JOON HYOUNG LEE

BOJ Seen Raising Policy Rate to 1% Next Week, Highest in 31 Years

The Bank of Japan may lift its policy rate to the highest level in 31 years at next week's meeting, Reuters reported. The BOJ is favored to raise its benchmark rate by 25 basis points, to 1% from 0.75%, at its monetary policy meeting ending June 16,

Former SEC Chair Gensler Files Court Brief Arguing Prediction Markets Aren’t Under CFTC Jurisdiction

Former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler has argued that prediction markets do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. BlockBeats reported on June 12 that Gensler recently filed an amicus

SpaceX IPO Buzz Returns as Derivatives Market Bets on $2.4 Trillion Valuation

Interest in Elon Musk’s SpaceX listing is building again in the crypto derivatives market. CoinDesk reported on June 12 that SpaceX perpetual futures listed on Hyperliquid under the ticker SPCX traded between $176 and $183. SPCX had dropped to about

ShotgunFun Launches Solana Trading Terminal With Up to 100% Fee Cashback

ShotgunFun, a Solana-based trading terminal, has launched a new service that returns trading fees to users. The company said June 11 that it introduced a trading terminal offering cashback of up to 100% on trading fees. Cashback starts at 50% and inc

Mastercard Launches AI Agent Payments Network With Coinbase, RippleX

Mastercard has launched a new service to support automated payments between artificial intelligence agents. The global payments company said June 10 it is rolling out a new AI agent payments network called Agent Pay for Machines, or AP4M. The service

WSJ: CFTC to Propose New Prediction Market Rules, Permit Sports Bets

The US government is moving to establish new rules for prediction markets. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission plans to formally propose the rules on June 10, the Wall Street Journal reported. The centerpiece of the proposal is to allow sports-r

Bitcoin Trades Above $62,000; Kimchi Premium at -1.15%

Bitcoin traded above $62,000. CoinMarketCap data showed Bitcoin changing hands at $62,087.55 as of 10:42 p.m. in Korea on June 10, down 0.25% from 24 hours earlier. The token was 7.03% lower than a week earlier. The kimchi premium, which measures the

World Series of Poker to Accept Solana for Tournament Buy-Ins

The World Series of Poker, the world’s largest poker tournament, will introduce a Solana-based cryptocurrency payment system. CoinDesk reported on June 10 that WSOP announced the blockchain-based payment system in partnership with the Solana Foundati

SK Hynix Targets US ADR Listing as Early as August to Tap AI Stock Demand

SK Hynix is pursuing a US stock-market listing as early as August, a move aimed at expanding its global investor base by capitalizing on demand for artificial intelligence-related stocks. Reuters, citing multiple sources, reported on June 10 that SK

US May CPI Rises 4.2%, Highest Since April 2023

U.S. consumer prices rose in May at the fastest annual pace since April 2023. The Consumer Price Index increased 4.2% from a year earlier last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on June 10. The reading matched economists’ forecasts compiled b

Vietnam Accelerates Digital-Asset Rulemaking After Unchained Summit

Vietnam is stepping up efforts to formalize regulation of digital assets. Aeternum said on June 10 that the global Web3 conference Unchained Summit Vietnam was held in Da Nang in late May. Participants included the Da Nang People’s Committee, the Sta

New York Financial Regulator Proposes Stablecoin Rules Aligned With GENIUS Act

New York state is moving to adopt its own stablecoin rules in line with the federal GENIUS Act. The New York State Department of Financial Services released a proposed regulation for authorized payment stablecoin issuers on June 9, The Block reported

Trump Says Iran Will Pay for Dragging Out Negotiations

President Donald Trump said Iran will pay a price for delaying a negotiated settlement. Writing on Truth Social on June 10, Trump said "a substantial part" of Iran's military, including its navy and air force, "no longer exists" and that the country

Ethics Clash Saps Momentum Behind US Crypto Market Structure Bill

Disputes over ethics rules for senior public officials are weakening momentum behind US legislation to establish a cryptocurrency market structure framework, CryptoSlate reported. On June 9, Republicans offered Democrats a watered-down version of the

Ant International Weighs $1 Billion Fundraising as It Prepares for Hong Kong Listing

Ant International, the Chinese fintech company that runs Ant Group’s overseas business, is weighing a major fundraising round. Bloomberg reported on June 10, citing people familiar with the matter, that the company is considering raising about $1 bil

South Korea to Make Illegal FX Task Force Permanent, Strengthen Crypto-Linked Probes

