YM Lee

Eric Trump, the second son of U.S. President Donald Trump and executive vice president of the Trump Organization, has been reported to have expressed a negative view of discussions in South Korea on limiting major shareholders’ stakes in virtual-asset (crypto) exchanges. According to political circles on the 12th, Trump is said to have responded at a private dinner held on the 9th in Yeouido, Seoul, to regulations capping exchange ownership stakes, saying, "Is that kind of limit even possible? That couldn’t happen in the U.S." The remarks stand in contrast to the Financial Services Commission’s policy direction. The FSC is reviewing measures to cap major shareholders’ stakes below a certain level, considering crypto exchanges’ role as part of the public infrastructure.

The UK Treasury has selected HSBC’s blockchain platform to run a pilot issuance of digital government bonds. As part of its strategy to modernize the UK’s capital market infrastructure, it plans to trial a blockchain-based system for gilt issuance and settlement. According to Bloomberg on the 11th (local time), the UK Treasury has chosen HSBC Holdings’ “Orion” platform as the technology provider for issuing digital gilts (DIGIT). Digital gilts refer to government bonds issued, distributed and settled on a blockchain. The Treasury plans to issue the digital bonds within a regulatory sandbox overseen by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This is a testing phase aimed at assessing technical and legal risks ahead of any rollout in the live market. HSBC said blockchain-based bond issuance can help improve the structure of the UK bond market by shortening settlement times and boosting operational efficiency. Traditional gilt markets typically settle several days after a trade, while tokenized bonds can be cleared on a near real-time basis. The UK is among a number of countries pursuing financial market modernization using blockchain technology. Tokenizing bonds could reduce transaction costs and improve liquidity. However, the tokenized bond market remains small relative to the global bond market, and limited secondary-market liquidity is cited as a constraint on broader adoption. UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said in November 2024 that issuing digital government bonds could be possible within the next two years. HSBC’s Orion platform has been used worldwide for more than $3.5 billion in digital-native bond issuance to date. It has also been used for the European Investment Bank’s (EIB) first digital sterling-denominated bond in 2023, and for the Hong Kong government’s roughly $1.3 billion multi-currency green bond issuance in 2025. If the pilot proceeds successfully, the UK could emerge as one of the leading advanced economies to fully adopt a blockchain-based issuance model in the public debt market.

Financial authorities have been found to have failed to identify in advance vulnerabilities in Bithumb’s IT systems—cited as the cause of the latest large-scale erroneous payment incident—despite carrying out six rounds of inspections and examinations over the past five years. According to materials submitted on the 12th by Rep. Kang Min-kuk of the People Power Party, received from the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), the two agencies each conducted three inspections/examinations of Bithumb from 2021 to 2025. The FSC carried out one inspection in 2022 and two in 2025, while the FSS conducted two ad hoc examinations and one inspection. However, despite repeated oversight, the structure of an “IT system that allows erroneous entries” was not filtered out. Rep. Kang said during an emergency inquiry at the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee the previous day, “This incident is a case that plainly reveals lax management and supervision by financial authorities and institutional gaps.” FSC Vice Chairman Kwon Dae-young acknowledged, “There are aspects where oversight and制度 have failed to keep pace with the speed of the virtual asset market’s expansion,” adding, “We will establish multilayered, multiple control mechanisms and reflect them in the phase-two legislative process for the Virtual Asset Act.”

