Gate Research Institute: Encryption users stolen 50 million USDT ｜ Hilbert Group acquisition of Enigma Nordic

2025-12-22 06:53:18

Crypto Market Overview

BTC (0.77% | Current Price 88,919 USDT): After a rapid decline in the previous round, BTC quickly stabilized and rebounded, with the low point around 84,460 USD. Subsequently, the price continuously rose and re-established itself above 88,000 USD, currently oscillating in the 88,800–89,000 range. Overall, market sentiment is gradually recovering from panic, with short-term trends shifting from weak to strong. From a technical structure perspective, the short-term moving averages have gradually flattened and turned upward, with MA5 and MA10 providing close support to the price, and the price running above MA30, indicating that the rebound trend is still continuing. The previous rebound was accompanied by an increase in trading volume, indicating a clear willingness of capital to enter at low levels, but recently the volume has contracted, and the market has entered a digestion phase. Currently, there is significant pressure in the range of 89,500–90,000. If there is a subsequent breakout with increased volume and it stabilizes in that area, the price may have the opportunity to test the previous high at 90,360 again; conversely, if there are repeated obstacles at higher levels, the price may retreat to around 88,000 or even 87,500 for consolidation. Overall, the short-term pattern is biased towards strength but the pace has slowed, making it more suitable to wait for a pullback confirmation or follow the trend after a breakout.
ETH (1.91% | Current price 3,031 USDT): After a sharp drop to around 2,775 USDT in the previous round, ETH quickly stabilized and rebounded, with prices consistently rising. Currently, it is operating around the 3,030 USDT mark, and has refreshed the recent high near 3,060 USDT. The overall trend shows a structure of deep pullback followed by a strong consolidation, with market sentiment clearly recovering. From a technical perspective, the short-term moving averages MA5 and MA10 have clearly turned upwards and closely align with the price, while MA30 is flattening and beginning to rise. Prices are stabilizing above the mid-term moving averages, and the short-term bullish structure remains intact. The previous rebound phase was accompanied by increased volume, indicating active entry of funds at lower levels, while recent trading volumes have stabilized, with prices more often consolidating at high levels. Currently, the 3,050–3,080 USDT area constitutes a short-term resistance zone, and if there is a volume breakout and stabilization above this level, it may further open up upward space; the 3,000 USDT mark serves as important support. If broken, it may pull back to the 2,960–2,980 USDT area for technical consolidation. Overall, the short-term trend for ETH is relatively strong, but attention should still be paid to the risks of oscillation and retracement after reaching the previous high.
Altcoins: Most mainstream altcoins have maintained a slight increase, with market sentiment primarily being “neutral” or “buying”. The Fear and Greed Index today reports 25, still in the panic range, indicating that market sentiment has not yet recovered.
Macro: On December 19, the S&P 500 index rose by 0.88%, closing at 6,834.50 points; the Dow Jones index increased by 0.38%, closing at 48,134.89 points; the Nasdaq index rose by 1.31%, closing at 23,307.62 points. As of December 22, 10:57 AM ( UTC+8, the spot gold price is temporarily reported at 4,386 dollars per ounce, with a 24H increase of 1.11%.

Popular Tokens on Juejin

RAVE RAVEDAO (+84.45%, circulating market cap 159 million USD)

According to market data from Gate, the current price of RAVE token is $0.7129, having increased by 84.45% in the last 24 hours. RAVEDAO is a community driven by cryptocurrency. Since the tickets for the first event in Dubai in 2024 sold out, they have expanded their business to Europe, the Middle East, North America, and Asia, hosting world-class experiential events with a total attendance of over 100,000 people, and more than 3,000 attendees at each event. RaveDAO is redefining live entertainment in the Web3 era and has established positive collaborations with 1001Tracklists, AMF, and Warner Music. Beyond the dance floor, RaveDAO also focuses its energy and attention on causes that create positive impacts. In 2025 alone, the proceeds from its events helped restore the vision of over 400 cataract patients in Nepal and funded over 150 meditation projects worldwide.

According to the latest market news, RAVE has risen in the last 24 hours mainly for the following reasons: the overall crypto market has shown a slight recovery against the backdrop of the Christmas market, making RAVE one of the hot topics for investors and driving up its short-term trading activity. The increase in RAVE's trading activity and the rotation of funds into small-cap assets have also contributed to the price increase. Although there have been multiple listings and contract support news recently that have driven the early upward trend, the latest 24-hour increase more reflects the improvement in market sentiment and the short-term effect of trading activity concentrated on this token.

ZKP zkPass (+82.79%, circulating market cap $3,309 million)

According to Gate.io market data, the current price of ZKP tokens is $0.164, up approximately 82.79% in the last 24 hours. zkPass is a private data protocol based on zero-knowledge proof technology, committed to building a verifiable internet; the project integrates a decentralized oracle network architecture through MPC, zero-knowledge proofs, and 3P-TLS, allowing users to generate encrypted proofs from private Web data to verify the authenticity of HTTPS data without revealing privacy. Its core product, TransGate SDK, provides a low-code privacy verification solution, mainly applied in scenarios such as decentralized identity, privacy KYC, and DeFi risk control.

