Asia Morning Briefing: BTC Climbs to 107K as ‘War Drums Fade, Risk Appetite Roars’

Good Morning, Asia. Here’s what’s making news in the markets:

Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of top stories during U.S. hours and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of U.S. markets, see CoinDesk’s Crypto Daybook Americas.

As Asia begins the Thursday trading day, BTC is changing hands above $107K, according to CoinDesk Market data, and the CoinDesk 20, a measure of the largest digital assets, is trading just shy of 3000, up 0.7%.

Looking back at the week that was, analysts and market observers are looking at what began as a selloff on Middle East tensions, with Israel and Iran trading rocket fire, and a U.S. bombing campaign on Iran’s nuclear facilities, turned into a textbook risk-on rally, one that’s lifting crypto, tech stocks, and broader market sentiment alike.

“War drums fade, risk appetite roars,” wrote QCP Capital in its June 25 market note, capturing the sudden mood swing after days of escalating headlines. “Traders appeared to have priced in a resolution or simply stopped waiting for one. Instead of flight-to-safety, the move was risk-on in full force.”

That shift was visible across asset classes. U.S. equities surged, oil prices retraced to pre-conflict levels, and Coinbase stock jumped 12% on regulatory news.

For BTC, the rebound above $107K signals not just relief but renewed momentum, even as investors keep one eye on the macro calendar and the other on global flashpoints.

“It’s been a week of sharp swings in crypto,” said Gracie Lin, CEO of OKX Singapore. “Bitcoin dipped below $100,000 earlier in the week when Middle East tensions rattled the markets, but rebounded quickly after news of a ceasefire – now trading just below its all-time high in a sharp reversal.”

Lin points to a slew of U.S. economic data, including GDP and unemployment claims, coming later this week as the next catalyst for BTC’s movement.

“Recent PMI numbers have held steady, but continued weakness in housing is raising questions about the broader economy,” she said. “If Thursday’s GDP or unemployment claims come in weaker than expected, bitcoin could benefit as investors look for hedges against traditional market weakness.”

Add to that the quarterly expiration of bitcoin futures and options on June 27, and volatility could return in force. “Another bout of volatility is expected,” Lin said.

QCP, meanwhile, is looking beyond the week’s swings, spotlighting the structural forces driving bitcoin’s evolution into a macro asset.

From ProCap’s $386 million BTC buy to Coinbase’s regulatory win under MiCA, institutional momentum continues to build.

“If this accumulation trend persists,” QCP wrote, “bitcoin may not just rival gold as a macro hedge but potentially in total market capitalisation.”

Still, QCP adds a note of caution: “Geopolitics remains an ever-present undercurrent.”

While markets have largely shrugged off renewed Israeli strikes, concerns are mounting over NATO–Russia tensions. With Western nations boosting defense budgets and Trump set to attend the NATO summit, the next geopolitical shock may not come from the Middle East.

For now, bitcoin is riding the wave of risk-on enthusiasm. But beneath the surface, the battle between volatility and conviction, war drums and buying sprees, continues to define the market.

(CoinDesk)

Korean Crypto Investors Favor Community Over Capital, Analyst Explains

For overseas crypto projects, getting listed on a Korean exchange like Upbit or Bithumb is seen as a golden ticket, an instant liquidity injection, and a validation milestone.

But that mindset might be part of the problem, Bradley Park, an analyst with Seoul-based DNTV Research, explained in a recent interview with CoinDesk.

At Korea Blockchain Week last year, Park kept hearing the same question from foreign teams:

“How do we get listed on a Korean exchange?”

Korean exchanges have deep liquidity pools, and traders in the country are known for their euphoric rallies.

“Honestly, many of them are approaching it the wrong way,” Park told CoinDesk. “Instead of starting with listing applications, maybe the better question is: How can we genuinely connect with the Korean community?”

Park’s thesis is simple: in Korea’s Web3 market, community isn’t a checkbox. It’s the core. Listings are often a result, not a goal, and the key signal for exchanges is genuine grassroots activity.

Take NEWT, for instance. In the lead-up to its token generation event, Korean degens lit up platforms like Kaito with homegrown content, discussions, and speculation.

“This grassroots excitement translated directly into momentum,” said Park. “Both Upbit and Bithumb listed NEWT on the same day. That wasn’t a coincidence. It was the result of weeks of organic community buildup.”

But Park cautions against seeing NEWT as a flawless blueprint.

“It’s not a perfect model, but it does show how even a basic level of respect toward the Korean community can translate into visible outcomes,” he said.

“That said, the subsequent price drop and fading short-term excitement left the project with another challenge: keeping the spark alive is just as difficult as igniting it in the first place.”

Another example: Edward Park, a well-known Korean influencer and early Pudgy Penguins holder, posted about NEWT in Korean, garnering over 50,000 views. While that might not seem like a lot, it’s the quality of the engagement that matters, argues Bradley Park.

He attributes the single post to catalyzing a wave of engagement with other key stakeholders in Korea’s crypto sphere because of Edward Park’s trust.

Projects that treat Korean users like exit liquidity rather than stakeholders tend to be punished.

Park points to the case of ZORA, where Korean users showed strong early participation but soured on the project after a perceived unfair airdrop.

“Interest in future Base ecosystem projects declined. They failed to go viral in Korea because users felt they weren’t valued.”

Localization matters too, especially the language. Park contrasts two projects: COOKIE, which suffered from poorly translated, low-quality content created by outsiders, and KAITO, which invested in Korean-speaking staff and dedicated native-language campaigns and subsequently pumped after its Upbit listing.

The lesson? If your go-to-market strategy starts with “get listed, dump tokens,” don’t expect Korean users to play along.

“Even if your goal is to exit through a Korean exchange,” Park said, “then at the very least, respect the Korean users, encourage their participation, and acknowledge their contributions.”

Token listings driven by the community are possible, but they’re fragile.

“A listing strategy focused purely on short-term liquidity will always have its limits,” Park said. “Without a plan to build lasting trust, even the most explosive momentum will eventually burn out.”

Because in Korea, authenticity isn’t a vibe. It’s the price of admission.

Market Movements:

BTC: Bitcoin rose 1.46% to $107,600 as a ceasefire and $514M in institutional buying fueled a rebound from sub-$100K, with strong support at $107K and the CD20 index up 1.4%.
ETH: Ethereum rose 1.42% to $2,425.53, rebounding from recent lows as a Middle East ceasefire and continued whale accumulation boosted market sentiment and helped defend key $2,400 support, according to CoinDesk Research’s technical analysis model.
Gold: Gold edged up to $3,340.90 and silver to $35.79 as markets digested the Israel-Iran ceasefire and lingering global tensions, with Trade Nation’s David Morrison warning that unresolved U.S.-China trade issues still pose risks.
Nikkei 225: Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed Thursday as investors weighed the Israel-Iran ceasefire, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 up 0.4%.
S&P 500: U.S. stock futures were flat Wednesday with the S&P 500 near record highs, but analysts warned that geopolitics or black swan events could halt the rally.