JOON HYOUNG LEE

South Korea Legislative Research Service Flags Risk of Legal Disputes Ahead of Crypto Tax

South Korea’s National Assembly Research Service said legal disputes could arise when taxation of virtual assets, including cryptocurrencies, takes effect in earnest next year. The legislative research body recently submitted a written response on vi

Swift Nears Launch of In-House Blockchain With 17 Banks

Swift is nearing the launch of its in-house blockchain, with 17 global banks set to participate. Swift said on July 9 that its blockchain-based ledger is ready for pilot testing. Financial institutions in the initial rollout will be able to use token

SMBC Nikko Says BOJ May Deliver Another Rate Hike in October

SMBC Nikko Securities said the Bank of Japan may raise interest rates again in October. Citing the outcome of a meeting of BOJ branch managers, SMBC Nikko economist Yoshimasa Maruyama said on July 9 that the central bank still appears to be on track

Bitcoin Break Above $64,000 Could Trigger $689 Million in Short Liquidations on Major Exchanges

Bitcoin's rise above $64,000 could trigger $689 million of short liquidations across major exchanges. BlockBeats reported on July 9, citing CoinGlass data, that a break above $64,000 could force the liquidation of $689 million in short positions on m

KRWQ Lists on Grow, Enabling Won-Based Investment Access to SpaceX

KRWQ, a won-pegged stablecoin, has been listed on tokenized asset platform Grow. KRWQ announced on its official X account on July 8 that the token had been listed on Grow. The company said users can gain on-chain investment exposure to OpenAI, Anthro

Robinhood CEO Sells 375,000 Shares, Cashes Out $43.56 Million

Robinhood Markets Inc. Chief Executive Officer Vlad Tenev has recently sold a large chunk of his holdings in the company. BlockBeats reported on July 9 that Tenev sold 375,000 Robinhood shares from July 6 through recent days. The shares were sold at

Nvidia to Develop Open-Source AI Models for Robots With Hugging Face

Nvidia is teaming up with Hugging Face, a global open-source artificial intelligence platform, to develop AI models for robots. BlockBeats reported on July 9 that Nvidia had announced a joint effort with Hugging Face to build open-source AI models ta

Iran Says It Will Close Strait of Hormuz if US Launches More Airstrikes

Iran said it would close the Strait of Hormuz if it comes under further attack by the US. Walter Bloomberg reported on July 8 that Iran would again shut the Strait of Hormuz if the US carries out additional airstrikes. Tehran also said it would respo

Paradigm Raises $1.2 Billion Fund to Expand Into AI

Paradigm, a crypto-focused venture capital firm, has raised a new $1.2 billion fund to expand its investments in artificial intelligence. Bloomberg reported on July 8 that the firm had completed fundraising for its third fund. Paradigm plans to use t

Trump Says Iran Could Be Hit ‘Hard’ Tonight, Nuclear Program May Be Dismantled Without Talks

President Donald Trump said the US could dismantle Iran’s nuclear weapons capability without separate negotiations. Reuters reported that Trump made the remarks on July 8 at a North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Turkey. “Maybe we’ll hit them

Kalshi Appeals After New York Court Denies Bid to Halt State Enforcement

Global prediction-market platform Kalshi filed an appeal shortly after a federal court in New York denied its request for a preliminary injunction against state regulators. Cointelegraph reported on July 8 that Kalshi submitted a notice of appeal to

BNB Chain to Develop AI Agent-Focused Layer 1, Plans Mainnet Launch Next Year

BNB Chain is developing a Layer 1 blockchain tailored for trading by artificial intelligence agents. The Block reported on July 8 that BNB Chain had unveiled its technology roadmap for the second half of 2026. The centerpiece of the roadmap is a new

Strategy Boosts Cash Reserves 13% in Three Months to $2.55 Billion

Strategy, the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin treasury company, increased its cash reserves by 13% over the past three months. Phong Le, the company’s chief executive officer, wrote on X on July 8 that Strategy increased its dollar reserves over th

OKX Steps Up EU Expansion With MiFID License, Eyes Next-Generation Digital Market

Global cryptocurrency exchange OKX is launching financial instrument trading services in the European Union. OKX founder Xu Mingxing wrote on X on July 8 that the company will offer European users cryptocurrency, commodities and equity derivatives se

Bitget Tokenized Stock AUM Tops $100 Million, Cumulative Volume Nears $700 Million

Bitget's assets under management for tokenized stocks have surpassed $100 million. BlockBeats reported on July 8 that Bitget announced the milestone about a month after launching trading in tokenized stocks through its altoken, or rToken, service. Th

