News linked to both this project and an event.
According to South Korean media KBS, the South Korean Financial Services Commission announced today the results of virtual asset market regulation. Since the implementation of the "Virtual Asset User Protection Act" two years ago, approximately 40 investigations into unfair virtual asset trading have been completed, and more than 30 cases have been reported or notified to judicial authorities, focusing on cracking down on behaviors that disrupt market order such as short-term manipulation and "pump and dump". In the future, market monitoring capabilities will be further strengthened to build an AI-based virtual asset regulatory system, including real-time market monitoring, second-level price manipulation analysis, and automatic identification of suspicious accounts and trading intervals.
Japanese financial services company SBI Holdings has acquired a majority stake in Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinhako, and has received regulatory approval. Following the completion of this transaction, SBI Holdings further expands its cryptocurrency business footprint in Asia. Coinhako is a local trading platform based in Singapore.
Claude announced that effective July 20, Fable 5 will be officially included in the Max and Team Premium subscription plans, and users will receive usage rights equivalent to 50% of the full quota. Pro and Team Standard users can still access Fable 5 by using credits and will receive a one-time $100 quota compensation. Claude stated that due to the difficulty in accurately predicting the scale of demand after Fable 5's launch, a phased rollout strategy was previously adopted, and the scope of subscriber access was expanded multiple times as compute resources increased. This process brought uncertainty to some users, so this adjustment aims to allow users to more clearly understand the model usage rights included in the subscription plans. In the future, continued investment will be made to expand compute capacity, and Fable 5's access policy will be continuously updated based on capacity conditions.
Ethereum Layer 2 infrastructure Optimism has officially announced a tripartite strategic collaboration, joining forces with Upbit operator Dunamu, fintech platform Toss, and DB Securities to comprehensively expand into the Korean market. On the cooperation front with Dunamu, both parties will upgrade the GIWA public chain based on the OP Stack and promote its global development. A three-month technical verification will be conducted with Toss to build a compliant Korean won digital financial infrastructure. Optimism and DB Securities are focusing on the STO and RWA sectors, planning to transform Jeju Island's smart agriculture, livestock assets, and Korean intellectual property into tokenized securities and real-world asset products. This will facilitate the phased on-chain commercialization of local physical assets, with the entire cooperation framework tailored to align with Korea's financial regulatory framework.
Bilal bin Saqib, Chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA), has requested Jamia Darul Uloom Karachi to clarify the distinction between speculative cryptocurrencies and asset-backed digital tokens, following the religious institution’s ruling that cryptocurrency-based purchases are not compliant with Islamic law. The ruling pertains to a consultation on using cryptocurrencies to pay for books and online course fees. Waqas Ghani, Head of Research at JS Global Capital, stated that the ruling could hinder bank-led cryptocurrency adoption in Pakistan, but trading volumes have not yet been affected. Saqib stated that PVARA is working with scholars to evaluate digital assets by category, rather than treating them as a single class. He noted that blockchain-recorded Sukuk represent ownership of real income-generating assets, while gold-backed tokens and fully-reserved stablecoins correspond to redeemable value. He added that speculative tokens without underlying assets fall into a different category, and scholars' concerns must be taken seriously. PVARA will continue to collaborate with scholars as it develops a licensing framework in Pakistan and advances efforts in stablecoins and the tokenization of real-world assets.
U.S. Representative Josh Gottheimer, along with eight co-sponsors, has introduced a bipartisan bill requiring online sports betting platforms and prediction markets to verify users' age before login, wagering, or trading. The bill, named the Facial Recognition to Protect Children Act, applies to online gambling and prediction markets. Gottheimer's office stated that the relevant technology would read facial structure and patterns to estimate a user's age, without storing any personally identifiable or biometric information. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) classifies age estimation as facial analysis, not identification. NIST previously evaluated six age estimation algorithms, finding an average error of 3.1 years on the same visa photo database, with performance varying based on factors such as image quality, age, gender, and region of birth. The full text and bill number have not yet been made public, and details regarding enforcement agencies, penalties, technical standards, and appeal mechanisms remain unclear.
