JOON HYOUNG LEE

U.S. Bitcoin ETFs see $104.99 million in net outflows…BlackRock leads broad pullback

U.S. spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) swung back to net outflows in a single day. U.S. spot Ether (ETH) ETFs posted net inflows for a second straight session. According to TraderT on the 18th (local time), spot Bitcoin ETFs saw net out

US Blockchain Group Steps Up Support for Prediction Markets, Launches Working Group

The US blockchain group The Digital Chamber is launching a working group to support the prediction market industry. The Digital Chamber said on the 17th (local time) that it has formed a Prediction Markets Working Group. The Digital Chamber explained

Bitwise to launch a 'prediction market ETF'…"Linked to the U.S. election, among others"

U.S. asset manager Bitwise is set to launch an exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on prediction markets. According to Eleanor Terrett on the 18th (local time), Bitwise filed an application with U.S. authorities that day to launch the prediction market

BitMine secures 4.37 million Ethereum, or 3.6% of total supply

BitMine, the world’s largest Ethereum (ETH) treasury company, now accounts for about 3.6% of Ethereum’s total supply. BitMine said on the 17th (local time) that it “currently holds 3.62% of Ethereum’s total supply.” BitMine’s target for its Ethereum

[Analysis] "Altcoin selling pressure at a five-year high…demand contraction deepens"

An analysis has found that selling pressure in altcoins excluding Ethereum (ETH) has recently hit its highest level in five years. IT Tech, a CryptoQuant contributor, said on the 18th (local time) via CryptoQuant that "the 'Cumulative Buy/Sell Diff'

Dragonfly raises its fourth fund…$650 million secured

U.S. crypto venture capital (VC) firm Dragonfly has raised a new fund totaling $650 million. Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly, said on X on the 17th (local time), “We closed Dragonfly’s fourth fund at $650 million.” Dragonfly began work

WLFI Withdraws 310 Million Tokens From Binance…Worth $34 Million

World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a cryptocurrency project backed by the family of U.S. President Donald Trump, has withdrawn more than 300 million of its own tokens from Binance. According to Onchain Lens on the 17th (local time), World Liberty Financ

UAE sovereign wealth fund’s Bitcoin ETF holdings topped $1 billion

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) sovereign wealth fund’s investment in spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is estimated to have surpassed $1 billion (about 1 trillion 400 billion won) as of the end of last year. According to CoinDesk on the

Stripe wins conditional OCC approval to form a bank… “expanding stablecoin business”

Bridge, a stablecoin infrastructure company owned by U.S. fintech Stripe, has cleared a key regulatory hurdle to establishing a bank. Bridge said on the 17th (local time) that it has received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of

UK investment bank also warns of '$50,000'… Bitcoin’s 'digital gold' narrative crumbles

Bitcoin (BTC), which has recently plunged, is failing to reclaim the $70,000 level. In the won market, the psychological support line of 100 million won has broken. Some are now questioning whether Bitcoin’s “digital gold” narrative has effectively c

Standard Chartered: "Bitcoin could fall to $50,000; Ethereum to $1,400"

Global investment bank (IB) Standard Chartered (SC) has lowered its Bitcoin (BTC) price target for this year. According to Walter Bloomberg on the 12th (local time), Standard Chartered on the day cut its year-end Bitcoin target to $100,000 from $150,

Moody’s keeps South Korea’s credit rating at ‘Aa2’…sees 1.8% growth this year

Moody’s, the global credit rating agency, said on the 12th (local time) that it has maintained South Korea’s sovereign credit rating at ‘Aa2, stable,’ unchanged. Aa2 is the third-highest rating in Moody’s scale, following Aaa and Aa1. Explaining the

Tether CEO mentions in-house AI agent: "To be released as open source soon"

Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, mentioned the company’s in-house artificial intelligence (AI) agent. On the 12th (local time), Ardoino said via X that he is “testing Tether’s AI assistant ‘QVAC.’” Ardoino added that “(QVAC) runs even in laptop GPU envi

"White House launches emergency push to avert shutdown…moves to win over Democrats"

The White House is reportedly moving to persuade Democrats in an effort to avert a partial shutdown of the federal government. According to Walter Bloomberg on the 12th (local time), the White House recently provided Democrats with legislative langua

Zerohash expands USDC infrastructure…adds Monad to its payments network

Crypto infrastructure provider Zerohash has begun supporting Circle (USDC) payments on Monad. According to The Block on the 12th (local time), Zerohash announced the previous day (the 11th) that it would add Monad (MON) to its stablecoin payments sys

