Suehyeon Lee

<Today’s Key Economic Calendar> ▶︎ 9th (Mon): △US Daylight Saving Time begins (local time: Sun, 8th) △China February Consumer Price Index (CPI) (local time 09:30, Korea time 10:30), △China February Producer Price Index (PPI) (local time 09:30, Korea time 10:30) <Today’s Key Cryptocurrency Calendar> ▶︎ 9th (Mon):

The U.S. Treasury Department has formally acknowledged that virtual asset (cryptocurrency) mixers can be used for illicit money laundering, but can also serve legitimate purposes such as protecting financial privacy. According to Cointelegraph on the 8th (local time), the Treasury said in a recent report submitted to Congress that “legitimate virtual asset users may use mixers to ensure financial privacy when transacting on public blockchains.” It said mixers can be used to protect sensitive financial information, such as the size of an individual’s holdings, corporate payment details, and donation records. The assessment is seen as somewhat softer than its previous stance, including sanctioning Tornado Cash in 2022 and labeling international mixing services as money-laundering hubs in 2023. The Treasury, however, underscored that mixing services are still being used to launder criminal proceeds. The report said North Korean hacking groups stole at least $2.8 billion in virtual assets between January 2024 and September 2025, with mixing services used as part of the laundering pipeline. The report also analyzed fund flows among mixers, stablecoins and cross-chain bridges, noting that criminal groups make tracing more difficult by first mixing other virtual assets and then swapping them into stablecoins. While custodial mixers are required to register as money services businesses, it did not offer new regulatory recommendations for non-custodial mixers.

US President Donald Trump said the recent surge in oil prices was “a small price to pay for security and peace.” On the 8th (local time), Trump wrote on Truth Social that “if Iran’s nuclear threat is removed, oil prices that have risen in the short term will quickly fall,” adding that it is “a cost worth bearing for the safety and peace of the United States and the world.” He also added, “Those who do not understand this are foolish.” International oil prices have been soaring—topping $110 a barrel—as tensions in the Middle East escalate following recent US and Israeli attacks on Iran. The market is pointing to concerns over supply disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz and expanding geopolitical risk as key drivers of higher energy prices.

U.S. crude prices surged more than 20% in a single day, climbing above $111 a barrel. According to The Kobeissi Letter, a market analysis account, on the 8th (local time), U.S. crude rose 23% intraday and is trading above $111 a barrel. The spike indicates crude prices have nearly doubled over the past three months. The market sees escalating military tensions in the Middle East and concerns over supply disruptions as key drivers lifting oil prices. A sharp rise in energy costs could add to global inflationary pressure and increase volatility in financial markets.

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) said it will move forward with allowing corporations to participate in the digital-asset market, conditional on putting in place market-stability measures and internal control systems, and will review the matter as quickly as possible. Hong Jae-seon, an assistant director at the FSC, made the remarks while serving as a panelist at the “Academic Conference on Opening the Digital-Asset Market to Corporations and Building Trust Infrastructure,” held on the 4th at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul. “Corporate participation in the market is an issue linked to qualitative growth in a retail-centric market,” Hong said, adding, “Under the recognition that market trust must be established first, we are reviewing complementary measures in tandem.” Hong noted that expanded corporate participation could lead to large-scale transactions. “We are examining what safeguards are needed to minimize the extent to which such trades could destabilize the market,” he said. Regarding concerns that quotes or prices could be abused in the course of corporate investment, he added, “We are sufficiently reviewing issues raised from outside.” On the market-infrastructure front, Hong indicated that the level of exchanges’ internal controls could become a key focus of scrutiny. “Internal controls at exchanges have become an issue based on past cases, so we are also hearing a lot from consultations (on the ground) as we design policy. We are refining the policy while communicating sufficiently with the industry,” he said. Asked about the timing for corporate participation, Hong said, “We are working to do it as quickly as possible,” adding, “We will push it forward as quickly as possible in connection with discussions on the Phase 2 legislation.” He did not provide a specific timeline. Hong also assessed that “corporate participation in the market could ultimately enhance stability compared with a retail-centric market and help the industry’s qualitative growth,” while adding that “we will reach a conclusion after comprehensively checking internal controls, market stability, and concerns about unfair practices, among other factors.”

