JOON HYOUNG LEE

'Trump confidant' Fed board member "Should quickly lower interest rates... maintaining tightening will raise unemployment"

Steve Miran US Federal Reserve(Fed) board member argued that "the policy rate should be lowered quickly." In an interview with Bloomberg on the 25th (local time), Miran said, "I do not think the economy will collapse soon," and added, "(however) cons

U.S. initial unemployment claims 218,000…well below expectations

Last week, initial unemployment claims in the United States came in well below market expectations. The U.S. Department of Labor said on the 25th (local time) that initial unemployment claims last week totaled 218,000. That was 15,000 fewer than the

U.S. Q2 GDP 3.8% 'surprising growth'…revision raised by 0.5 percentage points

The U.S. economy, which contracted in Q1 this year, recorded a larger-than-expected expansion in Q2. The U.S. Commerce Department said on the 25th (local time) that the final estimate of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) growth for Q2 this year was 3

DEX derivatives trading volume hits record highs two days running… $67 billion recorded in one day

Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) saw derivatives trading volume break record highs for two consecutive days. Wu Blockchain said on the 25th (local time) via its official X account, "The previous day (24th), derivatives trading volume on decentralized e

M2 Capital invests $20M in Ethena…"Expansion of digital finance in the Middle East"

M2 Capital, a subsidiary of UAE-based investment firm M2 Holdings, is investing $20 million (about 28 billion won) in Ethena (ENA). According to CoinDesk on the 25th (local time), Ethena recently raised $20 million in funding from M2 Capital. Ethena

"Naver·Dunamu synergy substantial… If realized, 'big deal'"

Analysts say the impact on the industry would be considerable if Naver were to acquire Dunamu, operator of South Korea's No.1 virtual asset exchange Upbit. Domestic Web3 research firm Tiger Research said in a report on the 25th that "the possibility

RedotPay raises $47 million in investment… Coinbase among participants

Stablecoin payments company RedotPay has raised $47 million (about 66 billion won) in new investment. On the 25th (local time), Cointelegraph reported that RedotPay recently completed a $47 million fundraising. The investment round included Coinbase

U.S. Capital Group becomes largest shareholder of MetaPlanet… secures 11.45% stake

U.S. asset manager Capital Group (Capital Group) has emerged as the largest shareholder of "Japan's version of Strategy" MetaPlanet. Simon Gerovich, MetaPlanet CEO (CEO), said on the 25th (local time) via X (X), "Capital Group has become MetaPlanet's

Nine EU banks jointly develop a stablecoin… launch in the second half of next year

Nine banks in the European Union (EU) will jointly develop a euro-based stablecoin. On the 25th (local time), Bloomberg reported that DekaBank, ING Group, UniCredit, Danske Bank and other EU banks, nine in total, announced they had formed a consortiu

Banque de France "Dollar stablecoins could undermine EU sovereignty"

The Banque de France said dollar stablecoins could undermine the sovereignty of the European Union (EU). On the 25th (local time), according to Bloomberg, François Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Banque de France, said in a recent interview with

[Exclusive Interview] Trump family WLFI's 'surprise announcement'…"Will cooperate with 'won stablecoin'"

Exclusive interview with Zak Folkman, co-founder of World Liberty Financial (WLFI) WLFI, the Trump family's cryptocurrency project Co-host of 'Eastpoint Seoul 2025' Expressed willingness to cooperate with a 'won stablecoin' "We will further strengthe

AI coins surge on news of NVIDIA's Intel investment

AI-themed cryptocurrency prices are surging on news of NVIDIA's large investment in Intel. According to CoinMarketCap on the 19th, NEAR Protocol (NEAR) is trading at $2.96, up 10.65% from the previous day as of 12:07 AM. NEAR Protocol is an AI agent

Dogecoin ETF reaches $6 million trading volume within 1 hour of launch

The U.S. Dogecoin (DOGE) exchange-traded fund (ETF) recorded about $6 million (approximately 8.4 billion won) in trading volume within 1 hour of its launch. Eric Balchunas, a Bloomberg ETF analyst, said on X on the 18th (local time), "The Dogecoin ET

[Analysis] "Bitcoin forms resistance at $117,000… Risk of correction if breakout fails"

Analysis suggests that Bitcoin (BTC) price could enter a correction phase if it fails to break above $117,000. On-chain analytics firm Glassnode said on the 18th (local time) via its official X account, "Supply on the Bitcoin 'Cost Basis Distribution

Bhutan transfers US$100 million in Bitcoin... "Signs of selling"

The Bhutan government has transferred US$100 million (about KRW 140 billion) worth of Bitcoin (BTC) to a new wallet. On the 18th (local time), according to on-chain analytics firm Lookonchain, the Bhutan government transferred 913 BTC to two new wall