US initial jobless claims at 227,000, above forecasts

US initial jobless claims last week came in above market expectations. The US Department of Labor said on the 12th (local time) that initial jobless claims totaled 227,000 last week. The figure was 5,000 higher than economists’ forecast of 222,000. I

Major Wall Street advisory firm: Wash’s ‘hawk’ label exaggerated…low odds of aggressive tightening

A new analysis suggests Kevin Warsh, the nominee for the next chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), is unlikely to pursue aggressive monetary tightening. According to Walter Bloomberg on the 12th (local time), Evercore ISI, a major Wall Street inv

US regulators unveil application process for 'stablecoin license'… "Public blockchains also eligible"

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) has disclosed a streamlined application process for issuing stablecoin licenses. According to Cointelegraph on the 12th (local time), the NCUA announced the previous day (the 11th) a proposed rulemaking

Binance SAFU completes conversion to $1bn in Bitcoin… holdings at 15,000 BTC

Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance has converted its user protection fund, “SAFU,” entirely into Bitcoin (BTC). Binance said on the 12th (local time) via its official X account, “We have completed the process of converting SAFU’s $1bn stablecoin

Bhutan transfers 100 bitcoins to QCP Capital… a “sell signal”

The Bhutanese government has transferred bitcoin (BTC) worth $6.8 million to a market maker (MM). According to Onchain Lens on the 12th (local time), the government transferred 100 BTC to Singapore-based market maker QCP Capital. At current prices, t

Arthur Hayes adds 20,000 more Hyperliquid tokens…holdings near 190,000

Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, bought additional Hyperliquid (HYPE) worth $600,000. According to Lookonchain on the 12th (local time), Hayes purchased 22,754 more Hyperliquid tokens that day, valued at $603,000 at current prices. Hayes has been

Cardano founder: "The crypto industry isn’t healthy… it needs a new narrative"

Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano (ADA), said a “new narrative is needed for crypto.” According to crypto-focused media outlet Coin Bureau on the 12th (local time), Hoskinson made the remarks while attending “Consensus Hong Kong 2026,” held in Ho

Binance CEO cites 'mass liquidations in October'… "It happened across all exchanges"

Richard Teng, co-chief executive officer (CEO) of Binance, has pushed back against claims that Binance was to blame for the mass liquidation event that roiled the crypto market in October last year. According to CoinDesk on the 12th (local time), Ten

ARK Invest adds to Circle and Bullish holdings…worth $16 million

ARK Invest, led by Cathie Wood—often dubbed the “Money Tree Sister”—bought more shares of crypto-related stocks Circle (USDC) and Bullish. According to The Block on the 12th (local time), ARK Invest on the previous day (11th) added $11.6 million wort

Strategy Preferred Shares Return to Par… "Groundwork for Additional Bitcoin Buying"

Stretch, the preferred share of Strategy, the world’s largest Bitcoin (BTC) treasury company, has recovered to its par value for the first time in about a month. According to CoinDesk on the 12th (local time), Stretch traded above its $100 par value

Binance to list Espresso, with Seed Tag applied

Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance will list Espresso (ESP). Binance said on the 12th (local time) via its official website that it will list Espresso. The listing will go live at 10 p.m. KST on the day. A Seed Tag will be applied to Espresso. Th

[Analysis] "Bitcoin short positions overcrowded…potential for a short-term rebound"

An analysis has suggested that the likelihood of a “short squeeze” (forced liquidation of short positions) in the Bitcoin (BTC) futures market has increased. PelinayPA, a CryptoQuant contributor, said via CryptoQuant on the 12th (local time) that “Bi

Trump family’s World Liberty to launch FX trading platform

World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a cryptocurrency project backed by US President Donald Trump’s family, is set to launch a foreign-exchange trading platform. According to CoinDesk on the 12th (local time), Zak Folkman, co-founder of World Liberty Fina

U.S. Bankers Association sends letter to regulators: "Delay approvals for crypto firms"

The American Bankers Association (ABA) has been confirmed to have sent a letter to financial regulators calling for delays in approvals for crypto companies. According to industry sources on the 12th (local time), the ABA said in a letter sent the pr

Binance SAFU adds 4,545 more bitcoins…worth $300 million

Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance has bought an additional $300 million worth of bitcoin (BTC) through its user protection fund, “SAFU.” According to blockchain analytics firm Arkham on the 12th (local time), Binance purchased an additional 4,54