JOON HYOUNG LEE

Galaxy Digital Seeks $3.5 Billion Junk-Bond Sale to Fund US AI Data Center

Galaxy Digital is seeking to raise $3.5 billion through a junk-bond sale to expand its artificial intelligence data-center business in the US. Bloomberg reported on July 22 that the US crypto financial firm recently began marketing speculative-grade

BitMEX to Shut Down in September, Ending 12-Year Run

BitMEX, the global cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, is shutting down after more than a decade in operation. Cointelegraph reported on July 23 that HDR Global Trading, BitMEX’s parent company, decided to cease operations following a broad strategi

Smarter Web Company Sells 178 Bitcoin to Repay $11.7 Million Debt

Smarter Web Company, a UK digital-asset treasury firm, has sold Bitcoin to repay debt. According to Bitcoin Treasuries on July 23, the company recently repaid about $11.7 million to asset manager TOBAM in connection with a convertible financing instr

Drift Hacker Resumes Activity After Three Months, Moves Ether to Tornado Cash

A hacker tied to Drift Protocol (DRIFT) has resumed activity after about three months. BlockBeats, citing Onchain Lens data, reported on July 23 that an address linked to the Drift hacker has been transferring Ether (ETH) to Tornado Cash, a cryptocur

Seven Democratic Senators Oppose Clarity Act Amendment, Saying Ethics Rules Fall Short

Seven Democratic senators have come out against the latest amendment to the Clarity Act. BeInCrypto reported on July 22 that seven Democratic senators, including Angela Alsobrooks, Cory Booker, Ruben Gallego and John Hickenlooper, said in a joint sta

Swiss Cantonal Bank BancaStato Launches Crypto Trading Service With Sygnum

Swiss cantonal bank BancaStato has launched a cryptocurrency trading service in partnership with crypto-focused bank Sygnum. Cointelegraph reported on July 23 that BancaStato will offer the service through Sygnum’s business-to-business banking platfo

FIU Clears Coinone Shareholder Change, Completing Strategic Investment

South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit approved a filing to change the major shareholders of domestic digital-asset exchange Coinone. Coinone said on July 23 that the FIU completed the filing review on July 22. The approval gives the company a str

SEC’s Peirce Says Crypto Vaults, Lending Services May Fall Under Securities Laws

Hester Peirce, a commissioner at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, said crypto vault and lending services may be subject to securities laws. In a statement issued on July 22, Peirce said certain crypto lending and vault services could fall

Tokenized Stock Demand Drives Monthly RWA Perpetual Futures Volume Above $470 Billion

Surging demand for tokenized stocks pushed monthly trading volume in real-world asset, or RWA, perpetual futures above $470 billion. The Block reported July 22 that monthly RWA perpetual futures volume on major exchanges reached about $470 billion la

Franklin Templeton Says AI Agents Could Be Blockchain’s Next Killer Use Case

AI agents could emerge as the next killer use case for blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Sandy Kaul, Franklin Templeton’s head of digital assets and innovation, wrote on X on July 22 that an AI agent-driven economy would increase demand for blockchain

Trump Threatens Strike on Tehran if Iran Attacks Ships in Hormuz

President Donald Trump threatened to bomb targets in Tehran if Iran attacks ships in the Strait of Hormuz. In a Truth Social post on July 22, Trump wrote that if Iran attacks vessels in the strait with rockets, missiles, drones or other weapons, the

WSJ: AMD Signs Anthropic AI Chip Supply Deal Worth Tens of Billions

AMD has signed an artificial intelligence chip supply deal with Anthropic worth tens of billions of dollars. The Wall Street Journal reported on July 22 that AMD and Anthropic recently entered into a supply and investment agreement for chips used in

Kalshi Launches Midterms Hub for Real-Time U.S. Election Odds Ahead of November Vote

Kalshi, the U.S. prediction-market platform, has launched Midterms Hub ahead of the November U.S. midterm elections, rolling out a platform that aggregates election forecasts. CoinDesk reported on July 22 that Kalshi announced the launch that day. Th

IoTrust Unveils Card-Style Cold Wallet, Steps Up Institutional Push

“Exchanges are fundamentally places to buy and sell crypto. There’s no need to keep long-term holdings there, too.” Minho Yoo, co-founder and chief strategy officer of IoTrust, made the remarks in an interview with Bloomingbit on July 22. IoTrust is

Kraken Parent Payward Broadens Tokenized Stock Push to Hong Kong, South Korea

Payward, the parent company of U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, is expanding its tokenized stock service. CoinDesk reported on July 22 that Payward is working with global investment infrastructure provider GTN to tokenize Hong Kong-listed shares

