The blockchain's native token ether has underperformed bitcoin and other altcoins in recent months, the report noted.
Last May, Pertsev was sentenced to 64 months in prison for money laundering.
BTC struggles amid weak on-chain activity while gold shines bright ahead of the pivotal U.S. nonfarm payrolls report.
VanEck predicts M2 money supply will grow to $22.3 trillion by 2025 from the current $21.5 trillion, boosting crypto markets and top tokens such as SOL.
Renewed trade war, coupled with mass deportations, could add to inflation. BTC's weakness likely reflects those fears.
Altcoins fared far worse than bitcoin as the new U.S. president seemingly ignited a trade war.
The White House confirmed sizable tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China will go into effect tomorrow.
This coincided with the launch of Donald Trump's memecoin $TRUMP which caused a wave of inflows to the network
The group also increased its bitcoin holdings last quarter for the first time since March, holding nearly 84,000 BTC worth about $7.8 billion as of year-end.
The Swiss banking giant, which has been experimenting with blockchain, tapped the layer-2 firm to test whether it could scale its current Key4 Gold program.