YM Lee

[Today’s Key Economic & Crypto Calendar] US FOMC Policy Rate Decision, etc.

<Today’s key economic calendar> ▶︎ 28 (Wed): △ US FOMC policy rate decision (14:00 ET / 29 04:00 KST) △ Fed statement release (14:00 ET / 29 04:00 KST) △ Press conference by Fed Chair Jerome Powell (14:30 ET / 29 04:30 KST) <Today’s key crypto calend

Revolut launches a fully fledged bank in Mexico, stepping up its push into emerging markets

UK fintech Revolut has begun full-scale banking operations in Mexico, moving to establish its first bank outside Europe. The move is seen as part of an effort to accelerate its emerging-market expansion strategy, using Mexico as a foothold. According

Balchunas: “Bitcoin up 429% over four years… the recent pullback is merely a breather”

A warning was raised that bearish interpretations surrounding Bitcoin’s price pullback are being overread. Eric Balchunas, Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst, said Bitcoin has overwhelmingly outperformed other major assets over the past several years, an

AIP launches fellowship program offering hands-on experience in digital asset policy on Capitol Hill

The American Innovation Project (AIP), a US nonprofit, is launching a fellowship program that will give young talent interested in digital asset policy the opportunity to work in the US Congress. As discussions over digital asset regulatory legislati

Morgan Stanley creates head of digital-asset strategy role…appoints Amy Oldenburg

U.S. investment banking giant Morgan Stanley has created a dedicated role to oversee digital-asset strategy and elevated a veteran internal executive to the position. The move signals a more coordinated, firmwide push to prepare for shifts in crypto

USDC Shaken by Tether’s Launch of USAT… U.S. Institutional Stablecoin Rivalry Heats Up

An analysis suggests that Circle’s U.S. dollar stablecoin USDC has, for the first time, come under clear competitive pressure after Tether launched a new stablecoin, USAT, aimed at the U.S. market. The assessment is that USDC’s position—having effect

Concerns grow over US bank deposit outflows as stablecoins spread… warning of weakened traditional finance funding base

As the use of stablecoins increases rapidly, US banks could face the risk of large-scale deposit outflows, according to a new analysis. The warning is that if stablecoins proliferate as a means of payment and custody for digital assets, the deposit b

Nifty Gateway: "Permanent NFT hosting even after platform shutdown"

Non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace Nifty Gateway said it will permanently preserve users’ NFTs even after the platform shuts down. The company’s policy is to continue hosting the metadata and media files for some NFTs even after the service ends. A

AI data centers face local backlash… echoing past bitcoin mining hubs

The expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers is running into pushback from local communities across the United States. With disputes intensifying over surging power demand and the burden of infrastructure costs, analysts say the dynamic

Bitcoin miners surge on expectations of investment in Anthropic…AI transition infrastructure in focus

News that Anthropic, the developer of the generative AI Claude, is raising a large funding round has fueled expectations for AI infrastructure. Shares of mining companies that have shifted their businesses from Bitcoin (BTC) mining to AI and high-per

Trump: "We'll work something out with South Korea"…Tariff-hike remarks leave room for talks

US President Donald Trump said he would work with South Korea to come up with a solution regarding his plan to raise tariffs on South Korean products. His comments marked a step back a day after he directly mentioned the possibility of a tariff incre

Listed Companies Keep Accumulating Bitcoin Despite Weakness…Holdings Continue to Grow

Even as Bitcoin (BTC) trades without a clear direction, listed companies continue to add to their holdings. Despite prices remaining below last year’s levels, companies are expanding Bitcoin positions as part of their treasury strategies. According t

Cathie Wood: “Bitcoin weak after $28 billion in liquidations last year…selling pressure in the final stages”

A large-scale deleveraging was cited as the backdrop to the sharp drop in Bitcoin’s price. Cathie Wood, CEO of ARK Invest, said the recent decline in Bitcoin stems from roughly $28 billion in leveraged liquidations that occurred last year, and assess

US Democrats oppose Department of Homeland Security funding, raising risk of a partial federal government shutdown

US Senate Democrats are drawing a clear line against a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill, sharply increasing the likelihood of a partial federal government shutdown. A recent shooting involving a federal officer in Minnesota appears

Colombian pension manager moves to add Bitcoin…limited inclusion under a long-term diversification strategy

