JOON HYOUNG LEE

"U.S. SEC commissioners all Republican…crypto-friendly regulation likely to accelerate"

All current U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) commissioners are members of the Republican Party. According to Cointelegraph on the 7th, all three current SEC commissioners, including SEC Chair Paul Atkins, are Republicans. Former SEC comm

MSCI delisting put on hold… Strategy preferred shares recover to the $100 range after two months

The preferred shares 'Stretch' of Strategy, the world's largest Bitcoin (BTC) treasury company, have recovered to the $100 range after two months. According to CoinDesk on the 7th (local time), Stretch traded above $100 in pre-market trading that day

a16z Crypto invests in Babylon…US$15 million

a16z Crypto has invested US$15 million (about KRW 22 billion) in Bitcoin (BTC) staking protocol Babylon (BABY). a16z Crypto said on the 7th (local time) that it invested US$15 million in Babylon. a16z Crypto said, "Babylon will start as a Bitcoin sta

US December ADP nonfarm employment up 41,000…below expectations

Last month, the US private employment indicator fell short of market expectations. On the 7th (local time), according to the Automatic Data Processing (ADP) employment report, US nonfarm employment increased by 41,000 from the previous month. It is a

UK's Barclays invests in Ubyx…"Expanding territory with stablecoins"

Barclays, the UK investment bank (IB), is expanding its stablecoin business. Barclays said on the 7th (local time) that it had made a strategic investment in Ubyx, a US stablecoin payments firm. This is the first time Barclays has invested in a compa

Morgan Stanley to launch 'Ethereum ETF'…Files application with U.S. SEC

Global investment bank (IB) Morgan Stanley is launching an Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETF). On the 7th (local time), according to CoinDesk, Morgan Stanley on the previous day (6th) filed an S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissi

It's a BNB reserve company... YZi Labs 'directly criticizes' U.S. CEA

Conflict between YZi Labs, founded by Changpeng Zhao (CZ), and CEA Industry, a BNB reserve company, is escalating. YZi Labs said on the 7th (local time) via its official X account, "As a major shareholder of CEA Industry, it is reviewing CEA Industry

UAE RAKBank approved for stablecoin business…'Digital Dirham' business accelerates

UAE-based RAKBank has obtained approval for a stablecoin business. RAKBank said it has received in-principle approval from the UAE Central Bank (CBUAE) to issue a stablecoin backed by the UAE's legal tender, the dirham (AED). RAKBank said, "(The appr

'Unstoppable momentum' in silver prices…Binance launches '50x leverage' futures contract

Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance launched a silver futures contract with up to 50x leverage on the 7th (local time). Binance said it supports silver-based perpetual futures trading. The contract unit is 1 troy ounce and supports up to 50x lever

Nike sold RTFKT… exits NFT business four years after acquisition

Nike has divested its non-fungible token (NFT) platform business. On the 7th (local time), U.S. regional outlet OregonLive reported that Nike sold the NFT platform RTFKT last month. OregonLive said, "This sale was made as part of Nike CEO Elliot Hill

James Wynn bets 25x on an 'Ethereum long'…"Will have better returns than Bitcoin"

James Wynn, known as a whale on the decentralized exchange (DEX) Hyperliquid (HYPE), bet on an Ethereum (ETH) long (buy) position with 25x leverage. On the 7th (local time), according to on-chain analytics firm OnChainLens, James Wynn opened an Ether

[Analysis] "Bitcoin ETF drew in $56 billion over two years... inflows expected to resume"

There is a view that the inflow of funds into U.S. Bitcoin (BTC) spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which were sluggish in the second half of last year, will resume this year. Crypto analytics firm Matrixport said on the 7th (local time) via its offi

[Analysis] "Bitcoin whales returning to market… Chance of surpassing $100,000 increases"

Bitcoin (BTC) whales (large investors) appear to be returning to the market. Analysis says the possibility of Bitcoin reclaiming $100,000 is also increasing. Oinonen_t, a CryptoQuant contributor, said on the 7th (local time) via CryptoQuant, "Binance

Venezuela effect?…"Bitcoin could retake $100,000 this month"

Despite U.S. airstrike on Venezuela Bitcoin exceeds $93,000 "No signs of panic selling" 47% chance to exceed $100,000 Bitcoin (BTC) surpassed $93,000 for the first time in about a month. Analysts say the U.S. attack on Venezuela raised expectations o

Vitalik "Ethereum is a 'rebellion' against centralization... greater improvements needed"

Vitalik Buterin, the founder of Ethereum (ETH), said on the 1st (local time) that "Ethereum is a rebellion against centralization." Buterin said via X (X) that "the real goal of Ethereum is to build a 'world computer' that operates as the core infras

