JOON HYOUNG LEE

SpaceX Jumps 12% Early, Posting Biggest Gain Since August

Shares of SpaceX, the space company led by Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk, surged in early trading. SpaceX was trading around $165 on October 21, up about 12% from the previous session, according to TradingView. It marked the stock’s first g

Robinhood Ventures Invests $30 Million in Erebor Bank Through Preferred Share Purchase

Robinhood Ventures, the venture arm of U.S. stock-trading platform Robinhood, is investing $30 million in crypto-focused bank Erebor Bank. BlockBeats reported on October 21 that Robinhood Ventures Fund I, or RVI, had purchased $30 million of preferre

Western Union, Noah to Build Stablecoin Remittance Network Across 200-Plus Countries and Territories

Western Union, the global money-transfer company, is working with on-chain payments infrastructure provider Noah to build a stablecoin-based remittance network. Noah said on October 21 that it will establish a stablecoin-based international remittanc

Standard Chartered Moves to Acquire 100% of Crypto Custodian Zodia Custody

Standard Chartered is moving to acquire 100% of Zodia Custody, its cryptocurrency custody subsidiary. Cointelegraph reported on October 21 that Standard Chartered said it had signed a definitive agreement that day to buy full ownership of Zodia Custo

JPMorgan Lifts SpaceX Price Target to $500 From $240, Maintains Overweight Rating

JPMorgan more than doubled its price target for Elon Musk-led space company SpaceX. BlockBeats reported on October 21 that JPMorgan raised its SpaceX price target to $500 from $240. The bank maintained its overweight rating. JPMorgan projects SpaceX

OCC to Review Legality of Stablecoin Reward Programs Case by Case

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency will assess the legality of stablecoin reward programs on a case-by-case basis. CoinDesk reported on October 21 that the OCC released the final implementing rule for the GENIUS Act, the U.S. stablecoin la

Tesla, SpaceX Would Hold More Than 30,000 Bitcoin if Merger Proceeds

Tesla and SpaceX would hold more than 30,000 Bitcoin combined if the two companies merge. CoinDesk reported on October 21 that Tesla holds 11,509 Bitcoin and SpaceX holds 18,712. Their combined holdings total 30,221 Bitcoin. Elon Musk, Tesla's chief

Zcash Pursues NU7 Upgrade Next Month to Cut Block Times to 25 Seconds From 75

Privacy coin Zcash (ZEC) plans to roll out its NU7 upgrade next month, sharply reducing its block-generation interval. BlockBeats reported on October 21 that Zcash core developer Sean Bowe submitted a proposal on October 20 to activate the NU7 upgrad

South Korea’s Kim Min-seok Says He Will Seek ‘Reasonable Solution’ on Crypto Tax

Kim Min-seok, leader of South Korea’s Democratic Party, said he would seek a "reasonable solution" on taxation of virtual assets, or cryptocurrencies, set to take effect next year. In a post on X on October 21, Kim said he was listening to a range of

Shinhan Bank’s Japan Unit SBJ to Pursue Yen Stablecoin Pilot With JPYC, LINE NEXT

SBJ Bank, Shinhan Bank’s Japanese unit, is pursuing a proof of concept for a yen-denominated stablecoin. SBJ Bank said on Oct. 21 that it signed a memorandum of understanding with JPYC and LINE NEXT to cooperate on a proof of concept for a yen stable

SK Hynix Completes $28.9 Billion Share Buyback

SK Hynix has completed a $28.9 billion share buyback. The company said on Oct. 21 that it had finished repurchasing $28.9 billion worth of its own shares on South Korea's Kospi market over the past two months. SK Hynix had previously said it would sp

Gate Reports $8.688 Billion in Reserves, Coverage Ratio Nears 120%

Global cryptocurrency exchange Gate holds nearly $8.7 billion in reserves. Odaily reported on Oct. 21 that Gate released a proof-of-reserves report showing total reserves of $8.688 billion. The report covered 500 cryptocurrencies held by the exchange

Binance.US Seeks US Prediction Market Entry, Files Application With CFTC

Binance.US, the US arm of global cryptocurrency exchange Binance, is seeking to enter the domestic prediction market. The Financial Times reported on October 21 that Binance.US recently applied to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for authoriz

Ripple Prime Launches 24-Hour Swap Trading Across More Than 100 Markets

Ripple Prime, a Ripple unit under XRP issuer Ripple, now supports round-the-clock trading in equity, commodity and currency swaps. Odaily reported on October 21 that Ripple Prime recently launched a 24-hour swap trading service for institutional clie

