Kong Jianping: Bitcoin Price Driver is Transitioning from "Cognitive Diffusion" to "Supply Contraction"

On December 29th, Chainalysis data cited by The Block reveals North Korean hackers stole a record $2.17 billion in cryptocurrency in 2025—including nearly $1.5 billion in Ethereum from the Bybit exchange, marking the largest single crypto hack in history. Additionally, North Korean hackers are accused of recently stealing $37 million in an attack on South Korean exchange Upbit. Despite international sanctions, North Korea’s cyberattacks continue to escalate, with groups like Lazarus refining their tactics to exploit vulnerabilities in the global blockchain and crypto ecosystem. Chainalysis Director of National Security Intelligence Andrew Fierman noted sanctions alone are far from sufficient: coordinated industry-wide action is needed to counter North Korea’s increasingly sophisticated hacker and money-laundering network. The regime is expected to keep relying on crypto hacks as a key revenue source.

December 29th — Russian police have detained seven employees of Rosseti Moscow Region, suspected of aiding illegal cryptocurrency mining operations in the Moscow region. The detained individuals held positions ranging from regular electricians to senior engineers. Investigators stated the power company employees provided paid "services" to illegal mining farms, including artificially lowering electricity meter readings, helping to bypass regulations, and giving advance notice of inspections. According to Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, preliminary economic damage from these activities totals approximately 10 million rubles. (Bits Media)

On December 29, Arkham Data reports Galaxy Digital moved approximately 447 Bitcoins (BTC) to crypto exchanges Bybit and Bitstamp. Notably, the firm hasn’t made a large Bitcoin transfer of this size in roughly one month — its last comparable move occurred 30 days prior.

December 29 — According to monitoring data from BitcoinTreasuries.NET, Singapore-listed Bitcoin mining firm Bitdeer Technologies (ticker: BTDR) has increased its Bitcoin holdings by 1.5 BTC, bringing its current total holdings to 1,998.3 BTC.

December 29 — Presto Research researcher Rick Maeda noted that Bitcoin’s push back above $90,000 is primarily driven by technical factors, not a single new catalyst. “The $90,000 level was a clear resistance zone, and once Bitcoin found its footing, it likely triggered short covering and momentum-fueled buying pressure,” he said. Kronos Research Chief Information Officer Vincent Liu echoed this view, stating Bitcoin rebounded after a period of consolidation at a technical support level — with that “key level now flipped back to a support level.” Bitrue Head of Research Andri Fauzan Adziima added that Bitcoin’s upward momentum reflects technical relief tied to options expirations and altcoin-led correlation. He also noted over $1 billion in ETF outflows (linked to tax loss harvesting and broader de-risking) weighed on Bitcoin in December, which “essentially traded within a range of $86,500 to $90,000.” (Source: The Block)

On December 29, market data shows Lighter (LIT) is trading at $3.423 in pre-market, with a corresponding fully diluted valuation (FDV) of $34.23 billion. Meanwhile, Polymarket odds put the probability of Lighter (LIT)’s FDV topping $30 billion one day post-listing at just 47%. As of press time, total funds staked on this prediction have hit $50.4 million.