JOON HYOUNG LEE

Coinbase Says New York Prediction-Market Suit Moved to Federal Court

A New York lawsuit over the prediction-market service offered by US crypto exchange Coinbase has been moved to federal court. Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s chief legal officer, wrote on X on April 22 that a suit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia

Uzbekistan Creates Crypto Mining Zone, Offers Tax Breaks Through 2034

Uzbekistan is setting up a government-backed special zone for cryptocurrency mining. Cointelegraph reported on April 22 that Uzbekistan enacted a presidential decree on April 20 to establish the Besqala Mining Valley, a special zone for cryptocurrenc

Russian Crypto Bill Clears First State Duma Reading, Allows Foreign Trade Payments

Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, passed in a first reading a bill that would allow cryptocurrencies to be used for foreign trade payments. The State Duma approved the legislation on April 21, The Block reported on April 22. The bil

Crypto Market Liquidates $420 Million in 24 Hours, With Shorts at $285 Million

More than $420 million in positions were liquidated across the cryptocurrency market over the past 24 hours. SolanaFloor reported on April 22 that more than $415 million in positions were liquidated in the crypto futures market during the period. Mor

Bitcoin Coinbase Premium Stays Positive for 14 Days, Longest Stretch in Six Months

Bitcoin’s Coinbase Premium indicator has remained in positive territory for two straight weeks. CoinDesk reported on April 22, citing data from on-chain analytics firm Coinglass, that the Coinbase Premium Index stayed above zero for 14 consecutive da

Mastercard Joins Coinbase-Backed BSSC, Signaling Faster TradFi Push Into Crypto

Mastercard is joining a blockchain security consortium whose members include US cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. BeInCrypto reported on April 21 that Mastercard will join the nonprofit Blockchain Security Standards Council, or BSSC, as a charter-lev

KelpDAO Hack Spurs $15 Billion Exodus From Aave in Four Days

The fallout from the KelpDAO hack has triggered about $15 billion of outflows from DeFi lending protocol Aave over the past four days. Aave's total value locked fell by $15.1 billion to $30.7 billion on April 22 from $48.5 billion just before the Kel

Democratic Party’s Kim Says Digital Asset Framework Bill to Be Introduced After June Local Elections

South Korea’s Democratic Party plans to introduce its proposed Framework Act on Digital Assets after local elections in June. Kim Hyun-jung, a Democratic Party lawmaker and member of the party’s digital asset task force, made the remarks to reporters

DEX VOOI to End VOOI Light Service on May 18, Urges Users to Withdraw Funds

Decentralized exchange VOOI will shut down its VOOI Light service. VOOI said on its official X account on April 21 that it will discontinue VOOI Light, a chain-abstraction-based trading app, starting May 18. The company said the service is ending aft

Artcube 2R2 to Hold Oh Ji-yoon Solo Show After Back-to-Back Venice Biennale Invitations

Seoul's Artcube 2R2 gallery said on April 20 that it will hold a solo exhibition by artist Oh Ji-yoon, "Dignity: Accumulated Time," for about two months starting April 24. The show centers on Oh's "Dignity" series, a body of work she has presented co

Sui CPO Says South Korea Would Be Asia’s Top Market, a ‘Game Changer’ With Digital-Asset Rules

Adeniyi Abiodun, co-founder and chief product officer of Mysten Labs, the developer of Layer 1 blockchain Sui, said on June 17 that South Korea could become a “game changer” if it formalizes the digital-asset industry. At a press conference in Seoul’

Bitcoin Tops $74,000; Kimchi Premium at 0.12%

Bitcoin traded above $74,000. As of 11:47 p.m. on May 16, Bitcoin was trading at $74,016.05, up 0.04% from a day earlier, according to CoinMarketCap. The token was up 4.31% from a week earlier. The kimchi premium remained in the 0% range. Cryprice da

Iran Speaker Says Lebanon Ceasefire as Important as Iran Truce, Urges US to Honor Deal

Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, speaker of Iran's parliament and a representative of Tehran in negotiations, said a ceasefire in Lebanon is as important as a truce involving Iran. Iran's state-run Press TV reported that Qalibaf made the remark in a phone cal

DoubleZero Launches Real-Time Solana Data Feed in Wall Street-Style Push

DoubleZero, also known as 2Z, has launched a real-time data feed service aimed at investors. CoinDesk reported on June 16 that the company unveiled its new data product, DoubleZero Edge. The initial service delivers raw data generated on the Solana b

ISNR Says Iran Weighs Collecting Strait of Hormuz Transit Fees Through Domestic Banks to Boost Rial

Iran is considering collecting Strait of Hormuz transit fees through its domestic banking system, the Iranian Students News Agency reported. ISNR reported on June 16 that, under proposed legislation related to the Strait of Hormuz, foreign vessels co

