over coming years, vows Strategy won't be selling
Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor said bitcoin will "double or triple" the S&P 500's returns over the next four to eight years despite recent market volatility.
- Speaking Tuesday with co-anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin on CNBC's Squawk Box, Saylor also said Strategy will not sell its holdings under pressure and expects the company to keep buying bitcoin every quarter, "forever."
- Strategy continues to add to its bitcoin holdings even as the market value of its treasury now sits below its total acquisition cost after the pullback.
- The company disclosed Monday it bought another 1,142 BTC for about $90 million, lifting total holdings to 714,644 BTC, or more than 3.4% of bitcoin's 21 million fixed supply.
- CEO Phong Le recently told investors that Strategy's balance sheet would only face serious stress if bitcoin fell around 90% to roughly $8,000 and stayed there for five to six years.
- Saylor framed bitcoin's volatility as a feature rather than a flaw, arguing long-term investors focus on multi-year outperformance rather than short-term price swings.
BitMine buys $84 million in ETH as Tom Lee calls market pullback 'attractive' entry point
BitMine bought roughly $84 million worth of ether in a single day, acquiring another 40,000 ETH via FalconX and BitGo, according to onchain data.
- The purchases lift BitMine's total holdings to nearly 4.4 million ETH, putting the company roughly 72% of the way toward its stated goal of accumulating 5% of Ethereum's circulating supply.
- The company also stakes roughly 67% of its ETH holdings, generating about $202 million in annualized revenue while maintaining its bullish bet on Ethereum.
- Executive Chairman Tom Lee framed the recent market pullback, with ETH now 57% below peak, as an "attractive" entry point, arguing that price lags the network's growing utility and long-term role in finance.
South Korea launches probe into Bithumb over $43 billion fat-finger incident
South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service launched a full-scale investigation into Bithumb after the crypto exchange mistakenly distributed about $43 billion worth of bitcoin to users in a platform error.
- The incident saw Bithumb accidentally distribute "620,000 BTC" on internal ledgers during a promotional campaign after a staff member input rewards in BTC instead of Korean won, despite the exchange reportedly only holding around 46,000 BTC at the time.
- Bithumb said it recovered 99.7% of the misdistributed bitcoin and 93% of the 1,788 BTC that users sold.
- It also pledged 110% compensation to users affected by the subsequent price plunge on Bithumb, while announcing tighter internal controls and a $68 million user protection fund.
- The error intensified political and regulatory scrutiny, with lawmakers citing systemic risk management failures and pushing for tougher exchange rules as South Korea debates digital asset regulations.
Vitalik Buterin sketches near-term vision for Ethereum's role in an AI-driven future
Vitalik Buterin argued that Ethereum's role in an AI-driven future lies in shaping how systems interact, coordinate, and govern rather than racing toward artificial general intelligence.
- He emphasized near-term tooling such as trustless and private AI access, including local large language models, cryptographic payments, and client-side verification to reduce reliance on centralized intermediaries.
- Buterin positioned Ethereum as a potential economic coordination layer where AI agents could transact, post collateral, and build reputational histories onchain.
- He also said AI could help scale governance and markets by augmenting human judgment in areas like prediction markets and DAO decision-making, aligning with his concept of "defensive acceleration."
Backpack exchange reaches $1 billion unicorn valuation on tokenization push
Backpack, the crypto exchange founded by former FTX employees, is in talks to raise $50 million at a $1 billion pre-money valuation, marking unicorn status, according to Axios.
- The company outlined a tokenization plan that splits its total 1 billion exchange token supply between pre-IPO circulation and a large post-IPO treasury, which co-founder Armani Ferrante said is designed to prevent dumping on retail investors and align incentives long term.
- Backpack plans to airdrop 250 million tokens to early users while expanding beyond its wallet roots into a regulated spot and derivatives exchange, lending, and prediction markets.
In the next 24 hours
- U.S. mortgage data are due at 7 a.m. ET on Wednesday. U.S. nonfarm payroll numbers follow at 8:30 a.m.
- U.S. FOMC member Michelle Bowman is scheduled to speak at 10:15 a.m.
- Avalanche is among the crypto projects set for token unlocks.
- Consensus Hong Kong, Bitcoin Investor Week, and Cayman Crypto Week continue.
Never miss a beat with The Block's daily digest of the most influential events happening across the digital asset ecosystem.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
You may also like
Trump Rejects Iran's Proposal for Talks; Global Stocks and Bonds Under Pressure, Oil Prices Up Over 2%, Gold Falls Below 4200
Trump rejected Iran's latest proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, causing the optimistic sentiment in the market last Friday to quickly reverse amidst the Middle East diplomatic stalemate. Brent crude oil rose over 2%, gold fell below $4,200, and silver dropped more than 4%. Asia-Pacific stock markets broadly declined, with South Korea's KOSPI falling over 2%. Global bond markets came under pressure, and the yield on the US 2-year Treasury rose to 4.90%. Market focus will shift to this week's PCE inflation data and the non-farm payroll report.
Indian Rupee starts the week negatively amid higher oil prices
AI demand drives TSMC to accelerate capacity expansion, 2nm monthly production aims for 120,000 wafers by year-end
According to reports, industry giants such as Apple, Nvidia, and AMD have collectively increased their orders by 10% to 20%, directly boosting TSMC's 2nm monthly production capacity to 120,000 wafers by the end of the year, which exceeds the previous estimate by more than 20% and brings forward the 2027 target by two years. For the first time in history, five factories will ramp up production simultaneously, and the annual compound growth rate of capacity from 2026 to 2028 will reach as high as 70%.
Long-term US Treasury Sell-off Continues! 10-Year Treasury Yield Breaks 5.2% Again, “AI Boom vs. Rising Financing Costs” Narrative Showdown Intensifies
On Monday, oil prices rose and US Treasury bonds were sold off again as former US President Donald Trump rejected Iran's latest proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, heightening concerns about inflation.