Cho Sung-il, CEO of Korea Digital Asset Custody (KDAC), stressed that if corporate participation in the digital-asset market expands, building specialized custody infrastructure and strengthening internal controls will be key tasks. On the 4th, Cho said in a presentation at the “Academic Conference on Opening the Corporate Digital-Asset Market and Building Trust Infrastructure: Tasks” held at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul, that “the global digital-asset market is rapidly shifting from a retail-centered structure to one centered on institutions and corporations,” adding that “it is necessary to overhaul custody infrastructure and internal control systems in preparation for expanded corporate participation.” Discussing recent global market trends, he explained: “Looking at the Bitcoin (BTC) holding structure, retail investors account for about 65–69%, but institutions and corporations already make up a significant share as well. In the case of U.S. Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the share held by institutional investors reaches about 28%.” He also analyzed that signs of corporate digital-asset investment are emerging in Korea. Cho said, “At present, roughly around 10 listed Korean companies are estimated to hold about 3,000 Bitcoin,” adding, “Recently, there have also been cases of some companies acquiring Bitcoin as part of their treasury strategy.” However, due to institutional constraints, the environment for corporate investment remains limited. He pointed out, “Currently, on-exchange trading is difficult due to restrictions such as real-name accounts at exchanges, so transactions are being conducted via over-the-counter bilateral trades. In this process, securing counterparties or sufficient size is not easy.” Cho emphasized that, alongside expanded corporate participation, the method of safeguarding digital assets will become a key issue. He explained, “Given the nature of digital assets, risk management is required across areas such as private-key management, approval controls, and regulatory compliance,” adding, “In particular, cases of asset theft or loss due to inadequate internal controls continue to occur.” As an alternative to address these issues, he highlighted the role of specialized custody services. Cho said, “Specialized custodians can securely protect corporate assets through a range of security frameworks, including key management, access controls, segregation of duties, monitoring, and incident response,” adding, “In global markets, using third-party custody has effectively become the standard for listed companies and institutional investors.” He also proposed that Korea’s market should adopt a structure that separates trading functions from asset safekeeping. He explained, “A structure that combines exchange and custody functions can create conflicts of interest or security risks,” adding, “It is necessary to separate functions so that exchanges handle trading while specialized custodians are responsible for safekeeping.” Finally, Cho stressed, “Corporate participation in Korea’s digital-asset market is somewhat late compared with global trends, but it is a necessary change,” adding that “specialized custody infrastructure must take root quickly to enhance the competitiveness of Korea’s digital-asset industry and prevent the outflow of assets overseas.”

Rep. Kim Hyun-jung of the Democratic Party of Korea stressed that as the digital-asset market is rapidly being reshaped from retail-led to institution- and corporate-led, expanding corporate participation and building trust infrastructure will be key tasks for the industry’s next stage of development. In welcoming remarks at the “Academic Conference on Opening the Corporate Market for Digital Assets and Tasks for Building Trust Infrastructure,” held on the 4th at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul, Kim said, “The global digital-asset market is quickly shifting from a structure centered on individual investors to one centered on institutions and corporations,” adding that “this change shows that digital assets are taking root as part of the real economic system beyond being merely investment assets.” He continued, “Opening the corporate market for digital assets and building trust infrastructure are important tasks for Korea to leap forward as a leading country in digital finance,” and said he hopes “today’s discussions will serve as an opportunity to specifically review the institutional and policy tasks needed to open the corporate market.” Kim particularly underscored the need to overhaul制度 frameworks in line with the expansion of the corporate market. “As corporate participation increases, we must upgrade policy and supervisory frameworks to secure market stability and predictability,” he said, explaining that “building custody infrastructure to safely protect corporate assets will also be a core element of market trust.” He also emphasized the importance of accounting transparency and stronger internal controls. “For corporations to participate in digital assets, we need to refine financial reporting standards and internal control systems to establish a sound market order,” Kim said. He added, “The National Assembly will also listen closely to experts’ views and do its utmost to pursue responsible legislation and institutional improvements so that companies can lead digital innovation in a safe and transparent environment.”