A co-head of JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s blockchain unit has left the bank, a key departure as it steps up efforts to expand digital-asset payments. According to Bloomberg on the 11th (local time), Naveen Mallela, global co-head of JPMorgan's blockchain business Kinexys, recently announced his resignation on LinkedIn. He was appointed to the role in 2024 and was based in Singapore. A JPMorgan spokesperson confirmed Mallela's departure and said the bank plans to name a successor soon. Mallela did not provide additional comment. Kinexys develops products and services that apply blockchain technology to financial services such as payments. JPMorgan launched the blockchain-based payments network Kinexys in 2019, and it was reported to be processing about $5 billion in transactions a day as of last December. The platform enables corporate clients to make payments around the clock and automate some foreign-exchange trades. JPMorgan has taken a leading stance in digital assets. In November last year, it moved to roll out its deposit token, JPM Coin, in earnest for institutional clients. JPM Coin tokenizes U.S. dollar deposits held at the bank and can be transferred via Base, the Coinbase-affiliated public blockchain. While global financial institutions and major companies have tested blockchain technology for years, assessments suggest commercial use has only recently begun to scale. With JPMorgan accelerating the expansion of its digital payments infrastructure, attention is focused on how changes in leadership at its blockchain unit may affect its strategy going forward.

Coinbase has unveiled dedicated crypto (cryptocurrency) wallet infrastructure designed to let artificial intelligence (AI) agents manage assets and execute trades on their own. The move is being seen as a sign that AI has progressed beyond providing advice to carrying out actual on-chain actions. According to Cointelegraph on the 11th (local time), Coinbase developers Erik Reppel and Josh Nickerson announced in a blog post that they had launched the “Agentic Wallets” feature. “Next-generation agents won’t just give advice—they will act,” they said, adding that “AI can monitor decentralized finance positions, rebalance portfolios, and pay for API access and computing resources.” The feature is built on the “AgentKit” framework unveiled in November 2024. Developers can embed a crypto wallet into an AI agent, while users can pre-set permissions and limits so the agent can automatically manage liquidity positions and execute trades 24/7. Payments are made via Coinbase’s dedicated protocol, “x402.” Designed for autonomous AI use cases, x402 has reportedly processed about 50 million transactions to date. The developers said “agents can obtain API keys, purchase computing resources, and autonomously pay for premium data streams and storage,” adding that it “lays the groundwork for a true machine economy.” AI agents run on Base, Ethereum’s Layer 2 network. Coinbase said “agents can compare yields across protocols and automatically reallocate assets if they detect a better opportunity at 3 a.m.” Momentum behind the convergence of AI and blockchain is also spreading. On the same day, Lightning Labs unveiled tools that allow AI agents to make payments on Bitcoin’s Layer 2 Lightning Network using the L402 standard. Kris Marszalek, CEO of Crypto.com, also introduced a personalized AI agent platform called “AI.com.” Industry figures are also expressing optimism about combining AI agents with crypto (cryptocurrency). Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle, previously forecast that “within 3 to 5 years, billions of AI agents will carry out everyday payments using stablecoins.” Changpeng Zhao, former CEO of Binance, has also said that “the base currency for AI agents will be crypto.”

U.S. President Donald Trump issued a public warning to Republican lawmakers who oppose his tariff policy. In a post on his Truth Social account on the 11th (local time), Trump said, "Any Republican who votes against TARIFFS in the House or the Senate will suffer severe consequences at election time, including in the primaries." He claimed the tariff policy had cut the trade deficit by 78% and highlighted that the Dow Jones index hit 50,000 and the S&P 500 index reached 7,000. He added, "Numbers that were considered impossible just a year ago." Trump also argued that tariffs contribute not only to economic security but to national security as well. "Just mentioning the word 'tariffs' is enough for other countries to agree to our strong demands," he said, adding, "Tariffs have delivered economic and national security to the United States, and no Republican should be responsible for destroying that." The remarks come as disagreements over tariff policy persist in Congress and are being interpreted as a message aimed at pressuring Republicans to close ranks.

