JOON HYOUNG LEE

Crypto Fear and Greed Index Rises to 28, Leaving Extreme Fear

The crypto Fear and Greed Index, a gauge of investor sentiment, rose slightly on July 19. According to cryptocurrency data provider Alternative, the index stood at 28 on July 19. That was up 3 points from July 18, moving the gauge from the "Extreme F

Foreign Investors Sell $9 Billion of Korean Stocks This Month as Kospi Slides 20%

Foreign investors have sold a net 12.4 trillion won ($8.96 billion) of South Korean stocks so far this month. BlockBeats reported on July 19 that overseas investors were net sellers of 12.1 trillion won ($8.74 billion) on the Kospi from July 1 throug

Ark Invest Buys $18.3 Million of SpaceX Stock After Shares Fall Below IPO Price

Ark Invest, the investment firm led by Cathie Wood, bought additional SpaceX shares after the stock fell below its IPO price. BlockBeats reported on July 19 that Ark disclosed in a July 17 filing that it purchased 147,623 shares of SpaceX for about $

France Orders ISPs to Block Polymarket, Calling Prediction Markets Illegal Gambling

France has ordered internet service providers to block access to global prediction market platform Polymarket. CoinDesk reported on July 19 that France’s National Gaming Authority, known as ANJ, recently instructed domestic internet service providers

Dutch Court Declares Crypto Platform Knaken Bankrupt

A Dutch court has declared Dutch cryptocurrency platform Knaken bankrupt amid allegations of fund misappropriation. Cointelegraph reported on July 17 that the Rotterdam court issued the bankruptcy ruling after prosecutors said 7 million euros ($8.1 m

Ark Invest Says Bitcoin Selloff Nears Exhaustion, Warns of ETF Outflow Risk

Ark Invest said Bitcoin's capitulation phase moved into its final stretch in the second quarter. In its second-quarter 2026 report, The Bitcoin Quarterly, released on July 17, the US asset manager wrote that "seller exhaustion" is emerging even as Bi

HSBC Gets First Bank of England Approval Under UK Digital Securities Sandbox

HSBC has received approval under the UK’s Digital Securities Sandbox. Cointelegraph reported on July 17 that HSBC’s digital-asset platform, HSBC Orion, was authorized that day to operate as a digital securities depository within the sandbox. HSBC sai

ECB Warns Stablecoins Could Erode Bank Deposit Base as It Pushes Digital Euro

The European Central Bank warned that the spread of stablecoins could erode commercial banks’ deposit base. Piero Cipollone, a member of the ECB’s Executive Board, made the remarks in a July 17 speech to Italy’s federation of cooperative credit banks

Mizuho Downgrades Circle to Underperform, Sets Street-Low $50 Target on OpenUSD Threat

Mizuho Securities set a $50 price target on dollar stablecoin issuer Circle, marking one of the lowest targets on Wall Street. Bloomberg reported on July 17 that Mizuho Securities USA analyst Dan Dolev downgraded Circle to underperform from neutral a

Nvidia’s NVentures Estimated to Have Invested $200 Million in UK Fintech Revolut

Tech Funding News reported that Nvidia is estimated to have invested about $200 million in UK fintech company Revolut. According to Tech Funding News on July 17, a recently filed confirmation statement with the UK’s Companies House showed that an ent

Coinbase Bitcoin Premium Index Stays Negative for 60 Days, Longest Streak on Record

Bitcoin's Coinbase premium index remained in negative territory for 60 consecutive days. BlockBeats reported on July 17 that the Coinbase Bitcoin premium index stayed below zero for 60 straight days from June 19 through July 17. It is the first time

SBI Holdings Acquires Coinhako Parent Holdbuild to Expand in Southeast Asia

Japan's SBI Holdings has acquired Holdbuild, the parent company of Singapore cryptocurrency exchange Coinhako. Wu Blockchain and other outlets reported on July 17 that SBI Holdings received approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore on July 16

Chey Says SK Hynix Shares Will Trend Up Over Time as Memory Demand Endures

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said on July 17 that SK Hynix Inc. shares will trend higher over time because demand for memory chips will continue. Speaking at an artificial intelligence discussion during the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry's

Across Says Solana Hack Did Not Affect User Funds

Across, the cross-chain bridge protocol, said it was hit by a hacking attack. Odaily reported on July 17 that the attack occurred on the Solana network. Across said all cross-chain transactions initiated before the breach were completed normally and

HSBC Upgrades Apple to Buy From Hold, Raises Price Target to $366

HSBC raised its price target on Apple and upgraded the stock to buy from hold. Walter Bloomberg reported on July 17 that HSBC lifted its price target to $366 from $260, an increase of nearly 41%. The move appears to reflect the potential for improved

