JOON HYOUNG LEE

Iran to Limit Strait of Hormuz Transit to 15 Ships a Day During Ceasefire, Tass Reports

Iran plans to limit traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to 15 ships a day during its ceasefire with the US. Russia’s state-run Tass news agency, citing an unnamed senior Iranian source, reported July 9 that Tehran plans to allow only 15 vessels a da

Iran Says US Must Stop Israeli Strikes on Lebanon, Hours Ahead Are Critical

Iran's Foreign Ministry said the US must stop Israel's strikes on Lebanon. Walter Bloomberg reported on June 9 that Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh told state-run Fars News Agency that Iran had come close the previous night to respo

US February Core PCE Rises 3.0% From a Year Earlier, Matching Estimates

U.S. core personal consumption expenditures prices matched market expectations in February. The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis said April 9 that the core PCE price index rose 3.0% in February from a year earlier, matching economist

US Initial Jobless Claims Rise to 219,000, Above Forecast

U.S. initial jobless claims came in above market expectations last week. The Labor Department said on May 9 that initial claims for unemployment benefits totaled 219,000. That was 9,000 higher than economists’ forecast of 210,000 and up 16,000 from t

Iran President Says Israeli Strikes on Lebanon Violate Ceasefire, Risk Making Talks Meaningless

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Israel's airstrikes on Lebanon violated the ceasefire agreement. Walter Bloomberg reported on June 9 that Pezeshkian said continued Israeli attacks on Lebanon would make ceasefire talks meaningless. The Israel

TRM Says Iran’s Bitcoin Toll Plan for Hormuz Could Complicate US Sanctions

Iran’s plan to collect Strait of Hormuz transit fees in Bitcoin could make it harder for the US to enforce sanctions, according to a new analysis. The Wall Street Journal reported on July 9 that blockchain analytics firm TRM wrote in a report that da

Iran Says Strait of Hormuz Is Open but Ships Must Coordinate With Military

Iran said on July 9 that ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz must coordinate with its military. Saeed Khatibzadeh, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, told ITV that the strait remains open. But all ships and tankers must hold the necessary consultation

Binance Launches Prediction Market Service Through Predictfun Integration

Binance, the global cryptocurrency exchange, is launching a prediction market service. The company said on its website on June 9 that the service is now officially available. Users can access it through Binance Wallet. The offering is being provided

Dubai Issues Detailed Guidance on RWAs, Stablecoins to Sharpen Regulatory Clarity

Dubai authorities have moved to strengthen regulatory clarity for real-world assets, or RWAs, and stablecoins. Cointelegraph reported on April 9 that Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, or VARA, issued detailed guidance on virtual asset disc

EU Foreign Policy Chief Condemns Israel’s Lebanon Strikes, Says They Strain US-Iran Ceasefire

Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, sharply condemned Israel’s airstrikes on Lebanon. In a post on X on June 9, Kallas said hundreds of people were killed overnight in the Israeli strikes. While Hezbollah had dragged Lebanon into the war,

Israel Says It Killed Top Aide to Hezbollah Chief, Destroyed Two Key Supply Routes

The Israeli military said it had killed a close aide to Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem. Reuters and other media reported on April 9 that the Israeli military said it killed Ali Youssef Harchi in an overnight airstrike on Beirut. Harchi was Qassem's per

Binance Gold Derivatives Volume Tops $7.6 Billion, Surges 5,000-Fold in 90 Days

Binance said daily trading volume in gold derivatives on its platform has surpassed $7.6 billion. The global cryptocurrency exchange said on its website on April 8 that daily volume in gold derivatives recently exceeded that level. Binance listed the

CFTC Says Sports Prediction Markets Are Financial Products, Moves to Block Arizona

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is seeking to stop Arizona from regulating prediction-market platform Kalshi. CoinDesk reported on July 8 that the CFTC and the Justice Department asked a federal court on July 7 to halt Arizona’s enforcement

Korea Financial Investment Association Chief Says Spot Crypto ETFs Are Needed, Pushes Government and Parliament

Hwang Sung-yup, chairman of the Korea Financial Investment Association, said South Korea needs to introduce spot cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds. Hwang made the remarks at a press briefing in Seoul's Yeouido on Wednesday to mark his first 100 da

Bhutan Government Transfers 320 Bitcoin Worth $22.68 Million, Raising Sale Speculation

The Bhutan government transferred Bitcoin worth about $22.7 million to external wallets. Cointelegraph wrote on X on Aug. 8 that the Bhutan government had made an additional transfer of about 320 Bitcoin to outside addresses. The holdings were worth

