JOON HYOUNG LEE

MARA Holdings Bets $1.5 Billion on US Power Plant for AI Campus

MARA Holdings, a U.S. Bitcoin miner, has agreed to acquire a large gas-fired power plant as it expands into artificial intelligence infrastructure. The company said April 30 it signed a deal with FTAI Infrastructure to buy Long Ridge Energy & Power f

US Seized $500 Million in Iran-Linked Crypto Assets, Treasury Chief Says

The US has seized $500 million in Iran-linked cryptocurrency assets, Cointelegraph reported. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business on April 29 that the seizure was part of Washington’s economic pressure campaign against Iran. Cointele

JPX CEO Says Crypto ETF Could List as Early as Next Year, by 2028 at Latest

Japan Exchange Group Inc. could list a cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund as early as next year. Chief Executive Officer Hiromi Yamaji told Bloomberg TV in an interview on April 30 that JPX may list a crypto ETF as soon as next year. The exchange op

Ark Invest Buys $39.4 Million of Robinhood Stock After 13.2% Drop

Ark Invest, the asset manager led by Cathie Wood, bought additional Robinhood Markets Inc. shares worth about $39.4 million. The Block reported on April 29 that Ark purchased 553,892 Robinhood shares through three of its exchange-traded funds that da

World Liberty Financial Proposal to Unlock 62 Billion WLFI Tokens Wins 99.5% Support

A proposal to unlock 62 billion WLFI tokens at World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency project tied to US President Donald Trump’s family, is on track to pass. CoinDesk reported on April 29 that the governance proposal had won 99.5% support as of

Arthur Hayes Says Hyperliquid Will Emerge as a Major Prediction Market

Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, said Hyperliquid has the makings of a strong competitor in prediction markets. CoinDesk reported on April 30 that Hayes wrote in a memo that Hyperliquid will quickly emerge as a major prediction market, driven by i

MoonPay Signs MOU With Woori Bank on Korean Won Stablecoin Infrastructure

Global crypto payments company MoonPay is expanding cooperation with Woori Bank on infrastructure for a Korean won stablecoin. MoonPay said on April 30 that it signed a memorandum of understanding with Woori Bank to build infrastructure for a Korean

Court Halts FIU’s Six-Month Partial Business Suspension of Bithumb

A South Korean court has put on hold a financial regulator’s partial business suspension order against cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb. The Seoul Administrative Court’s Second Administrative Division on April 30 granted Bithumb’s request to suspend e

Ripple Opens Dubai Headquarters for Middle East, Africa to Expand UAE Business

Ripple, the issuer of XRP, has opened a regional headquarters in Dubai as it expands its business in the United Arab Emirates. Ripple said on its website on April 30 that it had opened its Middle East and Africa headquarters at the Dubai Internationa

Bhutan Sells Another 100 Bitcoin, May Liquidate Holdings by October

Bhutan's government has transferred another 100 Bitcoin as it continues to sell down its holdings. Blockchain analytics firm Arkham said on April 29 that the Bhutanese government moved 100 Bitcoin to an external wallet. The transfer was worth about $

MoonPay Buys Sodot for $100 Million, Launches Institutional Unit Led by Caroline Pham

Crypto payments company MoonPay has acquired key-management infrastructure firm Sodot for $100 million and is expanding further into institutional business. The company announced the acquisition on April 29, citing a report from The Block. The transa

Securitize, Computershare Team Up to Bring $70 Trillion US Stock Market On-Chain

Securitize, the tokenization platform backed by BlackRock, is partnering with Computershare to bring U.S.-listed stocks on-chain. Citing a statement released April 29, CoinDesk reported that Securitize had signed a partnership with Computershare to h

Senate Banking Committee Approves Kevin Warsh for Fed Chair, Sending Nomination to Full Senate

Kevin Warsh’s nomination to serve as the next chair of the Federal Reserve cleared the U.S. Senate Banking Committee. Bloomberg reported on April 29 that the panel approved Warsh’s nomination and sent it to the full Senate. If the full chamber confir

March Prediction Market Volume Nears $26 Billion, Up 10.6% in a Month

Global prediction market platforms handled nearly $26 billion in monthly trading volume last month. The Block reported on April 29 that Polymarket and Bitget Wallet, citing a report released the same day, estimated global prediction market trading vo

Standard Chartered Keeps $2 Trillion RWA Market Forecast for 2028 Despite KelpDAO Hack

Standard Chartered has maintained its forecast that the global real-world asset, or RWA, market will grow to $2 trillion by 2028. The Block reported on April 29 that Geoffrey Kendrick, the bank’s global head of digital assets research, wrote in a rep

