Uk Jin

It has been revealed that Anatoly Legkodymov, the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato, has requested a pardon from the U.S. government. Previously, in 2023, the U.S. authorities seized Bitzlato, which had been used for remittances in illegal transactions such as drugs on the Internet, and arrested the founder Anatoly. On the 12th (KST), the cryptocurrency-focused media outlet Cointelegraph, citing a report by the Russian media agency TASS, reported that founder Anatoly admitted to the charges against him and requested a federal pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump. Regarding this, Ivan Melnikov, Vice Chairman of the Russian branch of the International Human Rights Commission, explained, "Anatoly has become the target of a political campaign aimed at the digital asset market and talented Russian programmers," and said, "His decision to request a pardon comes from the expectation that the U.S. will return to a more balanced and fair approach to digital finance." President Trump, after being elected, pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, as promised.

As virtual assets (cryptocurrencies) and traditional finance become more intertwined, the existing payment market is being reorganized around virtual assets. Attorney Kang Sung-yoon of Kim & Chang attended the first regular meeting of the blockchain supply-demand consultative body on the 9th, stating, "Singapore and Japan have already completed the institutional integration of stablecoins (virtual assets pegged to fiat currency), and the United States is also on the verge of passing the Genius Act," adding, "virtual assets are practically transforming the payments market." Kang outlined four notable global trends currently occurring. Firstly, he noted that the institutional adoption of stablecoins is accelerating. He said, "Each country is considering whether easier, more convenient, and lower-fee payments are possible," and added, "stablecoins are emerging as a solution in this field." He then cited 'BNY Mellon Bank' as an example, mentioning that traditional financial institutions are increasingly adopting blockchain. BNY Mellon plans to implement technology that reflects net asset value on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain and will operate it in real funds. Kang stated, "Even traditional banks have now reached a level where they're developing and running their own blockchain services," and commented, "Innovation is no longer only for big tech companies." Additionally, Kang commented that the acceleration of virtual asset adoption in the payments market and fintech, along with the increasing sophistication of blockchain-based payment services, are also global trends. He said, "Payment and fintech companies are swiftly accommodating virtual assets," and, "This is no longer a mere experiment; it is now becoming an actual service." Kang also warned that South Korea, too, must keep pace with the global trend. He said, "If our country does not quickly embrace these changes, users will inevitably migrate offshore for more convenient overseas services," stressing, "If we foster innovative payment companies aimed at global expansion domestically, we can catch up rapidly."

There was an opinion presented that AI development utilizing blockchain in Korea could become a key factor in the upcoming shift toward a digital economy. Choi Sun-mi, Senior Researcher at the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), attended the '2025 ABLE Regular Meeting' held at Rendezvous Hall in Seoul Dragon City on the 9th (Korean time), and suggested, "Currently in Korea, the share of the goods market in the real economy is significantly higher than that of the service market," adding, "It is time to consider digital transformation to offset the deficit in the service sector." She particularly highlighted the potential of combining AI and blockchain. Researcher Choi explained, "Traditional AI development has required enormous capital investment, making a national-level approach necessary. However, with the advent of DeepSeek, it has become clear that data is more important than foundation models, so the AI market is now essentially a stage of unlimited competition." She continued, "Blockchain is crucial as the core infrastructure that can securely store, share, and tokenize data." Furthermore, Researcher Choi cited on-chain AI agents as an example of utilizing blockchain and AI. She said, "Autonomous AI agents operating on blockchain automatically perform functions such as payments, asset management, and decision-making, creating a new digital commerce environment," and added, "The combination of these technologies will determine the direction of the future digital economy."

"Stablecoins (virtual assets linked to the value of fiat currency) are the last hope for the domestic blockchain industry. I hope that the currently discussed KRW-based stablecoins will become the key infrastructure that fosters the growth of the domestic blockchain industry." Changbo Ryu, President of the Open Blockchain & DID Association, argued this at the regular meeting of the blockchain demand-supply consultative body 'ABLE', held at Rendezvous Hall, Dragon City, Seoul, on the 9th (KST). Furthermore, he emphasized, "Stablecoins, tokenized securities, and central bank digital currency (CBDC) can become core elements in the digital economy." The Open Blockchain & DID Association, a leading domestic blockchain association, was launched as a forum in 2017 and received approval to establish as a non-profit corporation from the Ministry of Science and ICT in 2018. Currently, members include KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank, NH Nonghyup Bank, IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, Suhyup Bank, and the Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute (KFTC), and they are conducting proof-of-concept research and technological collaboration through the stablecoin division. President Ryu also serves as the blockchain team leader of the Digital Strategy Division at NH Nonghyup Bank. President Ryu conveyed that, as relevant bills are being submitted at the new government level, discussions about stablecoins are in full swing within the banking sector as well. He said, "The association is also discussing stablecoins" and added, "We are continuing our internal review of feasible business models and regulatory directions." However, he expressed concern that the lack of regulatory clarity is slowing down business progress. President Ryu stated, "The core business of blockchain is constantly changing, but the domestic industry remains stagnant," and "While there is a lot of external interest in stablecoins at present, there are still voices internally questioning their potential." Additionally, he noted, "Which mainnet to use will be decided once regulatory systems and the like become clear." Lastly, President Ryu expressed that he will approach the business models and feasibility of stablecoins more cautiously. He said, "It seems stablecoins are currently in quite an overheated state," and advised, "Since stablecoins are assets just like real currency, practical consideration of business models is necessary."