Recently, the price of ZKP has surged significantly within 24 hours, primarily driven by a notable increase in trading enthusiasm and market attention. According to market data, both the trading volume and price increase of ZKP have appeared among the top varieties on the price ranking list. As one of the hot coins on Gate, it has garnered more attention from traders who are actively buying, leading to a short-term price rise. At the same time, the expansion of trading volumes in active trading pairs on the exchange has also boosted the upward momentum.

BEAT Audiera (+64.36%, circulating market value 534 million USD)

According to Gate's market data, the current price of the BEAT token is $3.89, with an increase of about 64.36% in the last 24 hours. Audiera (BEAT) is the Web3 version of the globally popular dance music game IP, Audition, which has over 600 million users worldwide. It integrates artificial intelligence and blockchain technology to create an immersive, creation-driven experience. Users can interact with AI idols, create music, mint it as NFTs, and experience full-body gaming through smart fitness mats. The ecosystem includes a mobile game, a mini application, and an AI-driven creative studio.

In the last 24 hours, the price of BEAT has risen mainly driven by the market's increased interest in Web3 gaming and AI-related tokens, with investor sentiment active in small-cap and conceptual tokens, leading to significant capital inflows and increased trading volume. As a Web3 gaming entertainment token, BEAT has shown a high level of market attention and growth in wallet addresses during this recent increase, which has, to some extent, attracted buying pressure from speculators participating in short-term trading. Additionally, active trading on exchanges and exposure on mainstream platforms also contribute to enhancing its short-term performance.

Alpha Interpretation

Address poisoning scam reappears, encryption users lose 50 million USDT

A cryptocurrency user recently fell victim to a typical “address poisoning” scam, mistakenly transferring approximately 50 million USD worth of USDT into a wallet controlled by the scammer within a short period. The scammer first created an address that was very similar at both ends to the target address and sent a very small “dust transaction” to the victim, polluting their transaction history. After completing the small test transfer, the victim copied the address from the transaction history for a large transfer, ultimately sending 49,999,950 USD worth of USDT to the attacker.

On-chain data shows that the stolen funds were subsequently exchanged for Ethereum and dispersed to multiple addresses, with some funds also interacting with mixing tools to cover their tracks. In response, the victims have publicly posted information on-chain, demanding the attackers return 98% of the funds within 48 hours, offering a reward of 1 million dollars, while warning that legal and criminal measures will be taken if there is no cooperation. This incident once again reminds us that address poisoning is not a technical vulnerability, but a social engineering attack that exploits users' habits of copying and pasting and relying on partial address matching.

Hilbert Group acquired Enigma Nordic for $25 million, enhancing its institutional-grade crypto market trading layout.

Swedish investment company Hilbert Group announced the completion of its acquisition of the high-frequency crypto market trading platform Enigma Nordic, with a total transaction value of up to $25 million. According to the transaction arrangement, Hilbert will pay $7.5 million in newly issued shares at closing, with the remaining $17.5 million linked to future performance, provided that Enigma's quantitative trading strategy achieves a cumulative net profit of $40 million within the agreed period. This acquisition enables Hilbert to gain access to Enigma's proprietary systematic trading technology for executing market-neutral strategies on global digital asset exchanges.

This transaction further advances Hilbert's institutional encryption investment strategy. The company plans to integrate Enigma's quantitative and high-frequency trading platform into its hedge fund and proprietary trading systems, having previously launched institution-grade hedge fund products priced in Bitcoin. Despite the risks of yield dilution and strategy failure facing high-frequency trading, Hilbert's risk hedging through performance-linked acquisition structures also reflects the continued warming of merger and acquisition activities in the encryption industry against the backdrop of market maturity and a rebound in institutional demand.

Tether executives' affiliated company acquires Northern Data's Bitcoin mining business, attracting attention.

According to the Financial Times, Tether-supported German data center has sold its Bitcoin mining subsidiary Peak Mining to artificial intelligence company Northern Data for a price of approximately $200 million this November. Company documents show that the buyers of the transaction include several entities directly related to Tether executives, which are actually controlled by Tether co-founder Giancarlo Devasini and CEO Paolo Ardoino. Since Northern Data is only listed on the secondary market in Germany, this related party transaction has not been mandatorily disclosed.

The timing and structure of this transaction have attracted external attention. The sale by Peak Mining occurred shortly before Tether-backed Rumble announced an agreement to acquire Northern Data for approximately $767 million, while Tether is also a major shareholder and creditor of Northern Data. In the context of the transaction, Northern Data remains under investigation by European regulators, involving tax handling and historical operational disputes. Meanwhile, Tether is continuing to increase its investment in Bitcoin mining, attempting to expand its industry control while ensuring the safety of its Bitcoin assets, but its executives' related-party transactions and risk exposure issues are also under close scrutiny from the market and rating agencies.
Reference Material:

[Gate Research Institute](https://www.gate.com/learn/category/research) is a comprehensive blockchain and encryption currency research platform that provides readers with in-depth content, including technical analysis, hot insights, market reviews, industry research, trend forecasts, and macroeconomic policy analysis.

Disclaimer Investing in the crypto market involves high risks. It is advisable for users to conduct independent research and fully understand the nature of the assets and products being purchased before making any investment decisions. Gate is not responsible for any losses or damages caused by such investment decisions.

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