Bitcoin Falls Below $74,000; Kimchi Premium at 0.17%

Bitcoin fell below $74,000. According to CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin was trading at $73,517.4 as of 10:56 p.m. on May 16, down 0.48% from a day earlier. It was up 4.04% from a week earlier. South Korea’s kimchi premium remained in the 0% range. Cryprice d

Reuters Says US, Iran Weigh Interim Memorandum Instead of Broad Agreement

The US and Iran are considering an interim agreement to prevent renewed military conflict instead of pursuing a broad peace deal. Reuters, citing multiple Iranian sources, reported that US and Iranian negotiators have scaled back their goal to an int

Drift Unveils Up to $150 Million Recovery Plan for Hack Victims With Tether Support

Drift, a Solana-based decentralized finance protocol, is pursuing a recovery plan of up to $150 million for users affected by a recent hack. Drift said on its website on June 16 that it had begun a parallel investigation into the hack earlier this mo

Reuters: Iran Proposes Allowing Ships to Use Oman-Side Route in Hormuz

Iran has proposed to the US that ships be allowed to move freely through the Oman-side route of the Strait of Hormuz without risk of attack, Reuters reported. Citing a source familiar with the Iranian government, Reuters reported on April 16 that Teh

US Initial Jobless Claims Fall to 207,000, Below Forecast

US initial jobless claims came in below market expectations last week. The Labor Department said May 16 that initial jobless claims totaled 207,000 last week. That was 6,000 below economists’ forecast of 213,000 and down 11,000 from the prior week’s

HIVE Seeks $75 Million to Expand AI Infrastructure

HIVE Digital Technologies, a US Bitcoin miner, is seeking $75 million in fresh funding to expand its artificial intelligence infrastructure. The Block reported on May 15 that HIVE plans to privately place $75 million of exchangeable notes due 2023. T

Bitcoin Funding Rate Falls to Lowest Since 2023, Reviving Bottom Calls

Bitcoin's funding rate has fallen to its lowest level since 2023, fueling expectations that the cryptocurrency may be nearing a bottom. CoinDesk, citing data from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode, reported on June 15 that Bitcoin's seven-day average

Global Crypto VC Assets Under Management Tumble as Market Slump Bites

Assets under management at global cryptocurrency venture capital firms such as Paradigm and a16z crypto fell sharply last year. Fortune reported on June 15 that the combined assets under management of four funds run by a16z crypto totaled $9.5 billio

Binance to List Perpetual Futures for Microsoft, Broadcom, Alibaba

Binance will list new U.S. equity perpetual futures tied to Microsoft, Broadcom and Alibaba. The exchange announced on its website on Aug. 16 that the contracts will be margined in Tether's USDT. Trading is set to begin at 10:30 p.m. Korea time on Au

JPMorgan Says US Clarity Act Talks Near Endgame

JPMorgan said negotiations over the US crypto market structure bill known as the Clarity Act have entered the final stage. CoinDesk reported on July 15 that JPMorgan said in a report the legislation is nearing completion. The bank said the key sticki

Solana-Backed Super PAC to Spend $8 Million in Ohio Race to Support Pro-Crypto Candidate

A US super PAC backed by the Solana Policy Institute, a cryptocurrency think tank, plans to spend $8 million in an Ohio election to support a pro-crypto candidate. The Block reported on Nov. 15 that Sentinel Action Fund and its affiliate Right Vote w

Morgan Stanley’s MSBT Draws $103 Million in Six Trading Days, Surpassing WisdomTree Bitcoin ETF

Morgan Stanley’s newly launched spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund has surpassed WisdomTree’s Bitcoin ETF in cumulative net inflows. Cointelegraph reported on Aug. 15 that Morgan Stanley’s spot Bitcoin ETF, MSBT, had recorded cumulative net inflows of

Circle CEO Says Yuan Stablecoin Has ‘Tremendous Opportunity’

Circle, the issuer of the USDC dollar-pegged stablecoin, says there is a "tremendous opportunity" for a yuan-based stablecoin. Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Allaire told Reuters on June 16 that a yuan stablecoin presents a "tremendous opportunity" a

Al Jazeera Reports ‘Major Breakthrough’ on Iran Nuclear Issue

A possible solution to Iran’s nuclear issue may emerge from the second round of talks between the US and Iran. Al Jazeera, citing multiple Pakistani sources, reported on June 16 that a "major breakthrough" had been made on an agreement over Iran’s nu

BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Buys $505.7 Million in Two Days, Holdings Reach $59.31 Billion

BlackRock Inc., the world's largest asset manager, bought $505.7 million worth of Bitcoin through its exchange-traded fund over the past two days. Arkham, an on-chain analytics firm, said May 15 that BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF added $505.7 million