South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) will move to bolster internal controls and upgrade exchanges’ market surveillance systems to restore trust in the digital asset market and establish market order. With virtual asset users numbering about 11 million, the regulator plans to build a supervisory framework on par with that of the regulated financial sector. On the 4th, Lee Jong-oh, Deputy Assistant Governor for the FSS Digital & IT Division, said at the 2026 Financial Supervision Briefing, “We will concentrate our supervisory capabilities so that the digital asset market, currently used by around 11 million people, can leap forward into a trusted, institutional market.” The FSS will first push improvements to internal controls and IT systems related to digital assets. Lee stressed responsible management by operators, saying, “The industry also must work to restore market trust with a do-or-die resolve.” The regulator will also work to establish supervisory and inspection frameworks in preparation for the second-stage digital asset legislation to be introduced in the future. The FSS plans to put in place new digital-asset supervision and inspection systems to respond to the implementation of the regime and to overhaul its market management framework. The presentation also outlined recent trends in Korea’s virtual asset market. Choi Kang-seok, Director of the FSS Virtual Asset Supervision Bureau, said, “Since October 2025, prices of major virtual assets have fallen sharply amid factors such as heightened global macroeconomic uncertainty.” He added, “Bitcoin has fallen about 46% from its peak, and major altcoins such as Ethereum have also posted declines of around 40–60%.” While the market’s size has shrunk, participation has increased. Choi said, “As of end-June 2025, the market capitalization of domestic virtual assets was about KRW 95.1 trillion, down 11.7% from the end of the previous year, but the number of users rose 11% to about 10.77 million,” adding that “a structural shift is emerging in which the market contracts while the user base expands.” The FSS believes that, as the virtual asset market has grown rapidly, qualitative growth is needed in areas such as internal controls and system stability. Choi said, “In the securities market, functions are dispersed among exchanges, clearing and settlement institutions, and securities firms, enabling mutual checks and balances, but in the virtual asset market multiple functions are concentrated in operators, leaving structural stability vulnerable,” adding that “there is a need to strengthen IT system stability and internal control frameworks.” Accordingly, the FSS plans to overhaul its supervisory framework and strengthen market surveillance functions in line with discussions on second-stage legislation such as the Framework Act on Digital Assets. It also plans to establish a disclosure framework related to the issuance of virtual assets and support for trading, and to refine licensing procedures for operators. Oversight of unfair trading practices will also be strengthened. Through market surveillance, the FSS plans to screen for targets with a high likelihood of unfair trading such as price manipulation, and to conduct thematic investigations into high-risk areas including price adjustment in the early circulation stage and trades using API orders. It also plans to develop a function that automatically detects groups suspected of price manipulation using an AI-based analytics system. The FSS also plans to enhance exchanges’ market surveillance capabilities. It will establish separate screening criteria to identify problematic API trading and upgrade investigation systems to improve the capacity to respond to unfair trading.

Amid reports that the government and the National Assembly have agreed on a plan to limit the ownership stake held by controlling shareholders of digital-asset exchanges to 20%, the Democratic Party of Korea’s Digital Asset Task Force (TF) said a final conclusion has not yet been reached. On the 4th, a Democratic Party Digital Asset TF official told BloombergBit by phone, “A final conclusion will likely be reached through tomorrow’s party-government consultation,” adding, “Nothing has been finalized so far.” Earlier, some outlets reported that the government and the Democratic Party’s Digital Asset TF had agreed on a plan to cap controlling shareholders’ stakes in digital-asset exchanges at 20%. The report said that, with a three-year grace period after the law takes effect, major exchanges such as Upbit and Bithumb would be subject to the 20% stake regulation starting three years later. In response, the TF official said, “The 20% cap is one of the options discussed within the TF,” but added, “Because it has not yet gone through party-government consultations, it is not a final, confirmed decision.”