SpaceX Moves $88 in Bitcoin in First Transfer in Six Months

SpaceX, the space company led by Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk, transferred some of its Bitcoin holdings for the first time in six months. Odaily reported on July 8 that SpaceX moved $88 worth of Bitcoin in what is believed to have been a t

RBI Reaffirms Near-Ban Stance on Crypto as India Tax Authorities Warn of Evasion Risk

The Reserve Bank of India has reaffirmed its longstanding view that cryptocurrencies should face regulation amounting to a near ban. Reuters reported on July 8, citing Indian government documents it obtained, that the RBI recently held internal discu

OKX Launches DATA Trade-to-Earn Campaign With 1 Million Token Rewards

Global cryptocurrency exchange OKX is launching a trading rewards campaign for DATA, an artificial intelligence data infrastructure project formerly known as Story. OKX announced on July 7 that it will run the DATA Trade to Earn campaign through July

Trump Says Iran Ceasefire MOU Appears to Be Over, Doesn’t Want Talks

President Donald Trump said a memorandum of understanding on ending the conflict with Iran appears to be over, signaling he may effectively abandon ceasefire negotiations. Trump made the remarks on July 8 while meeting NATO Secretary General Mark Rut

Saylor Says Strategy Can Fund Stretch Dividends Indefinitely if Bitcoin’s Long-Term Return Exceeds 3.3%

Michael Saylor, executive chairman of Strategy, said the company could effectively fund dividends indefinitely if Bitcoin’s long-term rate of appreciation exceeds 3.3%. Writing on X on July 8, Saylor said one of Strategy’s most misunderstood metrics

Iran Condemns Renewed US Airstrikes, Says Ceasefire Deal Has Been Effectively Nullified

Iran said the US has effectively nullified prior understandings by resuming airstrikes on the country. Iran's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on July 8 that terms of an agreement in the Strait of Hormuz had been violated, according to Odaily and

Musk Says xAI to Launch Grok 4.5 on July 9 as Opus-Level Model

Elon Musk said xAI, the artificial intelligence startup he leads, will launch its next-generation AI model on July 9. Writing on X on July 8, Musk said xAI plans to release Grok 4.5 the following day. Grok 4.5 is the next version of the company’s Gro

US Reimposes Iranian Crude Sanctions, Leaving 63 Million Barrels Stranded at Sea

About 63 million barrels of Iranian crude are being held at sea after the US withdrew sanctions relief for the oil. BlockBeats reported on July 8 that roughly 63 million barrels of Iranian crude remained stranded offshore as of that day. The backlog

BlackRock-Backed Securitize Lists on NYSE, Tokenizes $300 Million of Its Own Shares

Securitize, a U.S. real-world asset platform backed by BlackRock, tokenized its own shares as it debuted on the New York Stock Exchange on July 2. The move highlights how the center of gravity in the RWA industry is shifting from bonds and funds to s

Crypto Bank Erebor Seeks New Funding at More Than $8 Billion Valuation

U.S. crypto bank Erebor is seeking new funding at a valuation of more than $8 billion. Erebor has entered early-stage talks to raise fresh capital at a valuation above $8 billion, according to The Block and other media reports on July 2. The precise

The Information: Anthropic in Talks With Samsung on Custom AI Chips

Anthropic, the US artificial intelligence company behind Claude, is in talks with Samsung Electronics Co. on manufacturing custom AI chips, The Information reported on July 2. The technology publication said Anthropic has recently entered the early s

CFTC Commissioner Slams Illinois Crypto Transaction Tax as ‘Sin Tax’

Michael Selig, a commissioner at the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, sharply criticized Illinois over its move to tax cryptocurrency transactions. Writing on X on July 2, Selig said the Illinois legislature was “jeopardizing Chicago’s future

JPMorgan Says Strategy Bitcoin Sale Option Adds Two-Way Market Risk

JPMorgan said Strategy’s decision to allow potential Bitcoin sales is adding unnecessary uncertainty to the cryptocurrency market. CoinDesk reported on July 2 that JPMorgan said in a note the policy could create “two-way risk” and increase volatility

Ondo Finance Tokenizes Micron Stock, BlackRock’s IVV in Broadridge Partnership

Ondo Finance, a real-world asset platform, has launched custody-based tokenized securities in the US using a third-party issuance model. The company said July 2 that it partnered with Broadridge Financial Solutions to tokenize BlackRock’s iShares Cor

US June Nonfarm Payrolls Rise 57,000, Well Below Forecast

US job growth fell well short of market expectations in June. The Labor Department said July 2 that nonfarm payrolls increased by 57,000 from a month earlier. That was 57,000 fewer than the market forecast of 114,000 and 72,000 below the revised May