JOON HYOUNG LEE

Pantera Urges UK’s Satsuma to Sell Bitcoin and Return Cash to Shareholders

Some shareholders, including U.S. crypto venture capital firm Pantera Capital, have asked UK Bitcoin digital-asset treasury company Satsuma Technology to return capital to shareholders, Bloomberg reported on April 23. The investors recently asked Sat

South Korea Regulator Withholds Approval for Insurance Institute’s Token, AI Push

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission is withholding approval for new digital-asset businesses proposed by the Korea Insurance Training Institute, including token issuance. According to government officials on April 23, the commission has yet t

OpenAI Hires Six Key Coinbase Marketing Executives Over the Past Year

OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, has hired a string of key marketing executives from US cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase in recent months. CoinDesk reported on April 22 that six senior Coinbase marketing employees moved to OpenAI over the past year. Sev

South Korea Debt Workout Agencies to Review Crypto Holdings Under New Law

South Korea’s debt workout agencies will be allowed to review borrowers’ cryptocurrency holdings when assessing their ability to repay debt. The Financial Services Commission said on April 23 that the National Assembly passed an amendment to the Cred

Cardano Developer Input Output Cuts Community Budget Request by Half to $46.8 Million

Input Output, the developer behind Cardano's ADA token, has nearly halved the budget it plans to seek from the community for next year from a year earlier. CoinDesk reported on April 22 that the company submitted nine proposals on April 21 totaling $

FTX Sold Cursor Stake for $200,000; Three Years Later It’s Worth $3 Billion

FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange that collapsed in 2022, sold a stake in AI coding startup Cursor for $200,000 three years ago. That holding is now worth as much as $3 billion. CoinDesk reported on April 22 that the FTX bankruptcy estate sold a 5% st

Blockchain Capital Seeks $700 Million for Two New Funds

Blockchain Capital, a crypto venture capital firm, is seeking to raise $700 million across two new funds. Bloomberg reported on April 22 that the firm recently began raising its seventh early-stage fund and second growth-stage fund. The fundraising i

Tasnim Says Iran Has Yet to Issue Official Position on Ceasefire Extension

Iran has yet to issue an official position on the US announcement of a ceasefire extension, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency. Tasnim reported on April 22 that some media outlets had said Iran had formally agreed to the extension,

Binance.US Slashes Spot Trading Fees to Near Zero in Challenge to Coinbase

Binance.US, the US arm of global cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has cut spot trading fees to near zero. Cointelegraph reported on April 22 that Binance.US lowered maker fees to 0% and taker fees to 0.02% for all trading pairs effective that day. Th

Bitcoin Tops $79,000

SEC Nears Approval of On-Chain Tokenized Securities Trading, Chair Says

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is moving to allow trading in on-chain tokenized securities, or STOs. Cointelegraph reported on April 22 that SEC Chair Paul Atkins, speaking at an Economic Club event in Washington on April 21, said the ag

Trump Says US-Iran Talks May Bring ‘Good News’ as Early as April 24

President Donald Trump said a second round of US-Iran talks to end the conflict could yield “good news” as early as April 24. The New York Post reported on April 22 that Trump sees positive developments in the next round of talks emerging as soon as

Iran Attacks 3 Ships in Hormuz, Seizes 2; US Said Open to 3-5 Day Ceasefire Extension

Iran's military attacked three cargo ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz and seized two of them. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked the three vessels in the strait on April 22, according to the BBC and other foreign media reports. Two o

USD.AI's CHIP Jumps 120% on Major Exchange Listings

USD.AI's CHIP token jumped about 120% from a day earlier after securing listings on major exchanges, including decentralized exchange Hyperliquid. CoinMarketCap data on April 22 showed CHIP rose more than 120% at one point during the day. As of 9:20

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