Australian virtual asset (cryptocurrency) company DigitalX has secured investment. On the 8th (Korea time), DigitalX announced via X (formerly Twitter) that it had raised $20.7 million through a strategic investment round that included Animoca Brands and ParaFi Capital. DigitalX stated, “The investment funds will be used to strengthen our Bitcoin-first strategy, including increasing our holdings of Bitcoin (BTC).”

It has been reported that the Bank of Korea filed trademark applications related to central bank digital currency (CBDC). According to KIPRIS (Korea Intellectual Property Rights Information Service) on the 8th (Korean time), the Bank of Korea filed a total of 44 trademark applications between May and July 2023. Most are currently in the 'public announcement' stage, which is right before registration after examination is completed.

ITCEN Global's subsidiary Creder announced on the 8th that it has signed a ‘business agreement (MOU) to promote blockchain-based financial services’ with DarwinKS. DarwinKS is a company specializing in cryptocurrency (virtual asset) ATMs and foreign currency exchange solutions. The two companies plan to combine Creder's Real World Asset (RWA) digital financial platform with DarwinKS's extensive offline financial infrastructure to establish a new ecosystem for crypto financial services. Through this collaboration, Creder plans to connect stablecoins and Real World Asset (RWA) tokens issued and traded on the Goldstation platform to DarwinKS's ATM channels. This will enable users to easily exchange or withdraw various assets, such as fiat currency, virtual assets, and stablecoins, directly from ATM terminals. A representative from Creder emphasized, "The convergence of online and offline financial services is a significant opportunity to dramatically increase accessibility to digital assets," adding, "The strengths of Goldstation's RWA and DarwinKS's offline infrastructure will come together to greatly expand user accessibility and use cases."

The total value locked (TVL) of real-world assets (RWA) within the Aptos (APT) network has reportedly surged. According to Wu Blockchain on the 8th (KST), the RWA TVL of Aptos as of today recorded $538 million, a 56.28% increase from the previous month. This marks the third-largest RWA scale following Ethereum (ETH) and ZKsync Era. Specifically, $420 million was concentrated in private credit, while U.S. Treasuries and institutional alternative funds came in at $86.93 million and $30.72 million, respectively.

Trading of tokenized money market funds is expected to begin in Dubai. According to CoinDesk, a media outlet specializing in virtual assets (cryptocurrency), on the 8th (KST), Qatar National Bank and DMZ Finance, which operates the QCD Money Market Fund QCDT, announced in a statement that QCDT had received final approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). As a result, QCDT is expected to become the first tokenized money market fund to be traded at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). Qatar National Bank will be responsible for QCDT's investment strategy and asset sourcing, while DMZ Finance will provide the technology. CoinDesk evaluated that “this approval shows that Dubai and the Middle East are being recognized as digital asset financial hubs.”

Democratic Party of Korea Policy Committee Chair Jin Sung-joon proposed the institutionalization of the stock and digital asset (virtual asset) markets as a measure to stabilize the real estate market. According to the industry on the 8th (Korean time), Jin participated in a KBS Radio 'Special News' interview and stated, "We need measures to allow the funds concentrated only in real estate to move to other investment destinations," and insisted that it is time for a shift in the asset paradigm. Previously, President Lee Jae-myung also mentioned the need to vitalize the stock market as a solution to the concentration of funds in real estate. Jin particularly mentioned virtual assets as an alternative investment along with the stock market. "As the President emphasized, we must present new investment opportunities," he said. "For example, we need to institutionalize the stock market and the virtual asset market, improve fairness and transparency, and give the public confidence that they can invest with peace of mind," he added.

<Today's Major Economic Calendar> ▶︎Tuesday the 8th: △Australia July Interest Rate Decision (Korea Time 13:30), △June Federal Reserve Bank of New York Inflation Expectations (Korea Time 9th 00:00, Local Time 11:00) <Today's Major Crypto Events> ▶︎Tuesday the 8th: △StarkNet (STRK) Mainnet Deployment