Tether Visits South Korea Ahead of Circle, Meets KB Financial and Coinone

Tether, the issuer of the dollar stablecoin USDT, recently visited South Korea and held talks with local companies including KB Financial Group, industry officials said on April 9. Tether staff traveled to South Korea earlier this month and met with

Stablecoin Volume to Reach $719 Trillion by 2035, Rivaling Visa and Mastercard

Annual stablecoin transaction volume is projected to approach $720 trillion by 2035, according to a new analysis. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis said in an April 8 report that stablecoin volume could reach $719 trillion by 2035 through organic

South Korean Shippers Stay Cautious on Hormuz Passage Despite Truce

South Korean shipping companies are maintaining a cautious stance on passage through the Strait of Hormuz despite a temporary ceasefire between the US and Iran, Yonhap News Agency reported. A Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official told Yonhap on J

Bitcoin Falls Below $71,000; Kimchi Premium at 0.63%

Bitcoin fell below $71,000. CoinMarketCap data showed Bitcoin trading at $70,964.27 as of 11:52 p.m. on June 8, up 4.23% from 24 hours earlier. It was down 3.53% from a week earlier. The kimchi premium remained in the 0% range. Cryprice data showed t

Fars Says Tanker Traffic Through Hormuz Has Halted as Israel's Lebanon Strikes Threaten Ceasefire

Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has reportedly been suspended. Walter Bloomberg reported on July 8 that tanker movements through the strait had stopped that day. The move was seen as Iran's response after Israel continued airstrikes in Le

Iran Says It Will Scrap US Ceasefire Deal if Israel Keeps Striking Lebanon

Iran said it would scrap its ceasefire agreement with the US if Israel continues attacking Lebanon. Walter Bloomberg reported on June 8 that Iran's state-run Tasnim News Agency said the government would withdraw from the ceasefire deal if attacks on

Bitcoin Briefly Tops $72,000 on Report Iran Will Charge Strait of Hormuz Tolls in BTC

Bitcoin rebounded and briefly rose above $72,000 after reports said Iran would charge Strait of Hormuz transit fees in Bitcoin. CoinMarketCap data on June 8 showed Bitcoin climbing from the $71,000 range into the $72,000 range earlier in the day. As

Standard Chartered Weighs Partial Integration of Zodia Custody, Announcement May Come This Month

Standard Chartered is considering a partial integration of Zodia Custody, its cryptocurrency custody subsidiary, Bloomberg reported. Bloomberg reported on April 8 that the bank is weighing a plan to combine Zodia Custody’s crypto custody business wit

Morgan Stanley’s Spot Bitcoin ETF May Draw $30 Million on Debut, Bloomberg Analyst Says

Morgan Stanley’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund could attract $30 million on its first day of trading, according to a Bloomberg ETF analyst. Eric Balchunas wrote on X on Aug. 7 that projections for roughly $30 million in first-day trading volume f

Bernstein Says Quantum Computing Won’t Threaten Bitcoin’s Existence

Bernstein, the U.S. investment bank, said quantum computing is unlikely to pose an existential threat to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. DL News reported on April 8 that Bernstein wrote in a recent investor note that quantum-computing risk is neith

Iran Plans $1-Per-Barrel Toll on All Tankers in Strait of Hormuz, to Be Collected in Bitcoin

Iran plans to impose tolls on all tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz during a two-week ceasefire, the Financial Times reported. Hamid Hosseini, spokesperson for the Iranian Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters' Union, told the FT i

NYT Names Adam Back as Bitcoin Creator Satoshi, but Industry Is Skeptical

The New York Times has identified Adam Back, the Blockstream chief executive officer and creator of Hashcash, as the most likely person behind Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin. Back flatly denied the claim. John Carreyrou, the Ne

CZ Says He Held $1.6 Billion of LUNA Before Terra Collapse

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, said he held $1.6 billion worth of LUNA just before the 2022 Terra-LUNA collapse. Wu Blockchain reported on April 8 that Zhao discussed the Terra-LUNA crisis in his recently published memoir, Freedom of Mo

Trump Says US to Discuss Tariffs, Sanctions Relief With Iran

President Donald Trump said June 8 that the U.S. would discuss tariffs and sanctions relief with Iran. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the U.S. would work closely with Iran, which he described as having undergone “a very productive regime chang

Vance Says US-Iran Two-Week Ceasefire Is Fragile, Trump Wants Quick Progress

US Vice President JD Vance said on Aug. 8 that a two-week ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran remains "fragile." Speaking during a visit to Budapest, Hungary, Vance said Iran had agreed to keep the Strait of Hormuz open while the US had agree