: Privacy blockchain Zano has announced that Zenith has entered the implementation phase, with a network transition planned for 2027, subject to testing, analysis, and review results. Zano has not yet announced an activation date, and the proposed operational parameters still require verification at the network level. Zenith will transition Zano from a hybrid PoW and PoS mechanism to a privacy-preserving pure PoS protocol. The proposed block time will be reduced from approximately 1 minute to about 15 seconds, the recommended number of confirmations will be lowered from 10 blocks to 4 to 6 blocks, and the typical confirmation time will be around 60 to 90 seconds. Andrey Sabelnikov, co-founder and core developer of Zano, stated that Zenith is based on over 12 years of privacy research, aiming to provide the network with the advantages of modern PoS while retaining the privacy protections that Zano users expect. PoW miners currently receive approximately 720 newly issued ZANO per day, equivalent to around 21,600 per month and 262,800 per year. After Zenith is activated and PoW mining ends, this issuance will be discontinued. Zano has also launched the official Zano Forum for technical discussions and community support.
: The South Korean Financial Services Commission has published a revision draft of the "Enforcement Decree of the Special Act on Prevention of Telecommunications-Based Financial Fraud and Refund of Damages." The plan includes transferring funds from phone scams that have been moved into crypto assets under the scope of victim compensation, and clarifies the standards for returning and valuing crypto assets. The relevant regulations are expected to take effect on October 1st.According to the new regulations, if the frozen assets are cryptocurrencies, victims will, in principle, receive compensation in the same type and quantity of assets. If the defrauded assets differ in form from the frozen assets, compensation will be made in the form of the assets actually existing at the time the account was frozen. In cases involving a mixture of cash and crypto assets, regulators will value the crypto assets based on the market price at the time of freezing to determine the final compensation amount. The South Korean Financial Services Commission stated that clarifying the asset form for return and the valuation time point will facilitate faster and fairer compensation in complex cases where funds from multiple victims are mixed. It is reported that the public consultation period for the revision draft will last until August 24th. (Etoday)
Cryptocurrency exchange Luno has formally challenged South Africa’s proposed foreign exchange law reforms, arguing that the National Treasury’s plan to include digital assets under capital flow regulations bypasses parliament and involves the property and privacy rights of millions of South Africans. In its submission, Luno pointed out that the draft contains provisions for asset seizure without court orders, forced liquidation, and sanctions that could lead to business termination. Violators could face up to five years in prison, fines of up to $53,000, or both. Luno recommends that the final framework for crypto capital flows be established through an act of parliament, classifying crypto assets purchased and held on licensed exchanges in South Africa as domestic assets, and distinguishing between different digital asset categories based on their economic functions. Luno also suggests removing mechanisms for forced sales and warrantless asset seizures, and allowing non-resident international trading companies to continue accessing the South African market with appropriate registration, in order to maintain market liquidity.
According to Visa's official website, Visa and Artemis jointly released a report that deeply analyzes the current status and trends of AI agent payments based on real-time on-chain data. The report indicates that AI agent payments are divided into two categories: one is "macro commerce" where agents replace users to complete tasks like booking tickets and subscriptions, similar to traditional e-commerce payments; the other is "micro commerce" such as high-frequency, low-value API calls between software, where single transaction amounts are typically less than 1 cent. On-chain data shows that the open protocol x402, incubated by Coinbase and Cloudflare and now hosted by the Linux Foundation, has processed approximately 109 million transactions since launching in May 2025, with an adjusted transaction volume of about $15 million, mainly active on the Base, Solana, and Polygon chains; the Machine Payment Protocol (MPP), jointly built by Stripe and Tempo with Visa's contribution, launched in mid-March 2026 and completed approximately 115,000 transactions within weeks, with a settlement amount of about $25,000. The report notes that blockchain settlement costs have dropped to extremely low levels, making small payments in the 1-cent to 1-dollar range economically feasible for the first time, but agent payments still face significant challenges at the legal and regulatory level regarding trust, liability attribution, and dispute resolution. Visa stated that its goal is to build a unified foundation that simultaneously supports card-native trust authorization and machine-native settlement
According to data disclosed by the Korean financial industry on July 12, as of the end of June, the combined household loan balance (excluding policy loans) of the five major commercial banks—KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Hana Bank, Woori Bank, and NH Nonghyup Bank—stood at 647.58 trillion won, an increase of 3.70 trillion won compared to the end of last year. Earlier this year, South Korea's financial regulatory authorities set a total household loan growth cap for financial institutions at 1.5% for the year, lower than the actual growth rate of 1.7% last year, aiming to curb the overly rapid expansion of household debt.Calculated based on this target, the total annual new household loan ceiling for the five major banks is approximately 4.34 trillion won. Broken down by bank: KB Kookmin Bank 909.2 billion won, Shinhan Bank 850 billion won, Hana Bank 880.5 billion won, Woori Bank 826.6 billion won, and NH Nonghyup Bank 870 billion won. However, the actual increase of 3.70 trillion won in the first half alone already accounts for 85.3% of the annual ceiling. The remaining quota for the year is only about 639.5 billion won, spread over the six months of the second half, making the available room extremely limited. (Wall Street CN)
Securitize partners with Cantor Fitzgerald to develop a blockchain-based IPO framework, enabling tokenized securities issuance within the existing U.S. securities regulatory framework.