MicroStrategy: Stock Falls for Six Consecutive Months… First Since Bitcoin Accumulation

The stock of MicroStrategy, the world's largest Bitcoin (BTC) accumulation company, has fallen for six consecutive months. On the 1st (local time), CoinDesk reported that MicroStrategy's monthly stock change rate recorded a decline for six consecutiv

Bitcoin Q4 return '-23%'…first negative in 3 years

Bitcoin (BTC) price's fourth-quarter return last year turned negative for the first time in 3 years. On the 1st (local time), according to CoinGlass, Bitcoin's fourth-quarter price return last year was -23.07%. It recorded a negative for the first ti

Binance Alpha to list AI Avatar on the 2nd… Airdrop announced

Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance is adding AI Avatar (AIAV) to Binance Alpha. According to Lookonchain and others on the 1st (local time), Binance will list AI Avatar on Binance Alpha on the 2nd. An airdrop will also be conducted. After trading

Justin Sun buys $33 million worth of LIT tokens…circulation 5.3%

Justin Sun, founder of Tron(TRX), has reportedly purchased LIT tokens worth $33 million (about 48 billion won). On the 1st (local time), BlockBeats reported that Justin Sun recently bought 13.25 million LIT tokens. The amount Justin Sun invested in t

Tether bought about 8,900 Bitcoin in Q4… holdings surpass 96,000

Dollar stablecoin issuer Tether (USDT) reportedly bought about 8,900 Bitcoin (BTC) in the fourth quarter of last year. Paolo Ardoino (Paolo Ardoino), Tether's chief executive officer (CEO), said on X, "Tether bought 8,888 Bitcoin in the fourth quarte

LD Capital "Not bothered by volatility of hundreds of dollars… will steadily continue buying Ethereum"

Chinese crypto investment firm LD Capital has expressed its intention to make additional purchases of Ethereum (ETH). Jack Yi, founder of LD Capital, said on the 1st (local time), "On the premise of being optimistic about a large-scale bull market in

[Analysis] "Bitcoin trapped in a 'high-volatility box range'... lacking structural momentum"

An analysis suggested Bitcoin (BTC) prices are likely to remain range-bound this year as well. A CryptoQuant contributor from XWIN Research Japan said on the 1st (local time) via CryptoQuant, "As 2026 begins, it is still difficult to say that Bitcoin

U.S. Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs both saw net outflows… $1,700,000,000 withdrawn in a month

U.S. Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) reversed to net outflows just one day after switching to net inflows. On the 1st (local time), according to crypto analytics firm SoSoValue, the U.S. Bitcoin spot ETF recorded ne

[Analysis] "Ethereum activity at highest in 2 years… Market·on-chain divergence widens"

Ethereum (ETH) network activity has reached its highest level in two years. A CryptoOnChain contributor to CryptoQuant said on the 31st (local time) via CryptoQuant, "As of the 29th, the Ethereum network's 'Transfer Count' surged to 1.06 million," ad

U.S. KBW upgrades TeraWulf investment rating…raises target price 2.5-fold

U.S. investment bank KBW has more than doubled the target price for Bitcoin (BTC) miner TeraWulf. On the 31st (local time), CoinDesk reported that KBW upgraded its investment rating on TeraWulf to 'Outperform.' TeraWulf's target price was raised from

Trump Media to distribute cryptocurrency to shareholders…"One per share"

U.S. Nasdaq-listed Trump Media and Technology Group will distribute cryptocurrency to its shareholders. Trump Media said on the 31st (local time) that it will distribute a new cryptocurrency to shareholders in collaboration with U.S. cryptocurrency e

U.S. initial jobless claims 199,000…well below expectations

Last week, U.S. initial jobless claims came in well below market expectations. The U.S. Department of Labor said on the 31st (local time) that initial jobless claims for last week were 199,000. That figure is 20,000 below experts' forecast (219,000).

Binance "Users surpass 300 million this year… trading volume nears $34 trillion"

The global cryptocurrency exchange Binance's users have surpassed 300 million this year. Binance's trading volume within the year was reported to be $34 trillion (about 49.2 quadrillion won). On the 31st (local time), Binance reported that, as of tha

DEX derivatives cumulative trading volume tops $12 trillion… up $8 trillion in one year

The cumulative derivatives trading volume on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) has surpassed $12 trillion. The cumulative volume has increased by nearly $8 trillion over the past year. Cointelegraph, citing DefiLlama data, reported that the cumulative d

[Analysis] "December Ethereum Binance inflows surge..." Highest in 2 years

Ethereum (ETH) deposited to Binance this month has reached its highest level in two years. Arab Chain, a contributor to CryptoQuant, said on the 31st (local time) via CryptoQuant, "About 8.5 million Ethereum flowed into Binance in December," adding,