Paul Atkins, chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said securing regulatory clarity for digital assets will be a key policy priority in 2026. On the 11th (local time), Atkins shared details of his testimony to the U.S. Congress on X, saying that “we have made progress to protect investors and strengthen capital markets.” He laid out the SEC’s 2026 priorities as: △strengthening enforcement focused on stamping out fraud △reforming the disclosure regime △providing regulatory clarity for digital assets. Atkins said “a clear regulatory framework for digital assets has long been needed,” adding that “as Congress moves to finalize related legislation, we are working with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) through ‘Project Crypto’ to provide clarity on the regulatory obligations of investors and innovative companies.” He also stressed that “we will refocus our enforcement capabilities on eradicating fraud and protecting investors,” noting that “through cross-border task forces, we are protecting investors in markets at home and abroad.” On the disclosure regime, he said, “we will modernize and streamline the reporting system so that it provides investors with meaningful, easy-to-understand information.” Atkins added, “the United States’ $124 trillion capital markets are the deepest and most liquid in the world,” and said, “working with the Trump administration, we will ensure the U.S. remains the safest and most attractive country for investment and doing business.”

The US National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) has begun the rulemaking process to authorize the issuance of payment stablecoins. On the 11th (local time), the NCUA said in a statement that it had released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) detailing the application procedures for authorization to issue payment stablecoins pursuant to the “GENIUS Act.” NCUA Chairman Kyle Hauptman said, “This proposed rule is the first step in implementing the GENIUS Act,” adding, “We are proceeding on schedule to meet the July 18 deadline set by Congress, and we will ensure that credit unions are not disadvantaged relative to other institutions in terms of timing or standards.” The proposal was published in the Federal Register, launching a public comment period. The deadline for submitting comments is April 13, 2026. The move is seen as a follow-up step under the GENIUS Act enacted in July 2025 to flesh out a federal authorization and supervisory framework for payment stablecoins.

Global payroll management platform Deel has partnered with MoonPay to introduce stablecoin-based salary payments for workers in the UK and the European Union (EU). According to Cointelegraph on the 11th (local time), starting next month Deel plans to allow workers in the UK and EU to receive part or all of their pay in stablecoins. An expansion into the US market will be pursued gradually at a later stage. With the integration, workers can receive stablecoins directly into non-custodial crypto wallets. MoonPay will handle conversion from fiat currency to stablecoins and on-chain settlement, while Deel will maintain its existing payroll processing and compliance framework. Deel has previously said that as of October last year it processes annual payroll totaling $22 billion for more than 150 million workers worldwide. The partnership effectively adds crypto payment rails to existing payroll infrastructure. JP Richardson, co-founder and CEO of Exodus, wrote on X: "You can’t onboard the world to crypto with white papers. You have to do it with payroll," adding that "stablecoin payroll can reduce cross-border remittance delays and intermediary fees for global workers." MoonPay holds a New York BitLicense and US money-transmitter licenses, and has also received authorization under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework. However, details such as which stablecoins will be supported, the size of the initial participant group, and the US launch timeline were not disclosed. The announcement comes as the US dollar-pegged stablecoin market expands rapidly. Since the US Congress established a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins through the GENIUS Act in July 2025, a range of companies and institutions have moved to issue regulated stablecoins. Currently, the stablecoin market remains concentrated among a handful of players: Tether’s US dollar stablecoin USDT accounts for about 60% of total market capitalization, while Circle’s US dollar stablecoin USDC holds about 24%.

Even as the crypto market enters a corrective phase, exchange-traded fund (ETF) managers are continuing to roll out new products. According to Bloomberg on the 11th (local time), at least two asset managers have filed paperwork with U.S. regulators this month for new crypto ETFs. Bitwise Asset Management has moved to register an ETF linked to Uniswap (UNI), while ProShares applied for approval of leveraged Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) ETFs. 21Shares resubmitted filings related to ETFs based on Ondo and Sei. More than 140 crypto-related ETFs are currently listed in the U.S., and more than 10 digital-asset ETFs have been launched so far this year alone. A BNB staking ETF is also set to launch. Market conditions remain weak. Bitcoin has plunged this month and is trading around $66,000. According to Sean Rose of Glassnode, the average purchase price for investors in U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs is about $84,100, putting them in a significant unrealized-loss zone at current prices. Over the past three months, more than $1.5 billion has flowed out of Ethereum ETFs and more than $3.5 billion out of Bitcoin ETFs. Todd Sohn, Chief ETF Strategist at Strategas, said that “21Shares and Bitwise have conviction in the long-term investment thesis for crypto.” He added, however, that “if underperformance persists, the scale of inflows could be limited.”

Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) has released a draft policy aimed at strengthening cybersecurity for crypto asset (cryptocurrency) exchange operators. According to CoinPost on the 11th (local time), the FSA announced the “Draft Policy for Promoting Cybersecurity Enhancements for Crypto Asset Exchange Businesses, etc.” and began a public comment period running until 17:00 on March 11. The move comes amid a string of cyberattacks targeting crypto exchanges worldwide and resulting asset outflows. The FSA noted that recent attacks are expanding beyond the theft of signing keys to more indirect and sophisticated methods, including social engineering techniques and intrusions into the networks of external contractors. It stressed that relying solely on cold wallets makes it difficult to ensure sufficient safety and that stronger security management frameworks are needed across the entire supply chain, including outsourced vendors. It also cited the possibility of state involvement in some attacks aimed at obtaining foreign currency. The draft policy is built around three pillars: “self-help, mutual help, and mutual help (public support).” On the self-help front, starting in fiscal 2026 the FSA will mandate the Cybersecurity Self-Assessment (CSSA)—which it already applies to other financial sectors—for all crypto asset exchange operators. It will also review items such as the expertise and staffing standards for security personnel, external audit methods, and requirements for managing contractors. On the mutual-help front, the FSA will call for strengthening the Security Committee functions of the Japan Virtual and Crypto Assets Exchange Association (JVCEA), a self-regulatory body, and will promote expanded participation by operators in JPCrypto-ISAC, the industry information-sharing organization. On the public-support front, it will continue the international joint blockchain research currently underway in FY2025 and aims to have all exchange operators participate within three years in “Delta Wall,” a joint cybersecurity exercise for the financial sector. In addition, during 2026 it plans to conduct threat-led penetration testing (TLPT) in live operating environments for selected operators and share common issues with the industry.

Hardware wallet maker Ledger has expanded its multi-chain on-chain trading capabilities by integrating OKX DEX. According to Cryptopolitan on the 10th (local time), Ledger said via its official blog that it has integrated OKX DEX into Ledger Wallet. Users can execute cross-chain transactions directly in Ledger Wallet while keeping their private keys stored offline. OKX DEX is a multi-chain aggregator that sources liquidity from more than 25 blockchains and over 400 liquidity sources. With the integration, users can swap tokens on Ethereum, Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, Polygon, BNB Chain and more. Jean-François Rochet, VP of Consumer Services at Ledger, said, "This integration creates a framework that connects users who prioritize self-custody of assets with access to competitive pricing." Ledger explained that users must verify and approve transactions directly on the hardware wallet before executing a trade. Then, selecting OKX DEX from the swap menu in the Ledger Wallet app displays the best aggregated price. Ledger has also been working to broaden access to DeFi. Last year, it partnered with DeFi infrastructure platform Kiln to introduce a self-custody stablecoin yield service. It said the service offers annual percentage yields (APY) of about 5% to 9.9% on USDC, USDT, USDS and DAI. Last month, it also launched a Bitcoin yield product in partnership with Lombard and Figment. Ledger said the product is designed to let users explore Bitcoin-based yield opportunities within the wallet.

