🔔 MARKET MOVING NEWS! (06/01/25)
1️⃣ MARA Says 16% Of Its BTC Reserves Has Been Loaned To Third Parties For 'Modest' Yield 💰
In MARA Holdings’ December 2024 production update, the Bitcoin miner disclosed the existence of short-term third-party loans intended to generate a modest yield for the company. Specifically, MARA revealed that 7,377 BTC (16.4% of its BTC reserves) was currently deployed in short-term third-party loans to generate additional yield for shareholders. Robert Samuels, MARA's vice president of investor relations, claimed that the lending program has been active throughout 2024. However, the identity of the borrowers was not disclosed. The production update also revealed that the company bought 22,065 BTC at an average price of $87,205 and mined 9,457 BTC in 2024. This brings its reserves to a total of 44,893 BTC (worth over $4.4 billion at current prices).
2️⃣ Metaplanet Eyes Upping Bitcoin Holdings To 10K BTC In 2025 💸
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According to a Jan. 5 X post by Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich, the Japan-based venture capital firm plans to expand its Bitcoin stash to 10,000 BTC in 2025. Notably, this represents more than a five-fold increase from its current holdings of 1,762 BTC (worth $173.4 million). Gerovich stated that the firm plans to do this “by utilising the most accretive capital market tools available.” He also stated that the move is part of a plan to “grow Metaplanet’s impact in Japan and the Bitcoin ecosystem.” According to BitcoinTreasuries.NET data, Metaplanet is the largest corporate Bitcoin holder in Asia and has the 15th largest Bitcoin holdings among publicly listed companies.
3️⃣ Ripple CEO says 75% of Open Roles Are Now US-based Due to ‘Trump Effect' ⚡️
In an X post on Sunday, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said that 75% of the company’s open job positions are now based in the U.S. He revealed that Ripple had been making the “vast majority” of its hires outside of the U.S. in the past four years due to the company’s years-long legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Garlinghouse also stated that the company signed more deals in the U.S. in the final six weeks of 2024 than in the previous six months.
The post reads,
2025 is here and the Trump bull market is real. For Ripple, this is even more personal after Gensler's SEC effectively froze our business opportunities here at home for years. The optimism is obvious and very deserved […] Team Trump is already jumpstarting innovation and job growth in the US with Scott Bessent, David Sacks, Paul Atkins and others at the helm, and they aren’t even in office yet! Say what you want, but the “Trump effect” is already making crypto great again – through his campaign, and in the Administration’s day 1 priorities.
4️⃣ Korea’s Jeju to Issue NFT Tourist Cards to Boost Gen Z Visitors 🔍
According to local media reports, South Korea’s Jeju Island is planning to boost visitation by issuing a "digital tourism resident card" that allows holders to enjoy various benefits such as travel subsidies. The digital tourism cards are expected to be issued in the second half of 2025 as an NFT. The island reportedly hopes the digital and NFT-based travel cards will pique the interest of millennials and Generation Z. The NFT-linked tourist cards will reportedly first undergo a trial before a slated full rollout in the second half of next 2025.
