BitMine's Aggressive ETH Accumulation Faces Unrealized Losses
BitMine has adopted an aggressive strategy of "buy the dip and keep accumulating" to lower its average cost for Ethereum (ETH) holdings. Despite a current unrealized loss of $658 million, the firm continues to increase its ETH positions, betting on the long-term dominance of Ethereum in the Web3 infrastructure.
On November 12, on-chain analyst Ai Aunt reported that Bitmine disclosed an average cost of $3,639 for its 3,505,723 ETH holdings. After adding a new position of 24,007.35 ETH, the updated average cost is $3,637.79, resulting in a significant unrealized loss. This strategy involves making large purchases as prices drop, which can lead to substantial short-term unrealized losses, swinging from over $1 billion to over $2 billion.
Since early August, when Bitmine held only 830,000 ETH with unrealized gains, its holdings have surged to over 3.5 million ETH by November. This represents 2.8% of the total ETH supply and is approaching the firm's public target of 5%. The speed and determination of this accumulation are notable. The strategy prioritizes Ethereum's long-term value and its foundational role in Web3 infrastructure over short-term price fluctuations.
JPMorgan Launches JPM Coin for Institutional Clients on Coinbase's Base Network
JPMorgan has introduced JPM Coin, a deposit token designed for institutional clients, enabling instant blockchain payments. This move aims to reshape global banking efficiency by leveraging blockchain technology for faster and more accessible financial transactions.
According to a report by Bloomberg on November 12, JPM Coin represents JPMorgan's U.S. dollar deposits. Clients can now send and receive funds via Base, the public blockchain linked to Coinbase. This enables payments to settle in seconds, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, a significant improvement over traditional banking systems that often take days and are restricted to business hours.
JPMorgan has plans to expand the token's accessibility to clients' clients following necessary approvals. The bank also intends to extend its services to include other currencies and support other blockchains. A pilot program for the JPM Coin (JPMD) was initially announced in June. JPMorgan has also registered the ticker JPME for a euro deposit token, and JPM Coin will be accepted on Coinbase as collateral.
October Sees Over $45 Million in Web3 Security Incidents
The Web3 ecosystem experienced significant financial losses in October, with over $45.84 million lost due to a variety of security incidents. These incidents included smart contract bugs, social engineering, phishing attacks, "Pi Xiu" schemes, and rug pulls, highlighting ongoing security challenges in the decentralized space.
GoPlus reported that in October, users of GMGN suffered a phishing attack where attackers created a fake third-party token site, leading to unauthorized transactions and losses exceeding $700,000 for 107 users. In another incident, a Twitter account, previously followed by prominent figures like CZ, was renamed @OracleBNB. This account impersonated a token launch with @four_meme_, ultimately executing a rug pull that profited 34 BNB.
Native risks such as smart contract bugs, rug pulls, and "Pi Xiu" schemes continue to be persistent issues at the protocol and project layers. However, the evolution of social engineering and phishing tactics is particularly concerning. Attackers are increasingly exploiting human vulnerabilities and social trust rather than relying solely on technical flaws.
For instance, impersonating key opinion leaders (KOLs) and partner projects on platforms like Twitter has become a cheap, efficient, and difficult-to-eliminate method for scammers, bypassing traditional technical security measures. The attack chain analysis reveals an "upstream" trend where once users sign a transaction or approve a contract, the loss is effectively sealed, regardless of when the contract execution occurs.