Trump Meets Energy Executives, Discusses Months-Long Hormuz Counter-Blockade Plan

President Donald Trump met with executives from major energy companies, Axios reported. Trump held the meeting on April 28 with senior executives from major oil and gas companies, the political news outlet reported on April 29. Attendees included Che

Iran Says It Will Take Unprecedented Military Action if US Keeps Strait of Hormuz ‘Counter-Blockade’

Iran said it would launch a military response if the US continues what Tehran described as a counter-blockade in the Strait of Hormuz. A senior Iranian government official said on April 29 that Tehran would take substantive and unprecedented military

Pump.fun to Cut Revenue Allocated to Buybacks to 50% From 100%, Use Rest for M&A

Pump.fun, a Solana-based meme-coin issuance platform, will reduce the share of revenue allocated to token buybacks to 50% from 100%. In a post on its official X account on April 29, Pump.fun said it had been one of the few crypto projects to devote 1

Argentina’s Belo Raises $14 Million in Series A Led by Tether

Argentina-based digital wallet company Belo has raised $14 million in a Series A funding round led by Tether. CoinDesk reported on April 29 that Belo had completed the funding round. The company said the Series A raised a total of $14 million, with p

Polymarket Seeks CFTC Approval to Reenter U.S.

Polymarket, the global prediction-market platform, has asked regulators for approval to reenter the U.S. market. Bloomberg reported on April 29 that Polymarket recently held talks with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission about lifting restrictio

Canada Seeks Nationwide Ban on Crypto ATMs, Citing Fraud and Money Laundering

Canada is moving to ban cryptocurrency automated teller machines nationwide. CoinDesk reported on April 28 that the proposal was included in the Liberal government’s Spring Economic Update released that day. The Canadian government views crypto ATMs

Brent Crude Tops $107; $5.67 Million Liquidated in Futures Market in One Hour

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose above $107 a barrel as international oil prices extended their gains. BlockBeats reported on April 29 that Brent crude on decentralized exchange TradeXYZ climbed past $107 a barrel, up more than 3.6% from a

Trump Presses Iran to Sign Nuclear Disarmament Deal, Says It Should ‘Come to Its Senses’ Quickly

President Donald Trump urged Iran to sign a nuclear disarmament deal. In a Truth Social post on April 29, Trump wrote that Iran "doesn't even know how to sign a nuclear disarmament deal." He added that the country "can't even get its internal affairs

Pakistan Opens Six Land Routes to Iran as Trade Detour Amid Hormuz Pressure

Pakistan has opened six land routes to Iran. Pakistan opened the crossings on April 28, foreign media outlets including India Today reported. India Today said the move created an alternative trade corridor after more than 3,000 Iran-bound containers

Hong Kong Regulator Warns of Fake Stablecoins Impersonating HSBC, HKDAP

Hong Kong's monetary authority warned investors against stablecoins falsely claiming links to HSBC and HKDAP. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority said in a statement on April 28 that the two stablecoins have no connection to any officially licensed stab

Polymarket Denies Hacking Claims, Says Alleged Leak Is Public On-Chain Data

Polymarket has flatly denied recent claims that it was hacked. Cointelegraph reported on April 28 that Polymarket, in a post on its official X account, called the allegation "complete nonsense." The platform said the information posted by the hacker

Kospi Closes at 6,690.90, Extends Record Run to Third Day

The Kospi posted a record closing high for a third straight session. The benchmark closed at 6,690.90 on April 29, up 49.88 points, or 0.75%, from the previous session, according to the Korea Exchange. That topped the previous record close of 6,641.0

Vitalik Buterin Sells 40 Million ASTEROID OG Tokens as Price Jumps 120%

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin sold 40 million ASTEROID OG tokens that he had received as a donation, as the memecoin surged more than 120% in a day. Onchain Lens said on April 29 that Buterin sold the tokens for about $114,600 based on the valu

Pantera Capital, With $3.5 Billion in Assets, Plans to Expand Web3 Investments in Korea

Interview With Pantera Capital Partner Nihal Maunder Launched the First U.S. Blockchain Fund Populous Investment Marks Deeper Push Into Korea "Korea's Security Token Law Is a Milestone for Web3" "We Will Give Portfolio Companies Access to a Global Ne

Pantera-Backed Four Pillars Reaches $20.9 Million Valuation, Begins Expansion Push

South Korean Web3 research firm Four Pillars has raised fresh funding from global crypto venture capital firms Pantera Capital and Further Ventures. The company said the investment will serve as a springboard for a broader business expansion. Chief E