: The UK and US governments, through the Future Markets Cross-Atlantic Working Group, have issued a joint position on stablecoins, supporting coordinated rules on reserves, redemption, market access, and cross-border use. The two governments stated that if stablecoins are properly regulated, they can improve payments, settlement, and financial market infrastructure, while supporting the development of private digital currencies under public sector oversight. The UK and US indicated that stablecoins used as currency should be fully backed by high-quality liquid assets at a minimum ratio of 1:1. Reserve assets should be segregated from the issuer’s own funds, with disclosure standards for custody, redemption, and legal rights provided to holders. The two countries also stated they will explore pathways for stablecoins issued in one country to enter the other’s market, and support fair, risk-based access to financial services and markets for legitimate, regulated stablecoin and digital asset providers.
: India imposes a uniform 30% tax on gains from virtual digital assets, along with an additional 1% tax deducted at source on the transaction amount. Around 54 crypto service providers in the country have registered with the Financial Intelligence Unit, serving 39 million verified users who collectively hold approximately $2.1 billion in assets. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has repeatedly stated to parliament its preference for a restrictive policy towards private cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, urging banks to avoid related exposure to protect financial stability. The long-promised crypto bill has yet to be finalized. Meanwhile, Indian government agencies are utilizing permissioned blockchains in non-trading scenarios. AIIMS Delhi uses blockchain to manage teacher recruitment records, the Cotton Corporation of India tracks cotton bales via a blockchain-based identification system, and the aviation regulator DGCA is building a digital service platform linked to blockchain.
According to CoinPost, Japan's "Partial Amendment Bill to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act and the Payment Services Act" was passed at the plenary session of the House of Councillors on July 15 and officially enacted. The amendment bill defines crypto assets as financial instruments for the first time. The core content includes: • Tax System Reform: Changed from comprehensive taxation with a maximum rate of 55% to separate taxation with filing (tax rate approx. 20%), and allows loss carryforward deduction for 3 years • ETF Approval: Establish the institutional framework for crypto asset ETFs; Japan Exchange Group expects listing around 2027 • Investor Protection: Introduces regulations on insider trading for the first time, strengthening the prohibition on trading based on non-public information; the upper limit for criminal penalties for sales without registration increased from 3 years imprisonment to 10 years • Information Disclosure: Specific crypto asset issuers must publicly disclose information annually on a regular basis Tax system changes are conditional upon the enforcement of the law; if implemented in fiscal 2027, the new tax system will officially apply from January 1, 2028.
EthSystems announces its official establishment. The company was founded by the original team of the Ethereum Foundation's "Institutional Privacy Working Group" and has received support from Bitmine, Sharplink, Joe Lubin, and others. It primarily develops Ethereum-based privacy and compliance technology for regulated entities such as banks and asset management institutions, aiming to support institutions in conducting on-chain financial activities without disclosing sensitive information such as transaction details and client identities.