SecondFi to Shut Down After $2.6 Million Cardano Wallet Hack

SecondFi, a Cardano-based wallet service, is moving to shut down after a hack. Odaily reported on July 22 that SecondFi disclosed the loss of about 16.1 million Cardano tokens because of a flaw in its wallet software's encryption technology. The stol

Bitcoin Volatility Drops to Lowest Since 2016, Easing Risk of Mass Liquidations

Bitcoin's price volatility has fallen to its lowest level since 2016. BlockBeats reported on July 22 that Axel Adler Jr., a CryptoQuant contributor, wrote that Bitcoin's 30-day moving average of realized volatility recently fell to 28.3. That was dow

Korea Credit Finance Association, Nine Card Issuers Complete Won Stablecoin Pilot

South Korea's card industry has completed a roughly yearlong pilot aimed at preparing for the adoption of a won stablecoin framework. The Credit Finance Association of Korea and nine domestic card issuers recently wrapped up a proof-of-concept projec

Alphabet, Tesla to Report Second-Quarter Results as AI Spending, Growth Plans Draw Focus

Alphabet, Google's parent company, and Tesla are due to report second-quarter results on July 22. According to BlockBeats and other outlets, both companies plan to release earnings after the close of U.S. trading. Market estimates put Alphabet's seco

Galaxy Digital Launches $5 Million Bitcoin Quantum Security Fund

Galaxy Digital has launched a $5 million fund aimed at preparing for security threats posed by quantum computing. BlockBeats reported on July 22 that the U.S. crypto firm rolled out the Bitcoin Quantum Security Preparedness Initiative to support deve

Democratic Lawmaker Asks SEC to Investigate Trump Media’s ‘Truth API’

Rep. Ritchie Torres, a New York Democrat, has formally asked the US Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate whether Trump Media & Technology Group’s new Truth API service could violate federal securities laws. Axios reported July 22 that To

Saylor Posts ‘Orange Dot,’ Signaling More Bitcoin Buying

Strategy Chairman Michael Saylor signaled another Bitcoin purchase. Saylor posted the company’s so-called orange dot chart on X on July 19 with the message, “What’s next.” He has repeatedly shared the chart tracking Strategy’s Bitcoin holdings ahead

Moonshot AI Sends IPO Proposal, Eyes Hong Kong Listing Within Six Months

Chinese artificial intelligence company Moonshot AI is seeking a Hong Kong listing as early as within six months. Odaily reported on July 19 that Moonshot AI recently sent an initial public offering proposal to major investors. The company plans to l

This Week’s Key Economic, Crypto Events: US Jobless Claims, Korea GDP Due

<Key economic events this week> ▶︎July 20 (Mon.): △People’s Bank of China July loan prime rate (10 a.m. Korea time, 8 p.m. US time) ▶︎July 21 (Tue.): △US ADP weekly employment change report (9:15 p.m. Korea time, 7:15 a.m. US time) ▶︎July 22 (Wed.):

Zcash Launches Zakura Full Node, Targets 50,000 Transactions a Second

Zcash has launched a new full-node client, Zakura, to sharply increase transaction throughput. BlockBeats and other outlets reported on July 19 that Zcash recently released Zakura 1.0.0. The software is being developed and maintained by a team led by

Bitcoin Short Liquidations May Reach $523 Million if Price Tops $66,000

Bitcoin could trigger $523 million of short liquidations across major exchanges if it climbs above $66,000. BlockBeats, citing CoinGlass data, reported on July 19 that short positions worth $523 million on major centralized exchanges could be liquida

South Korea Opens Sanctions Process Against Dunamu Over $32 Million Upbit Hack

South Korea’s financial authorities have begun sanctions procedures over a hacking incident at domestic cryptocurrency exchange Upbit. Yonhap News reported on July 19 that the Financial Supervisory Service recently sent an inspection opinion letter t

Analysis: Bitcoin Leverage Overheating Eases as Market Sentiment Turns Neutral

On-chain data suggests Bitcoin market sentiment is shifting from neutral to mildly bullish. CoinNiel, a CryptoQuant contributor, wrote on July 18 that Bitcoin’s on-chain data points to the market moving into a neutral-to-mildly bullish phase. Leverag

UBS, Barclays Stay Bullish on Semiconductors Despite 8% Drop in Chip Stocks

Semiconductor stocks have slumped in recent sessions, but major investment banks including UBS remain optimistic about the industry's outlook. BlockBeats reported on July 19 that UBS and Barclays maintained positive views on the global semiconductor

BofA Sees Global DRAM ASPs Jump 21% in Third Quarter

DRAM prices are set to post another sharp rise in the third quarter, according to a new market outlook. Bank of America Global Research projects global DRAM average selling prices, or ASPs, will climb about 21% in the third quarter from the previous