The tokenized commodities market has surpassed $6bn. According to Cointelegraph on the 10th (local time), the tokenized commodities market rose to $6.1bn recently from around $4bn at the start of the year. That represents 53% growth in six weeks, with roughly $2bn added year-to-date. The expansion was driven by gold-backed tokens. Unlike Circle’s US dollar stablecoin USDC, Tether’s gold-pegged Tether Gold (XAUt) saw its market capitalization jump 51.6% over the past month to $3.6bn. Pax Gold (PAXG), issued by Paxos, also rose 33.2% over the same period to $2.3bn. The two products account for more than 95% of the overall tokenized commodities market. The tokenized commodities market is up 360% year-on-year. Over the same period, the tokenized equities market grew 42% and the tokenized funds market rose 3.6%. The tokenized funds market currently stands at $17.2bn, while the tokenized equities market is around $538m. Tether recently invested $150m in the precious-metals platform Gold.com, expanding its tokenized gold strategy. Tether said it will integrate XAUt into the Gold.com platform and is also considering ways to purchase physical gold using USDT. Spot gold prices have climbed more than 80% over the past year, hitting an all-time high of $5,600 on Jan. 29. Prices later corrected to $4,700, but are currently trading around $5,050. By contrast, Bitcoin (BTC) has fallen about 52.4% from its peak of $126,080 in October last year, sliding to near $60,000 before recovering to trade in the $69,000 range. Jack Mallers, CEO of Strike, said Bitcoin is still being treated like a tech stock rather than a safe-haven asset. Grayscale also said in a recent report that Bitcoin’s “digital gold” narrative is being put to the test, with recent price action resembling that of high-risk growth assets.

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) will hold its regular meeting at 10 a.m. this Friday to discuss an agenda item on approving an over-the-counter (OTC) trading venue for security token offerings (STOs). On the 11th, the FSC said, “Due to the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee schedule, the regular meeting originally planned for 2 p.m. on the 11th has been postponed to 10 a.m. on the 13th.” On the 7th, through the Securities and Futures Commission, the FSC selected the Consortium and the NextTrade–MusicCow (NXT) consortium as candidates for preliminary approval review for an STO OTC trading venue, and plans to review the agenda at Friday’s regular meeting. If the agenda is finalized, startup Lucentblock, which has operated a fractional real-estate investment business through the regulatory sandbox since 2018, will be excluded from the preliminary approval candidates.

Japan’s Nomura Holdings and Daiwa Securities Group are moving to build securities settlement and trading infrastructure using stablecoins together with Japan’s top three financial groups. According to Nikkei Asia on the 11th (local time), Nomura Holdings and Daiwa Securities Group, in collaboration with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group, are pursuing a securities trading platform based on fiat-pegged stablecoins. Following notification to financial regulators, they plan to begin a pilot operation as early as this month using stablecoins to be co-issued. The project aims to convert equities, Japanese government bonds, corporate bonds, investment trusts, exchange-traded funds and money market funds into digital securities and enable 24/7 real-time settlement on blockchain. Under the structure, when an investor places a buy order through a securities firm, payment is settled in stablecoins and ownership is transferred immediately. Japan currently maintains a system under which securities trades are settled two business days after the trade date. The United States shifted to next-business-day settlement in 2024, and shortening settlement cycles is also being discussed in parts of Europe and Asia. The introduction of blockchain-based real-time settlement could enable round-the-clock, year-round trading without the burden of time differences, the report said. However, challenges remain, including building an order verification framework and putting legal requirements in place, and the companies plan to use the pilot to assess institutional and technical hurdles. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group are also preparing to issue yen-pegged stablecoins. Resona Holdings and credit card company JCB are pursuing a plan to introduce stablecoins for retail payments from fiscal 2027.

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) said it will postpone discussions on an agenda item to grant approval for an over-the-counter (OTC) exchange for security token offerings (STOs). On the 11th, the FSC said, “An additional schedule for the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee came up this afternoon, so we were unable to hold the regular meeting,” adding, “It has not yet been decided whether the meeting will be held in two weeks or sometime this week.” Earlier, on the 7th, the FSC’s Securities and Futures Commission convened a meeting and selected the Korea Exchange–Koscom (KDX) consortium and the Nextrade–Musicow (NXT) consortium as candidates for preliminary approval screening for an STO OTC exchange. If the agenda item is finalized at the regular meeting, Lucentblock—which has been pursuing an STO business since 2018—will be excluded from the preliminary approval review list.