YM Lee

Circle Says Clearer Stablecoin Rules Will Speed Adoption, Reshape Cross-Border Payments [SEABW 2026]

Clearer regulation of stablecoins will sharply accelerate their adoption across global financial markets, Circle said. David Katz, Circle’s vice president for strategy and public policy, made the remarks during a fireside chat at Southeast Asia Block

Thailand SEC Speeds Up Digital-Asset Push, Accelerates Bitcoin ETF Plan at SEABW 2026

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission is accelerating efforts to bring more of the digital-asset market into the regulatory mainstream, including stablecoins, security tokens and crypto exchange-traded funds. The regulator also aims to establ

ShardLab CEO Says Southeast Asia Is Emerging as a Key AI, Digital-Asset Market, With Innovation Starting in Bangkok [SEABW 2026]

Kim Ho-jin, chief executive officer of ShardLab, said Southeast Asia is well positioned to emerge as a key market in the era of artificial intelligence and digital assets. Speaking in a keynote address at Southeast Asia Blockchain Week 2026, or SEABW

Hashed CEO Says Digital Assets to Become Core Financial Infrastructure in AI Era [SEABW 2026]

"The crypto industry has spent the past decade racing to win human users. But going forward, the most natural users may not be humans at all. They may be AI agents." Hashed Chief Executive Officer Kim Seo-jun said the convergence of artificial intell

BonanzaLab Wins Main-Biz Certification, Expands Institutional Digital-Asset Data Business

BonanzaLab, a digital-asset data specialist, said on May 18 that it had obtained Main-Biz certification from South Korea's Ministry of SMEs and Startups. The certification is valid from May 15, 2026, to May 14, 2029. Main-Biz is a government certific

Coinone Says It Is Discussing Strategic Equity Investment Partnerships With Multiple Firms, Nothing Decided

Coinone, a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, commented on reports about equity investments involving Korea Investment & Securities and OKX. A Coinone official said on May 15 that the company is discussing partnerships with multiple firms, includi

Cardano Whales Hold 67.47% of Circulating Supply, Most Since July 2020

Large holders of Cardano’s ADA have increased their share of the token’s circulating supply to the highest level since 2020. At the same time, decentralized-finance activity has slumped, signaling weaker on-chain usage. CoinDesk reported on May 15 th

Bitcoin Exchange Supply Drops to 5.6%, Lowest Since 2018

The share of Bitcoin and Ether held on exchanges has continued to decline. Cointelegraph, citing Santiment data on May 15, reported that Bitcoin's exchange supply had fallen to 5.6%, the lowest level since 2018. Ether's exchange supply stood at 4.6%.

Korea Investment, OKX in Talks to Buy About 20% Stakes in Coinone

Korea Investment & Securities is in talks with global digital-asset exchange OKX to acquire stakes in South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Coinone, Yonhap News reported on May 15. The two companies are discussing a plan to buy about 20% of Coinone ea

US Strategic Petroleum Reserve Drops 8.6 Million Barrels, Biggest Weekly Decline on Record

The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve shrank by about 8.6 million barrels last week, marking the largest weekly decline on record, Cointelegraph reported. On May 15, Cointelegraph said the latest drop extended the reserve's losing streak to seven straig

US Spot Ether ETFs See $5.63 Million of Net Outflows in One Day

US spot Ether exchange-traded funds recorded about $5.63 million of net outflows in a single day. Data compiled by Trader T showed BlackRock’s ETHA led the withdrawals on May 14, with $13.21 million leaving the fund. BlackRock’s staking ETF, ETHB, al

US Spot Bitcoin ETFs Post $131.32 Million in Daily Net Inflows

US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded about $131.32 million in net inflows in a single day. Data compiled by Trader T on May 14 showed BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) led the gains with $144.11 million in net inflows. Bitwise’s BITB

Strive to Pay 13% Annual Dividend on Series A Perpetual Preferred After Eliminating Debt

Strive, a bitcoin-focused investment firm, said it will pay dividends on its floating-rate Series A perpetual preferred stock, SATA, on each business day at a current annual rate of about 13%. The dividends will be funded by returns from the company’

Anthropic Agrees to Raise $30 Billion at Nearly $900 Billion Valuation

Anthropic has agreed to raise $30 billion, the Financial Times reported on May 15. The funding would value the company at nearly $900 billion, according to an unidentified person familiar with the matter. The round was led by Dragoneer, Greenoaks, Se

Trump Bought Shares of Bitcoin Miner Mara Holdings in First Quarter

President Donald Trump bought shares of bitcoin miner Mara Holdings in the first quarter. Blockspace reported on May 14, citing a disclosure filed with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, that Trump purchased MARA shares between January and March.