South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said that while the number of users in the domestic virtual asset (cryptocurrency) market is rising, the overall market size is trending lower, and signaled it will strengthen market surveillance and its supervisory framework. On the 4th, Choi Kang-seok, head of the FSS Virtual Asset Supervision Bureau, presented recent market trends and supervisory plans at the 2026 FSS supervisory briefing, saying, “We plan to strengthen supervision and investigative systems to establish market order and foster a trustworthy virtual-asset ecosystem.” Describing recent conditions, Choi said, “Since October 2025, prices of major virtual assets have fallen sharply due to factors such as global macroeconomic uncertainty.” He added, “Bitcoin is down about 46% from its October 2025 peak, and major altcoins such as Ethereum have also declined by around 40–60%.” He continued, “As of end-June 2025, the domestic virtual-asset market capitalization stood at about KRW 95.1 trillion, down 11.7% from the end of the previous year, while the number of users rose 11% to about 10.77 million.” Choi stressed that as the market has grown rapidly, it needs qualitative growth, including internal controls and system stability. “In the securities market, functions are dispersed among exchanges, settlement institutions and securities firms, enabling mutual checks and balances, but in the virtual-asset market, multiple functions are concentrated in operators, leaving structural stability vulnerable,” he said. “There is a need to strengthen IT system stability and internal-control frameworks.” Accordingly, the FSS plans to push ahead with building a supervisory framework in preparation for the second phase of digital-asset legislation. The Basic Act on Digital Assets, currently under discussion in the National Assembly, is expected to include finer classification of operator types, regulation of business conduct, a framework for listing support and disclosures, and rules against unfair trading. For stablecoins, requirements for issuance, management of reserve assets and monitoring systems are also key items under discussion. The FSS said it established a “Preparatory Task Force for Introducing the Basic Act on Digital Assets” in January this year to prepare for the new regime, and plans to advance work on a disclosure framework related to virtual-asset issuance and listing support, as well as procedures for licensing operators. It will also inspect internal controls and the operational status of IT systems at won-denominated exchanges, and proceed with revisions to self-regulation and system improvements reflecting identified vulnerabilities. It will also strengthen its unfair-trading surveillance framework. Through market monitoring, the FSS plans to screen targets with a high likelihood of unfair trading such as price manipulation, and conduct thematic investigations in high-risk areas such as price adjustments in the early circulation stage and trading using API orders. It will also develop functions using an AI-based analytics system to automatically detect groups suspected of price manipulation, and will establish separate review criteria related to API trading to bolster exchanges’ market-surveillance capabilities. Choi said, “For the virtual-asset market to grow in a stable manner, user protection and the establishment of market order are essential,” adding, “Supervisory authorities will also strengthen market monitoring and investigative capabilities to build a sound market environment.”

South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said it will strengthen internal controls and its market surveillance framework to help restore trust in the digital-asset market. On the 4th, Lee Jong-oh, deputy assistant governor in charge of the FSS Digital and IT division, said in opening remarks at the 2026 Financial Supervision Briefing that “we will concentrate our supervisory capabilities so that the digital-asset market, used by about 11 million people today, can leap into a trusted, institutionalized market.” He explained that to this end, the FSS plans to actively promote improvements to internal controls related to digital assets and to IT systems. Lee urged the industry to “make every effort with a do-or-die resolve.” He also said the agency is working to build a supervisory and inspection framework in preparation for the second phase of digital-asset legislation to be introduced in the future. “We will establish a new digital-asset supervision and inspection system to respond effectively to the implementation of the制度,” he said. In addition, the FSS plans to bolster exchanges’ market surveillance functions. He explained that “along with upgrading investigative systems, we plan to strengthen exchanges’ surveillance capabilities by setting standards for screening and detection related to API trading.”

Paradex, an institutional decentralized perpetual futures exchange (Perp DEX), said on the 3rd that it is accelerating ecosystem expansion ahead of the launch of its native token, “DIME.” In recently released materials, Paradex pointed to key business metrics and indicated it has begun a strategic pivot centered on the DIME token generation event (TGE). The company is focusing on minimizing the disclosure of trading information—an issue that institutional investors are particularly sensitive to—in an on-chain environment. To address the structural limitation of blockchains, where position sizes and liquidation levels can become publicly visible, it said it has built a confidentiality-focused architecture and a self-custody-based infrastructure. On market structure, the platform is prioritizing better execution quality and reducing adverse trading conditions by introducing a zero-fee policy for retail users, not applying auto-deleveraging (ADL), and adopting a price-improvement (RPI) mechanism. It currently supports more than 100 markets and up to 50x leverage, and aims to provide institutional-grade liquidity and a trading environment even on-chain. Performance metrics have also been expanding. Since its mainnet launch in February 2024, cumulative trading volume totaled about $251.8 billion as of Feb. 21, 2026. Open interest (OI) stood at roughly $550 million, and total value locked (TVL) was tallied at more than $160 million. Total sign-ups have surpassed 70,000, and there have recently been days when daily trading volume exceeded $3 billion. DIME is the native token of the Paradex chain and is expected to serve as a core asset linking network utility with participant incentives across an on-chain financial ecosystem that will expand into spot trading, options and real-world assets (RWA). The company said DIME will represent more than a simple exchange token, symbolizing the broader expansion of on-chain derivatives infrastructure. Paradex is a project incubated by the team behind Paradigm, an institutional crypto derivatives liquidity network, and raised $35 million in a Series A round led by Jump Capital and Alameda Ventures in 2021.

