Uk Jin

Bitcoin gives back $70,000 level

Competition intensifies over stablecoin payment infrastructure… “Aim is to lock in revenue streams”

Competition between digital-asset companies and fintech firms over stablecoin (digital assets pegged to fiat currencies) payment infrastructure is heating up in earnest. The push appears to center on competing for fee income via proprietary payment n

China’s Ant Group said to be weighing a Hong Kong spin-off listing of Ant International

China’s Ant Group is reportedly considering a separate Hong Kong listing of Ant International, its global business unit. On the 20th (Korea time), Caixin reported that Ant Group is weighing a plan to carve out Ant International, which oversees its di

Ledger hires former Circle executive John Andrews

Digital-asset wallet provider Ledger said on the 20th that it has appointed former Circle executive John Andrews as chief financial officer (CFO) to expand its U.S. business. Ledger plans to use the appointment to strengthen its U.S. institutional bu

Forward Industries secures an additional 50,000 Solana, pushing holdings past 7 million

Nasdaq-listed Forward Industries said on the 20th (Korea time) that it recently increased its Solana (SOL) holdings from 6.96 million to around 7.01 million. Forward Industries positions itself as a “Solana treasury company” that stockpiles Solana as

Bitcoin holds $70,000 despite Middle East tensions… “Upside potential could expand”

Bitcoin (BTC) is being seen as delivering resilient performance relative to other assets, holding the $70,000 level despite geopolitical uncertainty. According to CoinDesk, a cryptocurrency-focused outlet, on the 20th (Korea time) André Dragosch, hea

All defendants in gang that laundered crypto by disguising Moutai trades in China handed prison terms

A group in China’s Hunan Province was caught laundering virtual assets (cryptocurrency) by posing as Moutai trades, and all were sentenced to prison terms. According to Odaily on the 20th (Korea time), all eight defendants were found guilty in the fi

Story signs collaboration agreement with Tag Space

Story (IP), a blockchain project for intellectual property (IP), announced on the 20th that it has signed a collaboration agreement with Tag Space. Through this partnership, the two companies plan to jointly develop a “programmable IP” model that com

"U.S. Weighs Seizing or Blockading Iran’s Kharg Island"…Tensions Rise in Strait of Hormuz

The Donald Trump administration is reportedly reviewing options to seize or blockade Kharg Island, Iran’s key crude oil export hub. On the 20th (KST), Axios cited multiple sources familiar with the matter, reporting that the U.S. government is discus

Hyperliquid’s stablecoin liquidity tops $1 billion… “Impact of Middle East conflict”

Stablecoin liquidity on Hyperliquid (HYPE), a decentralized derivatives exchange, has surpassed $1 billion. The rise is seen as a result of investors flocking to the platform as the range of tradable products has expanded. According to Cryptopolitan

Crypto Moves Closer to Traditional Finance… Coinbase to Launch Perpetual Futures on U.S. Stocks

Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, is set to launch perpetual futures products referencing U.S. stocks as the underlying assets. On the 20th (Korea time), Coinbase said it will support trading in perpetual futures on

UXLINK hacker managed stolen funds for six months but made 'zero' profit

A hacker who inflicted major damage on UXLINK, a Web3 social-networking (SNS) project, has been found to have continued trading with the stolen funds over the past six months. However, the hacker reportedly failed to generate any meaningful returns.

[Analysis] "Bitcoin sees slowdown in long-term holders’ selling"

An analysis suggests that as selling by long-term Bitcoin (BTC) holders slows, market momentum could build. On the 20th (Korea time), The Block reported, citing a report published by asset manager VanEck, that the volume of Bitcoin transfers by long-

Qatar LNG supply chain crippled by Iranian airstrikes… “Supply disruptions could last up to five years”

Iran’s attack is reported to have dealt a major blow to Qatar’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply chain. According to Reuters on the 19th (Korea time), Saad al-Kaabi, CEO of QatarEnergy, said, “Iranian airstrikes damaged parts of LNG production faci

National Tax Service moves to tighten custody of seized crypto assets… "Considering talks with private custodians"

South Korea’s National Tax Service (NTS) has been confirmed to be reviewing the use of private custody providers to strengthen the safekeeping of crypto assets it has seized. According to industry sources on the 20th (Korea time), the NTS has been di

[Analysis] "As Bitcoin trades sideways, altcoins turn bullish…a buying strategy is key"