South Korea will step up its crackdown on illegal foreign-exchange transactions involving cryptocurrencies and other assets. The Ministry of Economy and Finance said June 10 that it held a meeting of the pan-government task force on illegal foreign-e

KB Kookmin Bank Issues $100 Million Blockchain Digital Bond in First for Korean Banks

KB Kookmin Bank has issued a $100 million blockchain-based digital bond, the first such dollar-denominated offering by a South Korean bank. The bank announced on June 10 that the bond was issued using blockchain technology across the entire process,

OpenAI in Final Talks to Lease $500 Billion, 10-Gigawatt AI Data Center Campus in Ohio

OpenAI is in late-stage talks to lease a 10-gigawatt artificial intelligence data center campus being developed in Ohio, The Information reported on June 9. The project includes a plan for Nvidia to provide a direct payment guarantee, the publication

Bybit’s SpaceX Tokenized IPO Subscription to Close June 11

Bybit’s subscription period for a tokenized initial public offering tied to SpaceX will close on June 11. The subscription, available through Bybit IPO Express, is scheduled to end on June 11, according to BlockBeats and other outlets on June 10. Byb

Kospi Closes Down 4.52%, Gives Up 8,000 Level After One Day

South Korea’s Kospi reversed course and plunged after just one day. The benchmark index closed at 7,730.82 on June 10, down 4.52% from the previous session. It fell more than 6.8% at one point during the session and dropped to the 7,540 range. The Ko

Sahara AI Says Bridge Liquidity Restored After Token’s 50% Plunge

Sahara AI said it has restored liquidity in its bridge pool following recent volatility in its token price. In a post on its official X account on June 10, Sahara AI said it had replenished Ethereum-side liquidity in its Cross-Chain Interoperability

Solstice Partners With ApexE3, Tensorix to Enter Sovereign AI Finance

Solstice, a Solana-based on-chain credit and treasury management platform, is entering the sovereign artificial intelligence infrastructure finance market. The company said on June 8 that it had partnered with ApexE3 and Tensorix to expand into sover

Tom Lee Sees Ethereum at $250,000, Bigger Than US Treasury Market

BitMine Chairman Tom Lee said Ethereum could climb above $250,000. CoinDesk and other outlets reported on June 4 that Lee, speaking at the Proof of Talk conference in Paris on June 3, set a long-term price target of $250,000 for Ethereum. He said tha

SpaceX Releases IPO Roadshow Video, Targets 70% Gross Margin

SpaceX, the rocket and satellite company led by Elon Musk, has released a video for its initial public offering roadshow. BlockBeats and other outlets reported on June 4 that SpaceX published a roughly 17-minute IPO roadshow video that day. Chief Fin

Hezbollah Rejects Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire, Says Resistance Will Continue

Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group, rejected a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon and demanded a full withdrawal of Israeli forces. Reuters reported on June 4 that Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem, in a statement broadcast on t

Bitcoin Holds Above $64,000; Kimchi Premium at -2.64%

Bitcoin traded above $64,000. CoinMarketCap data showed Bitcoin changing hands at $64,407.44 as of 11:13 p.m. on June 4 in South Korea, down 3.37% from a day earlier. It was 11.48% lower than a week earlier. The kimchi premium stayed in negative terr

Coinbase to Launch SpaceX Pre-IPO Perpetual Futures With 24-Hour Trading

Coinbase, the US cryptocurrency exchange, will launch pre-IPO perpetual futures that let investors trade on the value of private companies. The company announced on June 4 that it will introduce pre-IPO perpetual futures contracts, with SpaceX as the

Coinbase Says First Fannie Mae-Backed Bitcoin Mortgage Closed in US, Nationwide Expansion Planned This Summer

The first Bitcoin-backed home mortgage in the US has been closed. Coinbase said in a post on its official X account on June 4 that the first Fannie Mae-backed mortgage tied to Bitcoin had been completed in the US. Fannie Mae is one of the country's t

Saylor Says Bitcoin Fundamentals Remain Intact as AI Capital Rotation Pressures Price

Michael Saylor, executive chairman of Strategy, said Bitcoin’s recent decline reflects a rotation of capital into artificial intelligence investments. In a post on X on June 4, Saylor wrote that capital markets are funding AI infrastructure on a hist

US Weekly Jobless Claims Rise to 225,000, Exceed Forecasts

US initial jobless claims rose above market expectations last week. The Labor Department said June 4 that initial claims for unemployment benefits totaled 225,000 last week. That was 11,000 higher than economists’ forecast of 214,000 and up 13,000 fr