U.S. President Donald Trump said U.S. stockpiles of military materiel are at an all-time high, expressing confidence in the country’s ability to sustain a prolonged war. On the 3rd (local time), Trump wrote on his Truth Social account that he had been briefed that “stockpiles of mid-tier and upper mid-tier weapons are greater than ever, and that a virtually unlimited supply is possible.” He added, “With these supplies alone, we can prosecute a war successfully for a very long time.” However, regarding top-tier weapons, he said, “We have sufficient quantities, but we have not yet reached the level we want.” He also noted that some advanced weapons are stored at overseas bases. Taking aim at the Joe Biden administration, Trump criticized it for “giving Ukraine hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of advanced weapons for free without replenishing them.” He stressed that he rebuilt the military during his first term and continues to strengthen U.S. military power.

Nasdaq is seeking to launch cash-settled binary options products based on the Nasdaq-100 Index, widening its footprint into the prediction-market arena. According to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing cited by Cointelegraph on the 3rd (local time), Nasdaq MRX, an options exchange under Nasdaq, applied to list “Outcome Related Options.” The product is a yes-or-no style contract that trades at prices between $0.01 and $1. Investors would be able to take binary positions on specific market outcomes linked to the Nasdaq-100 and the Nasdaq-100 Micro Index. Non-financial events such as sports, politics, and culture are not included. The Nasdaq-100 includes major mega-cap tech names such as Nvidia (NVDA), Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOGL), Meta (META), and Tesla (TSLA). If approved by the SEC, Nasdaq would compete with existing prediction-market platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi. More recently, digital-asset (cryptocurrency) trading platforms including Coinbase and Crypto.com have also been integrating prediction-market features. On Wall Street, similar moves are gaining traction. Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), CME Group, and Cboe Global Markets have indicated they are investing in or planning to launch prediction-market products. CME Group plans to partner with U.S. betting operator FanDuel to support wagering on events beyond finance, while Cboe intends to focus on finance- and economy-related contracts.

Withdrawals at Nobitex, Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, surged immediately after the United States and Israel carried out airstrikes on Tehran, according to findings. However, as a sweeping internet shutdown followed, additional capital outflows slowed sharply. According to a report by blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, cited by Cointelegraph on the 2nd (local time), within minutes of the first strike in Iran, Nobitex’s crypto withdrawals jumped more than 700% to above $500,000. Over the following hour, total withdrawals were estimated to have approached about $3 million. Elliptic said the spike may "indicate potential capital flight" from Iran. Early tracing showed a substantial share of funds moving to overseas crypto exchanges. The firm noted this can serve as a channel to move money abroad while partially bypassing monitoring by the global banking system. The withdrawal flow later fell sharply. Another blockchain forensics firm, TRM Labs, attributed this to the Iranian government’s strict internet shutdown measures. According to TRM, Iran’s internet connectivity dropped by as much as about 99% in the immediate aftermath of the conflict. TRM took a cautious stance on Elliptic’s "capital flight" interpretation. TRM said that rather than signs that Iran’s crypto ecosystem is accelerating or that large-scale capital flight is occurring, activity appears to have broadly contracted as trading volumes and engagement were suppressed due to the internet shutdown. The surge in withdrawals came as the United States and Israel press ahead with military operations aimed at weakening Iran’s leadership and disabling its nuclear and missile programs. Iran has responded with strikes on neighboring areas, heightening tensions across the Middle East. Meanwhile, Nobitex is the country’s largest exchange, handling about 87% of Iran’s crypto trading volume. As of 2025, it processed roughly $7.2 billion in transactions and is said to have more than 11 million users.

<Today’s Key Economic Calendar> ▶︎ 3rd (Tue): △European Union preliminary February Consumer Price Index (CPI) (11:00 local time, 19:00 Korea time), △Remarks by New York Fed President John Williams (09:55 local time, 23:55 Korea time), △Remarks by Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari (11:45 local time, 01:45 Korea time on the 3rd) <Today’s Key Crypto Calendar> ▶︎ 3rd (Tue): △Astar (ASTR) Tokenomics 3.0 vote

Contrary to claims by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that the Strait of Hormuz has been blockaded, reports said the strait is not currently closed. On the 2nd (local time), Fox News, citing a statement from U.S. Central Command (U.S. Central Command), said that “the Strait of Hormuz has not been closed.” Earlier, remarks from the Iranian side suggesting the possibility of controlling or blockading the strait prompted a sensitive reaction in international crude prices and financial markets. The Strait of Hormuz is a strategic chokepoint through which roughly 20% of the world’s crude oil shipments pass, and whether it is blockaded has a direct impact on global energy markets. While the report has somewhat eased near-term concerns over energy supply disruptions, market volatility is seen as likely to persist for the time being as tensions in the Middle East continue.