south korea Archives

European Union finalizes landmark crypto rules

The European Union (EU) has agreed upon the full legal text of its landmark legislation known as the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA). MiCA introduces the first-ever licensing regime for crypto wallets and exchanges to operate across the EU. It imposes reserve requirements on stablecoins as well. A separate law on funds transfers requires wallet providers to check their customer’s identities to curb money laundering.

Crypto prices today: Bitcoin down 0.2%, ETH up 1%

Bitcoin is currently trading at $20,224.76, a decline of 0.2% over the previous day. Ethereum is up 0.9% over the last 24 hours to $1,366.48. Solana fell 0.61% to $34, while Cardano is trading lower by 0.2% at $0.432. Uniswap (UNI) rose 3.3% to $6.88. The global crypto market cap stands at $966.87 billion, a 0.07% increase over the previous day.

Yuga Labs forms Bored Ape Community Council

Web3 powerhouse Yuga Labs has created a community council composed of seven Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT holders who are active in its community. The council members will focus on gathering and curating community feedback and spearheading philanthropic efforts. The council will be kept autonomous, meaning it will not be governed by the multibillion-dollar startup.

Russia blocks access to crypto exchange OKX

Russia has blocked access to OKX (the world’s third-largest crypto exchange by volume) at the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office. The site was blocked under article 15.3 of Russia’s law on Information, Information Technologies, and Information Protection. The article protects against the spread of fake information, threats to financial organizations, and calls for extremist activity.

S.Korea financial regulator restates support for crypto protections

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) said it will promote blockchain technology and user protections in the crypto market. The agency will actively support the establishment of a regulatory system for virtual assets that balances innovation through new technologies such as blockchain, consumer protection, and financial stability.

South Korea prosecutors raid crypto exchanges in Terra probe

South Korean prosecutors are stepping up their investigation into Terraform Labs, whose stablecoin TerraUSD collapsed in May. A team of investigators from the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office seized transaction records and other material from seven local exchanges.

TerraUSD crashed from its dollar peg in early May when the complex algorithm-based system involving the Luna token that was meant to safeguard the peg failed to work as planned.

Crypto prices today: Bitcoin, ETH up 0.6%

Bitcoin is currently trading at $23,004.2, an increase of 0.59% over the previous day. Ethereum rose 0.57% over the last 24 hours to $1,493.52. Solana rose 1% to $41.25, while Cardano is trading higher by 0.85% at $0.490. Polygon (MATIC) surged 4.4% to $0.872. The global crypto market cap stands at $1.03 trillion, a 3.72% decline over the previous day.

Tesla sold its Bitcoin due to COVID lockdowns in China: Elon Musk

During Tesla’s earnings call, CEO Elon Musk explained why the company sold 75% of its Bitcoin holdings worth ~$936 million. “The reason we sold a bunch of our Bitcoin holdings was that we were uncertain when the COVID lockdowns in China would alleviate,” he said. Telsa converted most of its BTC holdings to fiat for realized gain, netting a $106 million cost to the profit and loss (P&L).

Microsoft’s Minecraft to ban NFTs on game servers

Minecraft will block the use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and blockchain technology on its servers. It will also ban the creation of NFT projects based on its assets. Mojang (the game’s developer) currently allows Minecraft server operators to charge money to access their custom online experiences, but it sees NFTs as running counter to the “spirit of Minecraft.”

Vauld owes retail investors $363 million: Report

As per a report by The Block, Singapore-based Vauld owes creditors $402 million, with 90% of the debt owed to individual investors. The troubled crypto lender owes a total of $125 million to its 20 largest unsecured creditors. On July 8, Vauld filed for protection against creditors and lawsuits in a Singapore court. They have requested “a breathing space” to prepare for restructuring.

Crypto trading volumes in India recover

Trading volumes at Indian crypto exchanges are recovering on the back of a rally in digital asset prices. Volumes had dropped after the government imposed steep taxes. Trading volumes at WazirX rose about 35% to $7.18 million on July 20, compared to $5.30 million on July 1. CoinDCX saw a roughly 63% increase in volumes during the same period.