Binance Research Says Illicit On-Chain Funds Near $75 Billion

Illicit funds remaining on-chain are nearing $75 billion. Woo Blockchain, citing Binance Research, reported on May 15 that more than $75 billion in illicit funds remained on-chain as of 2025. Those funds accounted for less than 1% of total on-chain t

Kospi Tops 8,000 for First Time, Sets Record High

Hana Financial to Buy $726 Million Dunamu Stake, Become Fourth-Largest Shareholder

Hana Financial Group will become a major shareholder in Dunamu, the operator of South Korea's largest digital-asset exchange Upbit, by acquiring a stake worth about $726 million. KBS reported on May 15 that Hana Financial decided at a Hana Bank board

Bithumb Sharing Center to Hold Creator-Led Charity Flea Market

Bithumb, a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, said it will hold the "ICE FLEA MARKET with Bithumb Sharing Spring Switch Club" with beauty, fashion and lifestyle MCN company ICE Creative at the Bithumb Sharing Center on May 16. The Bithumb Sharing

Gemini Q1 Revenue Jumps 42% as Prediction-Market Trades Top 100 Million

Crypto exchange Gemini reported a 42% increase in first-quarter revenue from a year earlier and disclosed initial operating metrics for its in-house prediction market platform, helping send its shares sharply higher in after-hours trading. The Block

US Senate Banking Panel Advances CLARITY Act in 15-9 Vote, Industry Calls It Turning Point

The US Senate Banking Committee advanced the CLARITY Act, a market-structure bill for digital assets, fueling industry expectations that the sector is moving closer to the regulatory mainstream. Debate persists, however, over ethics provisions relate

Bitwise’s Hyperliquid ETF to Begin Trading on NYSE

Bitwise’s Hyperliquid exchange-traded fund will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on May 15. The fund will trade under the ticker BHYP and will be the first ETF in the US market to offer Hyperliquid staking rewards, The Block reported on M

Dartmouth Endowment Adds $3.3 Million Solana ETF, Bringing Crypto Holdings Near $14.5 Million

Dartmouth College’s endowment has expanded its crypto exposure with a new investment in a spot Solana exchange-traded fund. Cointelegraph reported on May 14 that Dartmouth’s board disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

GMX Labs Names First CEO as Token Buybacks, Liquidity Overhaul Accelerate

GMX Labs, the development arm of decentralized derivatives exchange GMX, has named its first chief executive officer as it speeds up an overhaul of the protocol’s tokenomics. GMX DAO is also advancing a token buyback program and a liquidity restructu

MyDoge Opens Beta for Dogecoin App Ecosystem, Accelerates Finance Infrastructure Buildout

MyDoge, a platform built on Dogecoin, has launched a broad beta program as it moves to expand the Dogecoin application ecosystem. On May 8, MyDoge said on its official channels that it had recently opened the MyDoge V3 beta service to a limited group

Kalshi Raises $1 Billion in Series F, Nears $22 Billion Valuation

Kalshi, the U.S. prediction market platform, has raised $1 billion in fresh funding, valuing the company at about $22 billion. Blockhead reported on May 8 that Kalshi recently secured the funds in a Series F round. Participants included Coatue, Sequo

US Senate Nears CLARITY Act Markup as Poll Shows 52% Support

The US Senate is moving closer to the next step on the CLARITY Act, a digital-asset market structure bill, as a new poll shows support from more than half of voters. BeInCrypto reported on May 8 that the Senate Banking Committee is coordinating the s

South Korea to Directly Oversee Crypto Cross-Border Transfers After FX Law Revision Passes

South Korea will set up a direct oversight framework for overseas transfers of virtual assets, or cryptocurrencies, and cross-border movements of stablecoins. Under the revised rules, related businesses must register with the finance minister, while

Oil Plunges on Report US, Iran Near Interim Deal to Reopen Hormuz

The US and Iran are nearing a temporary agreement to halt the conflict in the Middle East, according to a report by the Guardian. Oil prices tumbled and global stocks advanced on expectations shipping could resume through the Strait of Hormuz. Pakist

Coinbase Posts $394.1 Million First-Quarter Net Loss; Shares Drop After Hours

Coinbase Global Inc., the U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, reported first-quarter results that missed market expectations, extending its run of quarterly losses and sending the stock lower in after-hours trading. Cointelegraph reported on May 8 that Coi