CZ Says Crypto Adoption Is Still Below 1%, Leaving Significant Room for Growth

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, better known as CZ, said the cryptocurrency industry still has substantial room to grow because adoption remains below 1%. BlockBeats reported on July 17 that Zhao said on a recent podcast many people still view crypto

Argentine Court Orders Freeze of LIBRA-Linked Wallets, Traces $8.2 Million

An Argentine court has ordered the freezing of wallets linked to the memecoin LIBRA. Odaily reported on July 17 that an Argentine federal court recently ordered authorities to identify and freeze wallets tied to the LIBRA project. The order followed

Seoul Mayor Oh Says Government Knew Leverage Risks, Margin Hike Came Too Late

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon issued a blunt criticism of leveraged derivatives, saying they have fueled volatility in South Korea’s stock market. In a Facebook post on July 17, Oh wrote that the Kospi sidecar had been triggered 37 times this year, already

Gate Adds Full Support for Robinhood Chain in Multichain Expansion

Global cryptocurrency exchange Gate is adding full support for Robinhood Chain. Odaily reported on July 17 that Gate had integrated its platform with Robinhood Chain. The integration covers core functions including asset discovery, wallet management,

Coinbase Says Stablecoins Could Sharpen US Regional Banks’ Competitive Edge

The growth of the stablecoin industry could help strengthen the competitiveness of US regional banks, countering long-held concerns that the sector would undermine them. Coinbase Institute, the research arm of US cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, sai

MoonPay Acquires Glyde to Expand Crypto Infrastructure Push

MoonPay has acquired Glyde, according to a July 16 report by Cointelegraph. The purchase price was not disclosed. MoonPay plans to integrate Glyde’s cryptocurrency deposit and routing technology into its platform. The technology will be added to Moon

Prediction Markets Hit Record $113.8 Billion in Q2 Volume Despite Crypto Slump

Global prediction markets posted a record trading volume in the second quarter. CoinGecko said in its 2026 second-quarter crypto industry report, cited by Cointelegraph on July 16, that nominal prediction-market volume reached a quarterly record of $

Galaxy Digital Launches Institutional Stablecoin Yield Service

Galaxy Digital has launched a service that lets institutions earn yield on idle stablecoins without directly managing decentralized finance, or DeFi, infrastructure. CoinDesk reported on July 16 that Galaxy Digital introduced Galaxy Curator, an insti

US June Retail Sales Rise 0.2% From Prior Month, Matching Forecasts

US retail sales rose 0.2% in June from the prior month, matching market forecasts. The Commerce Department said July 16 that June retail sales increased 0.2% from May. The result matched economists’ estimate of a 0.2% gain. Retail sales climbed 6.72%

US Initial Jobless Claims Fall to 208,000, Below Forecast

US initial jobless claims came in below market expectations last week. The Labor Department said July 16 that initial jobless claims totaled 208,000 last week. That was 8,000 below economists’ forecast of 216,000 and down 8,000 from the prior week’s

US Sanctions Iran Central Bank Wallets; Tether Freezes $131 Million in USDT

The US government has added four cryptocurrency wallets tied to Iran’s central bank to its sanctions list. Tether, the issuer of the dollar-backed stablecoin USDT, immediately froze some of the assets held in those wallets. CoinDesk reported on July

US Senate Unanimously Passes Resolution Opposing Any Pardon for SBF

The U.S. Senate unanimously adopted a resolution opposing any presidential pardon for Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX. Cointelegraph reported that the Senate unanimously passed Resolution 772, or S. Res. 772, on July 16. The measure states that

Tether Invests $20 Million in Argentina’s Ualá, Steps Up Latin America Push

Tether, the issuer of the USDT dollar-backed stablecoin, has invested $20 million in Argentine digital bank Ualá. Bloomberg reported on July 15 that the investment was part of Ualá’s $197 million funding round announced in March. Ualá plans to use th

Visa Says Stablecoins Will Be Core Infrastructure for the AI Agent Economy

Visa said stablecoins are set to become a core payment tool in the age of artificial intelligence agents. In a report published on July 16 with blockchain analytics firm Artemis, the payments company said stablecoins will play a central role in micro

Bitcoin Falls Below $64,000; Kimchi Premium at -0.60%

Bitcoin fell below $64,000. As of 5:23 p.m. in South Korea on July 16, Bitcoin was trading at $63,961.90, down 0.91% from a day earlier, according to CoinMarketCap. The cryptocurrency was still up 1.54% from a week ago. The kimchi premium turned nega