White House National Economic Council chair "Fed decision, a first step toward lower rates"

Kevin Hassett, chair of the White House National Economic Council (NEC), supported the Federal Reserve's (Fed) decision to cut interest rates. Hassett said in an interview with CNBC on the 18th (local time) that "(a 0.25 percentage point cut in the p

Plasma to launch its own token on the 25th… 25,000,000 tokens distributed

Plasma, a blockchain dedicated to stablecoins, will hold a token generation event (TGE) on the 25th. Plasma said on the 18th (local time) that it will launch its own token Plasma (XPL) on the 25th of this month. The Plasma mainnet beta version will a

U.S. initial unemployment claims 231,000…below expectations

Last week, U.S. initial unemployment claims came in below market expectations. The U.S. Department of Labor said on the 18th (local time) that initial unemployment claims for last week were 231,000. This figure is 10,000 fewer than the experts' forec

DeFi Technologies launches 'Bitcoin staking ETP' in London

Nasdaq-listed U.S. company DeFi Technologies has launched a Bitcoin (BTC) staking ETP in the UK. DeFi Technologies said on the 18th (local time) that it launched the Bitcoin staking ETP '1VBS' on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). This is the first tim

UK holds policy rate at 4%… inflationary pressure

The UK's central bank has held its policy rate. The Bank of England (BOE) on the 18th (local time) held a Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting and kept the policy rate at 4.00% per annum. Of the nine MPC members, seven supported keeping the rate.

Dogecoin ETF launch imminent…"Billions of dollars will flow in"

Dogecoin (DOGE) prices are rising sharply amid expectations of an exchange-traded fund (ETF) launch. Observers predict that billions of dollars could flow in if an ETF is launched. According to crypto market aggregator CoinMarketCap, as of 7:41 PM th

Changpeng Zhao "BNB surpasses $1,000… an experience difficult to put into words"

Changpeng Zhao, who founded Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, said, "Binance Coin (BNB) rising to $1,000 is an experience difficult to put into words." On the 18th (local time), he said on X, "(Binance Coin) was $0.1 at the time o

Hong Kong game company Boya Interactive buys additional $47.5 million worth of Bitcoin… holdings surpass 4,000

Hong Kong-listed game company Boya Interactive has purchased an additional $47.5 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC). Boya Interactive said on the 18th (local time) that it bought about 411 Bitcoins. The amount Boya Interactive spent on this Bitcoin purch

BNB surpasses 1000 dollars for the first time ever…Uptrend continues

Binance Coin (BNB) has surpassed 1000 dollars for the first time ever. According to CoinMarketCap on the 18th, Binance Coin is trading at 1002.53 dollars as of 5:27 p.m., up 5.19% from the previous day. Compared with a week ago, it rose 11.87%. Binan

[Analysis] "Bitcoin futures price suggests a bull market…gradual rise expected over two weeks"

A recent analysis suggested that Bitcoin (BTC) futures price trends indicate a bullish phase. Axel Adler Jr., a CryptoQuant contributor, said on the 18th (local time) on X, "Bitcoin futures are trading at a premium to spot and the basis has remained

U.S. Bullish posts Q2 net profit of $110 million… trading volume surges

U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Bullish posted a net profit of $110 million (about KRW 150 billion) for the second quarter of this year. Bullish said on the 17th (local time) that second-quarter net profit was $108.3 million. Considering that a year ear

Pakistan opens door to foreign cryptocurrency firms

Pakistan appears to be loosening restrictions on global virtual asset companies. On the 14th (local time), Cointelegraph reported that the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) on the previous day (13th) requested that major global vir

Gold price jumps… Bitcoin also 'soars' a month later

Crypto Now U.S. rate-cut expectations priced in Bitcoin, up 4% to 115,000 dollars If a big cut comes this month, further rally likely Bitcoin is facing a 'crucial week' ahead of the U.S. decision on cutting the policy rate. Attention is focused on wh

Exchange rate and bonds: won·dollar exchange rate likely to move around the 1,380-won level

Last week, the won·dollar exchange rate approached the 1,400-won level due to concerns about France's finances, despite foreign investors' buying of domestic stocks. Experts expect the U.S. central bank (Fed) to cut its policy rate this week, but bec

U.S. Bitmain Buys an Additional 280,000 Ethereum in Two Weeks…$1.3 Billion in Scale

U.S. Bitcoin (BTC) mining firm Bitmain has purchased $1.3 billion (about KRW 1.8 trillion) worth of Ethereum (ETH) so far this month. On the 14th, according to Strategic Ethereum Reserve, Bitmain's Ethereum holdings were estimated at about 2.07 milli