JH Kim

According to The Block, a cryptocurrency-focused media outlet, on the 1st (local time), the global cryptocurrency exchange Kraken recently announced that it had detected an attempt by North Korean hackers to infiltrate its internal systems by disguising themselves as applicants for engineering positions. Kraken explained, "Instead of immediately reporting or canceling the application of the individual, we continued the hiring process to understand their strategies." They continued, "We requested location information, government-issued IDs, and even asked for recommendations for famous restaurants in the city they claimed to reside in," adding, "As a result, we confirmed that the applicant had repeatedly applied to the cryptocurrency industry and related fields by creating multiple fake identities." Additionally, they noted, "Many of them had previously been employed by real companies, and some were individuals on the U.S. sanctions blacklist."

Vlad Tenev, co-founder and CEO of Robinhood, stated during a conference call that "cryptocurrency trading volumes will continue to fluctuate," and that they plan to diversify their business to reduce reliance on this sector. According to DL News, a cryptocurrency-focused media outlet, Robinhood announced its Q1 2025 earnings, reporting that cryptocurrency trading volume decreased significantly to $46 billion from $71 billion in the previous quarter. Meanwhile, revenue based on cryptocurrency trading during the same period was reported to be $252 million.

According to cryptocurrency-focused media outlet CoinDesk on the 1st (local time), Lance Gooden, a Congressman from Texas, proposed to the Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA) to install cryptocurrency ATMs in all government buildings. In a letter, he stated, "This aligns with President Donald Trump's vision to make the United States a global leader in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology," emphasizing, "GSA has installed cryptocurrency ATMs in some buildings, and I hope they consider expanding this across the United States."

The three major indices of the U.S. stock market are showing an upward trend. The Nasdaq Composite Index is trading at 17,892.36 points, up 2.56% from the previous day as of 00:12 on the 2nd. The Dow Jones Index is up 0.95% at 41,053.80 points, and the S&P 500 Index is up 1.56% at 5,652.71 points.

The three major U.S. stock indices closed mixed. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell by 0.09% to close at 17,446.34 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.35% to 40,669.36 points, while the S&P 500 Index fell by 0.01% to 5,560.16 points.

On the 30th (local time), according to the cryptocurrency-focused media The Block, global payment company Visa and stablecoin payment startup Bridge have partnered to launch a stablecoin-based Visa card. Through the card being launched, users will be able to directly pay for goods and services at Visa card merchants using their stablecoin balance. Bridge will provide the backend infrastructure for users to withdraw their stablecoin balance and convert it to fiat currency. The product is planned to be launched sequentially starting with Latin American countries such as Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Chile. Meanwhile, Bridge is a company founded by former executives of Coinbase and was acquired by global online payment company Stripe last October.

On the 30th (local time), according to Walter Bloomberg, U.S. President Donald Trump stated, "The stock market is not my ultimate goal," and added, "The stock market is merely an indicator pointing the direction of the wind, and I do not judge performance based solely on that situation." He continued, "Chinese ships are loaded with goods, many of which are items the U.S. does not need," and added, "China is currently facing tremendous difficulties." Meanwhile, President Trump responded to the possibility of a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping by saying, "It will happen someday."

Anthony Scaramucci, founder of the American hedge fund SkyBridge Capital, recently stated in an interview that "there is a high possibility that the super app, which Elon Musk proposed as a goal when acquiring X (formerly Twitter), will incorporate cryptocurrency." According to The Block, a cryptocurrency-focused media outlet, he said, "It is not yet certain whether it will issue its own coin like Telegram or introduce a stablecoin, but it will definitely be something special and meaningful." He added, "I have previously invested in SpaceX, xAI, and X," and "although I have not spoken directly with Elon Musk, I have been in continuous contact with the management of these companies."

According to The Block, a cryptocurrency-focused media outlet, on the 30th (local time), Sony Group's Layer 2 blockchain Soneium has partnered with blockchain project PLUME, which focuses on regulatory-compliant Real World Assets (RWA). Through this collaboration, Soneium users will have easier access to asset-backed yield products, such as tokenized U.S. Treasury bonds, on the PLUME chain.

Global virtual asset (cryptocurrency) exchange Coinbase has filed a privacy lawsuit regarding the 2017 request by the IRS for customer transaction records. On the 30th (local time), according to virtual asset specialist media CoinDesk, Coinbase stated in a petition to the Supreme Court that "the government's demand for data from hundreds of thousands of users is excessive" and that "this issue will have a greater impact on privacy protection." They further argued that "the court must protect Americans' privacy rights over digital information stored by third-party service providers." The U.S. IRS, during the first Trump administration, demanded financial records under the condition that individuals must disclose transaction records if they share information with third parties. In this case, the third party is Coinbase. The exchange emphasized that "if the government obtains information such as public keys and wallet addresses, user anonymity will disappear and the blockchain will become vulnerable to surveillance." Previously, in 2020, Coinbase user James Harper also filed a lawsuit claiming that the IRS's collection of personal information violated the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, and infringed on privacy.

The three major indices of the U.S. stock market are showing a downtrend. The Nasdaq Composite Index is trading at 17,222.43 points, down 1.37% from the previous day as of 00:35 on the 1st. The Dow Jones Index is down 0.61% at 40,278.84 points, and the S&P 500 Index is down 0.91% at 5,510.09 points.

The three major indices of the U.S. stock market closed with gains. The Nasdaq Composite Index recorded a 0.55% increase to 17,461.32 points compared to the previous day on the 30th. The Dow Jones Index rose 0.75% to 40,527.62 points, and the S&P 500 Index closed with a 0.55% increase to 5,558.90 points.

European representative neobank Bunq has announced the launch of its virtual asset investment service 'Bunq Crypto' as it enters the virtual asset (cryptocurrency) market. According to virtual asset specialized media Cointelegraph on the 29th (local time), users can invest in over 300 virtual assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Solana (SOL), through this service. Bunq Crypto is offered to users in the Netherlands, France, Spain, Ireland, Italy, and Belgium, and for this, a partnership has been established with the global virtual asset exchange Kraken. Bunq stated, "The demand for personal investors in virtual assets is increasing globally," and explained, "We launched the service in response to this growing demand." They added, "We plan to gradually expand the service across Europe, including the United States and the United Kingdom, in the future."

A Texas court has ruled that the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions on the cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash are illegal, permanently prohibiting the agency from sanctioning this service. According to cryptocurrency media outlet CoinDesk on the 29th (local time), late last year, a U.S. appellate court ruled that the Treasury's sanctions on Tornado Cash were an overreach of authority and therefore illegal. However, at the time, there was ongoing controversy as the possibility was raised that Tornado Cash could be blacklisted again depending on OFAC's sanction methods. As a result, an additional lawsuit was filed arguing that all sanctions should be deemed illegal and nullified based on the appellate court's ruling. In this ruling, the Texas court stated, "This case is no longer disputable," and "OFAC's sanctions on Tornado Cash are illegal, and the agency cannot sanction this service again in the future."

According to CoinDesk, a cryptocurrency-focused media outlet, New York prosecutors are considering dropping the lawsuit against the cryptocurrency wallet app Samourai Wallet. Previously, the U.S. Department of Justice had filed a lawsuit against Samourai Wallet co-founders Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill for illegal transactions and laundering over $100 million in criminal proceeds.