Analysis suggests the global virtual asset (cryptocurrency) market has entered a major inflection point, meaning that 'strategic positioning'—rather than short-term direction—could determine returns. On the 20th (Korea time), 10x Research wrote on X

Mantle’s total deposits and loans on Aave surpass $1.34 billion, ranking third globally

Mantle (MNT), an Ethereum (ETH) Layer 2 network, said on the 20th that it recorded the world’s third-largest total deposits and loans on the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Aave (AAVE). Mantle logged $1.34 billion in total deposits and loans on

‘Weak earnings’ Gemini faces investor class-action lawsuit

The cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, which drew attention with its initial public offering (IPO) in the second half of last year, has reportedly become embroiled in a class-action lawsuit. According to Cointelegraph, a crypto-focused media outlet, on

Bitcoin whale sells 742.8 wBTC…$14 million loss

A Bitcoin (BTC) whale investor cut losses on a position accumulated while absorbing heavy losses. According to Lookonchain on the 20th (Korea time), about three hours ago a whale investor dumped 742.8 wBTC, a wrapped Bitcoin token, at an average sell

Sahara AI partners with Microsoft, delivering high-precision data labeling for 'MathVista'

Blockchain-based artificial intelligence (AI) data platform Sahara AI (SAHARA) said on the 19th that it has partnered with Microsoft (MS) to build the multimodal AI benchmark 'MathVista (MATHVISTA)' that evaluates the inference capabilities of multim

BDACS obtains Information Security Management System certification for the second consecutive year

BDACS, a digital-asset custody specialist, said on the 18th that it has received the Information Security Management System (ISMS) certification from the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) for the second year in a row. The ISMS certification is

"Concerns grow that Digital Assets Framework Act ‘equity ownership rules’ could curb startup innovation"

A proposal has emerged warning that key agenda items in the Digital Assets Framework Act—second-stage legislation on digital assets—namely equity ownership restrictions on digital asset exchanges and a bank-centered issuance structure for stablecoins

"The rise of 'AI agent finance'… Stablecoins set to become a core payment method"

As an era approaches in which artificial intelligence (AI) agents conduct financial activities on their own, some argue that stablecoins—digital assets pegged to the value of fiat currency—could take root as core payment infrastructure. According to

Trump: ‘Countries should deploy warships to the Strait of Hormuz’…mentions five nations including South Korea

U.S. President Donald Trump urged allied nations to cooperate to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. On the 14th (Korea time), Trump wrote on Truth Social that “a number of countries affected by attempts to close the Strait of Hormuz will send warships t

"Digital assets could help relieve refugees... we must work to develop financial tools"

Calls have been raised for a more proactive push to develop digital-asset financial tools for refugees. The rationale is that escalating geopolitical conflicts have increased the likelihood of a rise in refugees and migrant populations worldwide. Acc

Germany tightens taxation of digital assets… exchanges to automatically report user information to tax authorities

The German government is tightening tax rules on digital assets. According to Cryptopolitan on the 14th (KST), Germany will strengthen its digital-asset taxation rules from this year by incorporating the European Union’s (EU) revised Directive on Adm

US IRS rolls out first crypto reporting regime for taxation… “Tax filing confusion could worsen this year”

The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is introducing a new reporting regime for virtual asset (cryptocurrency) transactions starting this year. This has raised concerns that crypto-related tax filings for US investors could become even more complicat

[Analysis] "War shock... USDC demand surges in the UAE"

The market capitalization of the dollar-pegged stablecoin USDC has surged, with capital flows originating from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) being cited as a key driver. According to Cointelegraph, a digital-asset news outlet, USDC’s market cap stoo

"XRP Ledger transaction volume surges 300% in a year…3 million transactions a day on average"

Daily transaction counts on Ripple’s blockchain network, the XRP Ledger, have surged over the past year. According to U.Today, a digital-asset news outlet, Evernode—an XRP reserve firm—said in a report that the XRP Ledger’s daily transaction count ha

Former UK Prime Minister: “Bitcoin may be a Ponzi scheme” … backlash from the community

Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has raised suspicions that Bitcoin (BTC) could be a Ponzi scheme. According to ZCrypto on the 14th (KST), Johnson wrote in a Daily Mail op-ed that “for a long time I have suspected that Bitcoin could be a Ponzi