JOON HYOUNG LEE

US Initial Jobless Claims Rise to 209,000, Above Forecast

US initial jobless claims came in slightly above market expectations last week. The Labor Department said Aug. 13 that initial jobless claims totaled 209,000 last week. That was 7,000 higher than economists’ forecast of 202,000 and 9,000 above the pr

US July PPI Flat From Prior Month, Below Forecasts

U.S. producer prices were unchanged in July, coming in below market expectations. The Labor Department said on August 13 that the producer price index was flat from the previous month, undershooting economists’ forecast for a 0.2% increase. The readi

Robinhood’s July Crypto Trading Volume Tumbles 62% as Bear Market Drags On

Robinhood’s cryptocurrency trading volume sank more than 60% in July from a year earlier as the crypto bear market weighed on activity. BlockBeats reported on Aug. 13 that Robinhood’s crypto trading volume totaled about $10.9 billion last month, down

SEC Lets Franklin Templeton Invest Proprietary Cash in Its Tokenized Money Market Fund

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has allowed Franklin Templeton to invest its own money in its tokenized money market fund. Cointelegraph reported on Aug. 13 that the SEC issued a no-action letter to Franklin Templeton on Aug. 12 saying the

JPMorgan Plans Real-Time Blockchain Settlement Test for Japanese Government Bonds

JPMorgan is planning to test real-time blockchain-based execution and settlement of Japanese government bond trades. BlockBeats reported on August 13 that the bank will trial a blockchain-based system for processing Japanese government bond transacti

Charles Schwab Offers Spot Bitcoin, Ether Trading to Retail Clients

Charles Schwab is offering spot cryptocurrency trading to retail clients, according to reports. Odaily and other outlets reported on August 13 that Schwab has been gradually rolling out spot crypto trading to individual customers since mid-May. The f

Metaplanet Issues New ‘BitBonds’ With 4.0%-4.3% Annual Coupon

Metaplanet, often dubbed Japan’s answer to Strategy, has issued new corporate bonds branded as BitBonds with annual coupon rates of up to 4.3%. The company said Aug. 13 it issued 200 million yen ($1.35 million) of the new bonds through a private plac

Korea Investment Corp. Takes First Stake in Circle, Buys About $4.1 Million in Shares

Korea Investment Corp. made its first investment in Circle, the issuer of the dollar-backed stablecoin USDC, in the second quarter. BlockBeats reported on Aug. 13, citing a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, that the South Korean

South Korea’s Ruling Party to Propose Another Bill to Delay Crypto Tax to 2029

South Korea’s ruling People Power Party plans to propose another bill to delay taxation on virtual assets, or cryptocurrencies. Edaily reported on August 13 that People Power Party lawmaker Kim Sang-hoon plans to introduce as early as this month a pr

Anthropic Backers See $2 Trillion IPO Valuation, With Some Eyeing $3 Trillion

Some existing investors in artificial intelligence company Anthropic believe it could command a valuation of more than $2 trillion in an initial public offering. The Financial Times reported on Aug. 13 that some Anthropic backers expect the company t

South Korea Tightens Screening of Crypto Firms’ Major Shareholders, Mandates Advance Notice of Changes

South Korea will tighten regulatory screening of major shareholders in virtual-asset service providers starting Aug. 20. The Financial Intelligence Unit, or FIU, under the Financial Services Commission said Aug. 13 it will finalize and implement a re

DTCC Completes Live Tokenized Securities Trial, Eyes October Rollout

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. has completed a live trading test of blockchain-based tokenized securities with about 40 major Wall Street firms, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Bloomberg reported on Aug. 12 that DTC

Kalshi to Offer Real-Time Full Order Book Data in Prediction-Market First Through DoubleZero

Kalshi, a U.S. prediction-market platform, will offer real-time full order book data in an industry first. The Block and other media outlets reported on August 12 that DoubleZero announced Kalshi would distribute real-time quote data through DoubleZe

Trump Says US Has ‘Complete and Total Control’ of Strait of Hormuz

President Donald Trump said on August 12 that the US had "complete and total control" of the Strait of Hormuz. In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote, "The United States now has complete and total control over the Strait of

Google Raises New Smartphone Prices as Memory Shortage Pushes Up Costs

Google has raised prices for its new smartphones as a shortage of memory chips pushes up costs. BlockBeats and other foreign media outlets reported on August 12 that Google unveiled new smartphones including the Pixel 11 Pro. Prices for the newly int

