The Bank of Korea reiterated its call for bank-led won stablecoin issuance while advancing deposit token pilots, as issuer rules remain a sticking point in South Korea’s digital asset bill. The Bank of Korea (BOK) has doubled down on its stance that won-denominated stablecoins should first be issued through bank-led consortiums. According to local reports...Continue Reading

Binance is exploring new licensing paths into Europe while continuing to expand its regulatory footprint in Asia, says co-CEO Richard Teng. Binance is in talks with regulators that have invited the exchange to apply for crypto licenses following its withdrawal from the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) application in Greece, according to co-CEO Richard Teng....Continue Reading

Alfa-Bank is testing cryptocurrency trading for qualified investors as Russia moves toward regulating digital assets and banks prepare new crypto services. Russia’s largest private bank, Alfa-Bank, is reportedly preparing to offer cryptocurrency services as the country continues developing a legal framework for the digital asset market. Dmitry Vitman, chief operating officer of Alfa-Bank’s corporate and...Continue Reading

SWIFT launched its new blockchain ledger that will host a tokenized bank deposit pilot for 17 major banks seeking faster cross-border payments. The world’s largest financial messaging network, SWIFT, said its blockchain-based ledger is ready for initial use after nine months of development. Seventeen major banks, including HSBC, Citi, BNP Paribas, UBS, ANZ, DBS and...Continue Reading

Onchain scammers netted more than $14 billion last year, and approval phishing remains a primary attack vector. A crypto user lost nearly $1 million on Wednesday after signing a phishing token approval on Ethereum, according to onchain data. It comes as the industry recorded $366 million in phishing losses in the first half of the...Continue Reading

Hackers have also been exploiting the codebases of defunct decentralized finance protocols, draining millions of dollars in customer funds. Blockchain security experts are urging crypto protocols to reaudit their smart contracts as AI tooling is making it easier for hackers to identify vulnerabilities more quickly than ever before.  “Our data argues for continuous review rather...Continue Reading

Senator Ron Wyden has called on Senate leaders to ensure the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act remains in the CLARITY Act when it is brought to the floor. US Democratic Senator Ron Wyden has urged Senate leaders to ensure that crypto developer protections stay in the crypto market structure legislation that lawmakers are looking to pass...Continue Reading

Ongoing strong demand for AI infrastructure “would likely sustain upward pressure on prices for technology products and electricity,” Federal Reserve policymakers said. Federal Reserve officials were split last month on whether to increase interest rates or keep them steady, with many seeing accelerating demand for artificial intelligence as a driver of inflation, according to meeting...Continue Reading

Zapper provided crypto market data to over 2 million monthly active users and oversaw more than $13 billion in processed transactions during its peak. Decentralized finance (DeFi) analytics platform Zapper announced it will shut down next month, becoming the latest crypto platform to fold amid a market downturn. In a post to X on Wednesday,...Continue Reading

Crypto venture firm Paradigm is widening its investment gaze toward AI and other frontier industries with its latest fund. Paradigm has raised $1.2 billion for its fourth fund, which will expand the crypto venture capital firm’s investments into artificial intelligence and related technologies. The company said on Wednesday that its latest fund will invest “first...Continue Reading