A private pension manager in Colombia is moving to make limited investments in Bitcoin (BTC). The plan is to allow controlled exposure to crypto assets as part of a long-term diversification strategy for pension assets. According to Cryptonoticia on

Odds of a U.S. federal government shutdown surge…rising as high as 77% on Polymarket

The likelihood that the U.S. federal government could enter another shutdown at the end of this month is rising sharply. In prediction markets, the implied probability of a shutdown has jumped significantly in just one day, bringing political uncerta

US spot Bitcoin ETFs suffer their worst week in a year…$1.33bn in outflows

US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw a sharp exodus of capital. Net outflows totaled $1.33bn over the past week, marking the weakest weekly performance since February 2025. According to The Block on the 24th (local time), US spot Bitcoin

GameFi surges as Bitcoin trades sideways… Axie Infinity up 131% in a week

With Bitcoin (BTC) failing to find a clear direction around $90,000, GameFi tokens are leading the market higher. Axie Infinity (AXS), in particular, has posted a sharp rally in a short period, drawing investors’ attention. According to Decrypt on th

Bitcoin falls below $89,000 level

ETHZilla Sells Ethereum to Buy Aircraft Engines, Pivoting Sharply to Tokenisation Strategy

ETHZilla, which had promoted an Ethereum (ETH)-centric treasury strategy, has shifted course to a real-world asset tokenisation strategy by adding aircraft engines to its assets. The move signals that strategy changes among digital-asset treasury com

"Taxes—not tech—are blocking Bitcoin payments"…policy barriers flagged

A growing view is that the biggest reason Bitcoin (BTC) has failed to spread as a payment method is not technology but the tax system. While technology to improve settlement speed and fees has already matured, tax policy is said to be standing in the

Wall Street focuses on Fed chair nomination and Big Tech earnings…Shanghai stocks enter an earnings-driven market [New York·Shanghai stock outlook]

FOMC set for the 28th; rate hold seen as the base case Shanghai market watches SMIC and CATL results U.S. stocks in New York this week (26–30) are expected to focus on the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting

"U.S. Treasuries to be driven more by Trump administration fiscal policy than the Fed" [People on Wall Street Park Shin-young Met]

Interview with Anders Persson, CIO at global asset manager Nuveen "Companies have already passed about 50% of tariff effects on to consumers" "Front-end Treasuries are more influenced by the Fed, offering investment opportunities" "Even if Treasuries

Slips at the threshold of 5,000—will Big Tech, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix earnings help the KOSPI settle in? [Weekly outlook]

The KOSPI’s push to settle above 5,000—dubbed “Ocheonpi (KOSPI 5,000)”—has been delayed. This week (26–30), attention is on whether the index can not only break through intraday as it did last week, but also finish above 5,000 and hold that level on

Bitwise launches Bitcoin-gold ETF, betting on currency debasement

Asset manager Bitwise has launched an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that combines Bitcoin and gold, stepping up its bet on the so-called “currency debasement” trade. The move comes even as Bitcoin has recently lagged gold, underscoring Bitwise’s focus o

XRP shows signs of breaking out of its range… "Room to rise to $4"

XRP is back in the spotlight as it shows the potential for a trend reversal after a prolonged range-bound move. Technical analysts say that depending on whether key resistance is broken, a medium-to-long-term bullish scenario could open up. According

US Democrats submit ethics amendment to crypto market structure bill

Democrats have introduced amendments to a crypto market structure bill under discussion in the US Senate, putting ethics concerns front and center. The move simultaneously targets public officials’ crypto-related conflicts of interest and regulatory

Annual stablecoin transfer volume hits $35 trillion…real-world payments remain at 1%

While on-chain stablecoin transaction volumes have surged, their share used for actual real-world payments remains limited. The persistent gap between blockchain activity and real-economy use continues, according to the assessment. According to Coinc

UK FCA to seek feedback through March on crypto consumer protection rules

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched the final feedback process to establish consumer protection rules for cryptoasset firms. As the regulatory framework is overhauled in earnest, the institutional contours of the UK crypto market ar

Cyber Hornet files for S&P Crypto 10 ETF…spot-basket race heats up

Cyber Hornet has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a spot crypto ETF based on an S&P index. Eric Balchunas, a Bloomberg ETF analyst, said on the 23rd (local time) via his X account that Cyber Hornet submitted registrati