EthSystems, an institutional privacy technology company for Ethereum, has officially launched, securing strategic funding from ecosystem supporters including Bitmine, Sharplink Gaming, and Joe Lubin.EthSystems focuses on developing privacy technologies tailored for banks, asset management firms, and other regulated institutions, enabling them to execute financial transactions at scale on the Ethereum network while protecting sensitive information such as transaction details and client identities. The company was founded by the core team of the Ethereum Foundation's Institutional Privacy Task Force (IPTF). The team had previously conducted a year-long open-source research and development effort on the EthSystems official website and established collaborations with multiple central banks, regulatory bodies, large banks, and asset management institutions.EthSystems stated that while institutions have begun exploring stablecoins, tokenized assets, and Ethereum-based settlement solutions, widespread adoption still faces privacy and compliance challenges. Financial institutions require more than just access to the blockchain network; they need a complete infrastructure that meets the requirements for protecting trade secrets, complying with regulations, and ensuring compatibility with existing financial systems. The goal is to build a "selective disclosure" privacy architecture, allowing transaction participants to view only the information they are authorized to access, while preserving Ethereum's core advantages of decentralization, security, and openness, and complementing two other organizations:Ethlabs: Focused on core Ethereum protocol and infrastructure research and development;Ethereum Institutional: Responsible for institutional collaboration, education, market research, and ecosystem coordination;EthSystems: Concentrated on application-layer technology, translating institutional needs into operational privacy protocols and financial systems.
According to Odaily Planet Daily, Ethereum ZK Layer2 Starknet has officially launched the compliant privacy framework STRK20, providing native privacy transaction capabilities for various digital assets on-chain. The framework operates based on a privacy pool mechanism. Once user assets are deposited into the privacy pool, all transactions are encrypted, with details such as transfer addresses and amounts being invisible to the outside. Developers can quickly integrate this privacy system using the accompanying SDK and wallet API, catering to the private transfer needs of various ERC-20 assets. STRK20 incorporates a complete compliance process: users must undergo pre-screening before entering the privacy pool; only upon receiving a legally effective formal query request and after an independent assessment, will the platform selectively disclose specific users, corresponding time periods, or designated transfer records, without revealing the private data of unrelated users.
Odaily Planet Daily reports that financial market infrastructure giant, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), plans to demonstrate a real-time stock trading process based on blockchain technology this Wednesday. The technology is said to simplify the clearing, settlement, and record-keeping processes behind Wall Street stock trades, thereby improving the operational efficiency of capital markets. This test is seen as an important step for the traditional financial system in exploring on-chain securities infrastructure.However, the initial scale of the project remains relatively limited. After years of research and development, this demonstration by the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, one of the largest securities clearing institutions in the United States, is more of a validation exercise rather than a full-scale push to move the stock market onto the blockchain.Market participants believe that although tokenized securities and on-chain settlement are considered to have the potential to reduce costs and improve trading efficiency, the migration of traditional financial infrastructure to blockchain still faces challenges such as regulation, compliance, system compatibility, and coordination among market participants.This test marks Wall Street's gradual transition from the proof-of-concept stage to practical application and will serve as an important case study for observing whether institutional-grade blockchain infrastructure can achieve large-scale adoption. (The Information)
following the recent launch of margin trading functionality, BIT (formerly Matrixport) today officially announced the上线 of its US stock short selling (short) function, marking a key闭环 in BIT's brokerage business achieving a long/short two-way trading ecosystem for US stocks. This provides investors with tools to hedge risks and profit flexibly in a volatile market, and lays sufficient foundational infrastructure for the upcoming options trading.Regarding this business upgrade, Elio Cui, Head of BIT Brokerage, stated: "With the launch of short selling, BIT Brokerage has become one of the very few trading platforms in the industry that simultaneously supports margin trading, short selling, and options布局 under a real US stock framework. Our product planning has been built from the start to benchmark against the complete investment experience of traditional brokerages. Within a single account, users can seamlessly execute long/short two-way allocation and risk hedging, navigating different market cycles with higher capital efficiency."After this feature goes live, users of BIT's integrated account (margin account) who meet the initial margin requirements can short sell designated US stocks. The platform will dynamically update key risk control indicators such as margin rates, stock borrowing costs, and short pool availability in real-time to ensure transparency and efficiency in trading.As a crucial part of enhancing its US stock brokerage services, BIT also reminds investors that short selling involves market risks and is affected by factors such as market volatility, stock borrowing costs, and interest rate fluctuations. The platform will dynamically adjust the list of stocks available for short selling based on market liquidity and risk control policies, offering investors qualified US stock short selling opportunities within a stable and secure framework.To coincide with the launch of the new service, BIT Brokerage is offering a limited-time "0 fee" promotion.