Arthur Hayes Says Flop Labs Testnet, Airdrop to Start Within Weeks

Flop Labs will begin its airdrop within the next few weeks. Arthur Hayes, chief executive officer of Flop Labs and chief investment officer at Maelstrom, wrote on X on Oct. 21 that the project’s testnet and airdrop would start within weeks. He also c

‘Higher-for-Longer’ Rate Era Puts Bitcoin’s ‘Uptober’ to the Test

Soaring US Treasury yields are putting Bitcoin’s “Uptober” — the market’s term for a typically strong October — to the test. Market participants say the end of this month, when major economies including the US and Japan decide interest rates, could b

Parataxis Ethereum to Keep ETH Treasury Strategy, Seek Staking as Early as This Year

Parataxis Ethereum, a Kosdaq-listed company, plans to begin staking Ether as early as this year. The company aims to generate additional returns from its holdings using more than 10,000 Ether it expects to have secured by no later than the first half

Starknet Starts Vote on Potential Layer-1 Shift, Seeking Break From Ethereum

Starknet, an Ethereum layer-2 blockchain, has begun a community vote on whether to pursue a transition to a layer-1 blockchain. Cointelegraph reported on October 15 that Starknet launched a seven-day vote for token holders to gauge support for a poss

Nasdaq-Listed Tron Files $200 Million Stock Offering to Fund TRX Purchases

Nasdaq-listed Tron has moved to raise capital through a large stock sale to fund purchases of the cryptocurrency TRX. Cointelegraph reported on October 15 that Tron recently filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an at-the-market

Ripple Prime Launches Institutional Perpetual Swaps Linked to Real-World Assets

Ripple Prime, Ripple’s institutional services arm, has launched a real-world asset-linked perpetual swap product for institutional investors. Bloomberg reported on October 15 that Ripple Prime, the institutional unit of XRP issuer Ripple, launched pe

Ledger Says Tampered Devices Stole Recovery Phrases, Seeks Sales Halt in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong

Hardware wallet maker Ledger has disclosed the details of a recent attack in which unauthorized components were inserted into its devices to steal users' assets. The company said it will tighten standards for product sales and inventory management. I

Stripe to Develop Multi-Currency Stablecoin Card With Plasma

Global payments company Stripe is working with Plasma, a stablecoin-focused Layer 1 blockchain, to develop a multi-currency stablecoin card. Odaily reported on October 15 that Stripe announced the project with Plasma that day. The card is designed to

US Initial Jobless Claims Total 199,000, Matching Forecast

US initial jobless claims matched market expectations last week. The Labor Department said on October 15 that initial jobless claims totaled 199,000 last week. That matched economists' forecast of 199,000. The figure was up 1,000 from the previous we

US September PPI Rises 1.3% From Month Earlier, Beating Forecasts

US producer prices rose more than expected in September. The Labor Department said on October 15 that the producer price index, or PPI, climbed 1.3% from a month earlier in September. That was 0.7 percentage point above economists' forecast of 0.6%.

US September Retail Sales Rise 0.8%, Beating Forecasts

US retail sales rose 0.8% in September from a month earlier, topping market forecasts. The Commerce Department said on October 15 that September retail sales increased 0.8% from the previous month. That was 0.5 percentage point above economists’ fore

Deutsche Bank Keeps $150 Target on CoreWeave, Calls Share Plunge a Buying Opportunity

Deutsche Bank said the sharp drop in shares of AI cloud company CoreWeave could present a buying opportunity. Bloomingbit reported on October 15 that Deutsche Bank maintained its buy rating and $150 price target on CoreWeave that day. The target impl

Taiwan Blocks Kalshi, Coinbase Access Over Suspected Election Betting

Taiwan has blocked access to U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase and prediction-market platform Kalshi ahead of local elections in November, citing suspected election betting. Bloomberg reported on October 15 that the New Taipei District Court recently app

Japan's Metaplanet Conducts First Share Buyback Worth $120 Million

Metaplanet, dubbed Japan's version of Strategy, has carried out its first share buyback. The company said on Oct. 14 that it repurchased about 73.98 million common shares, equal to about 5.42% of its total common shares outstanding. The buyback was w

Vitalik Buterin Holds $530 Million of Ether Across Multiple Addresses

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin holds $530 million in on-chain assets, according to blockchain analytics firm Arkham. Arkham said on Oct. 15 that Buterin's on-chain holdings totaled $530 million. Of that amount, $527.8 million was Ether, with the

Arthur Hayes Buys $888,000 of AERO, PENDLE and ZAMA

Arthur Hayes, chief investment officer at Maelstrom, bought three altcoins, including Aerodrome Finance (AERO). Onchain Lens reported on Oct. 15 that Hayes bought about $888,000 worth of altcoins that day through FalconX and Flowdesk. The purchases c