Wintermute to Invest $1 Billion Over Five Years in AI, HFT Buildout

Global crypto market maker Wintermute plans to invest $1 billion over the next five years in AI data centers and high-frequency trading infrastructure as it expands into traditional finance. Chief Executive Officer Evgeny Gaevoy told Bloomberg on Aug

Standard Chartered-Backed Anchorpoint Starts First-Phase Issuance of Hong Kong Dollar Stablecoin

Anchorpoint, a joint venture backed by Standard Chartered, has started issuing a Hong Kong dollar-based stablecoin. Odaily and other outlets reported on August 12 that Anchorpoint began the first phase of issuance for the Hong Kong dollar stablecoin

US July CPI Rises 3.4%, Matching Forecasts

U.S. consumer prices rose 3.4% in July from a year earlier, matching market expectations. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said on August 12 that the consumer price index increased 3.4% last month from a year earlier, in line with economists’ forecast.

Goldman Sachs Keeps Nvidia at Buy, Maintains $285 Price Target

Goldman Sachs maintained its Buy rating on Nvidia and left its price target unchanged at $285. BlockBeats reported on August 12 that Goldman Sachs reiterated its Buy rating on the chipmaker and maintained the $285 target price. The bank said investor

Fidelity Seeks to Add Staking to Ethereum ETF, Plans Quarterly Cash Payouts

Fidelity Investments is seeking to add staking to its spot Ether exchange-traded fund. CoinDesk reported on August 12 that Fidelity recently filed an amended registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to allow FETH, its spo

Bitcoin Miners Sold $1.78 Billion of BTC This Year, Adding to Downside Pressure

Bitcoin miners have sold nearly $1.8 billion worth of the cryptocurrency this year. CoinDesk, citing Blockware Intelligence data, reported on Aug. 12 that Bitcoin mining companies have sold about 28,000 tokens so far this year. At current prices, tha

Yen Slides Back Toward 160 Per Dollar Despite US-Japan Intervention; Won Holds Firm

Wide US-Japan Rate Gap Signals 'Structural Weakness' Yen Nears 160 Per Dollar Again The yen has weakened back toward 160 per dollar despite a rare joint intervention by the US and Japan. The won, which has closely tracked the Japanese currency, remai

South Korea Tightens Leverage Rules, Requires Five Days of Paper Trading From Aug. 19

Retail investors seeking first-time exposure to single-stock leveraged products listed in South Korea or overseas must complete at least five trading days and five hours of paper trading starting Aug. 19. The Financial Services Commission said on Aug

White House Lifts TikTok Ban on US Federal Devices After Three Years

The White House has lifted its ban on TikTok on US federal government devices after about three years. Bloomberg reported on August 11 that the Office of Management and Budget withdrew on August 10 its guidance barring TikTok from federal devices. Th

Kalshi Seeks Fresh Funding at $40 Billion Valuation

Kalshi, the global prediction-market platform, is seeking fresh funding at a $40 billion valuation, The Information reported. The U.S. technology news outlet reported on Aug. 20 that Kalshi had recently begun fundraising with a target valuation of $4

Norway Wealth Fund Posts Record $182 Billion First-Half Profit, Reveals SpaceX Stake

Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, posted a record first-half profit as a rally in Asian technology stocks boosted returns. The fund also disclosed its investment in Elon Musk's SpaceX for the first time. The fund generated a profit

Japan Blockchain Group Creates Tax Panel to Support DeFi, Stablecoin Adoption

The Japan Blockchain Collaborative Consortium, or BCCC, has created a dedicated tax panel to address tax issues that are hindering corporate adoption of digital assets such as stablecoins and decentralized finance, or DeFi. BCCC announced on Aug. 12

Crypto.com Launches Tokenized Derivatives Tracking 1,500 US Stocks, ETFs

Global cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com has launched tokenized derivatives tied to the prices of about 1,500 US stocks and exchange-traded funds. CoinDesk reported on August 12 that the company rolled out the service for eligible users in the Europ

Cyworld to Return in October as Web3 Service, Weighs Won Stablecoin Tie-In

Cyworld, one of South Korea’s signature social media platforms in the 2000s, will return in October as a Web3-based service. Its new operator, local blockchain company Sigma Chain, is also considering introducing a won-backed stablecoin as digital-as

Ethereum Proposal to Cut Staking Rewards Triggers Decentralization Debate

Debate is intensifying within the Ethereum community over a proposal to reduce staking rewards. Cointelegraph reported on August 7 that Ethereum researchers recently introduced EIP-8363, a new proposal that would gradually reduce newly issued rewards