Report | Crypto

Bithumb was reportedly given a six-month partial suspension by South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit for alleged anti-money laundering failures. Bithumb, South Korea’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, is reportedly seeking to reappoint CEO Lee Jae-won despite recent alleged anti-money laundering failures and other controversies, according to the Korea Times. The exchange will convene its regular shareholders’ meeting on March 31, and a proposal to keep Lee in the top job will be put to shareholders, the Korea Times reported on Sunday, citing industry sources. His current term expires at the end of the month, and a successful renewal would keep Lee as the exchange’s CEO for another two years. Cointelegraph has contacted Bithumb for comment. Read more

UK Finance said that tokenized deposits could play a “vital role” in a future multi-money system alongside other digital assets. Banks are exploring tokenized deposits as they test ways to move commercial bank money onto blockchain-based payment and settlement infrastructure, according to a new report from real-world asset data platform RWA.io The report, which was authored by RWA.io with contributions from industry participants including UK Finance, Citi, BNY, JPMorgan’s Kinexys, Standard Chartered, ABN Amro and Digital Asset, argues that tokenized deposits are emerging alongside stablecoins and central bank digital currencies as part of a broader onchain cash stack. Tokenized deposits are digital representations of traditional bank deposits on blockchain or other distributed ledger infrastructure. Unlike many stablecoins, they are direct liabilities of the issuing bank and sit within existing banking frameworks, including deposit insurance, capital requirements, and Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Custo...

Indian crypto exchange CoinDCX says the fraud complaint is part of a wider impersonation scam, citing more than 1,200 fake sites using its brand. Indian crypto exchange CoinDCX co-founders Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal have reportedly been arrested in India following a police complaint alleging their involvement in a crypto investment fraud. The Economic Times reported Saturday that the pair were arrested by the Thane Police on allegations of criminal breach of trust, citing local officials. Other local media, including Entrackr, reported that the founders had been called for questioning rather than arrested. The case reportedly centers on a website that allegedly posed as the CoinDCX platform and stemmed from a first information report (FIR) filed by a 42-year-old insurance consultant who claimed to have lost about 71 lakh Indian rupees (roughly $75,000) after being lured to invest via the fake site, according to an earlier report by the Times of India. Read more

The South American country will hold its presidential election in October 2026, and incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is running for re-election. Brazil’s Finance Minister, Dario Durigan, is putting crypto tax policy on the back burner until after the country’s presidential elections in October 2026 to avoid pushing for “divisive” tax changes during an election year.  Regulators and government officials originally slated a public consultation on crypto tax policy for later this year, which may be delayed until 2027, but still “remains on the radar,” sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Brazil ended its no tax policy on gains from smaller cryptocurrency sales or transfers in June 2025, shifting to a 17.5% flat tax on crypto capital gains, including those made from offshore and self-custodial holdings. Read more

Five companies, including bank affiliates and a major conglomerate, are competing for Vietnam’s first crypto exchange licences as authorities plan to restrict offshore trading. Five Vietnamese companies are reportedly competing to launch the country’s first licensed crypto exchanges as authorities move to bring trading onshore and ban overseas platforms. Five companies have passed an initial qualification round, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing a March 12 finance ministry document. The group reportedly includes affiliates of private banks Techcombank, VPBank and LPBank, alongside stockbroker VIX Securities and conglomerate Sun Group. VPBank and Sun Group reportedly confirmed their licence applications to Reuters. Vietnam opened applications for licenses to operate crypto exchanges in January. The move came after new procedures issued by the finance ministry and a law that, for the first time, defines crypto assets as property while still banning their use as legal tender or for payments. Read more

Forensic analysis of lobbyist Mauricio Novelli’s phone reportedly uncovered a draft document outlining a $5 million payment tied to Argentina's president's promotion of the Libra token. New forensic findings from the phone of crypto lobbyist Mauricio Novelli have revealed a draft document suggesting a possible $5 million agreement connected to Argentine President Javier Milei’s promotion of the Libra token, according to local media reports. The document, recovered from Novelli’s iPhone during a judicial investigation into the Libra crypto scandal, outlines a three-part payment structure totaling $5 million. Screenshots of the note surfaced after expert materials held by prosecutor Eduardo Taiano since November were made public, Argentine outlet El Destape reported. The draft note was reportedly written in English on Feb. 11, 2025, just three days before Milei posted about the Libra token on X. “Hello friends, this is the final agreement discussed with H,” the text begins, which is believed to refer to crypto ...

Hong Kong is set to issue its first stablecoin issuer licenses, with HSBC and Standard Chartered likely among a “very small number” of initially approved issuers, local media reported. HSBC Holdings and a joint venture led by Standard Chartered are reportedly set to become the first authorized stablecoin issuers in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is expected to issue stablecoin licenses to HSBC and Standard Chartered, the South China Morning Post reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. HSBC and Standard Chartered are set to be in the first batch as authorities reportedly prioritize institutions already authorized to issue banknotes in the city. The Hong Kong government, through the HKMA, authorizes banknote issuance to three commercial banks, including local branches of HSBC, Standard Chartered and the Bank of China. Read more

Senator John Thune reportedly said that the chamber would prioritize the SAVE America Act before addressing a vote on bipartisan bills like crypto market structure. US Senator Majority Leader John Thune reportedly said he doesn’t expect the chamber to move forward with legislation to establish digital asset market structure before April. According to a Thursday Punchbowl News report, Thune said that the Senate planned to prioritize voting on the SAVE America Act, a bill that would require voters to provide proof of US citizenship in person to register. The majority leader addressed reporters on Thursday saying that the bill would go to the chamber next week, adding that lawmakers would focus on the crypto market structure bill and other bipartisan bills after the SAVE America Act vote. Read more

Despite a decline in the price of XRP in the last year, Ripple is expected to reach a valuation 25% higher than reported after a November 2025 funding round. Ripple Labs reportedly plans to buy back up to $750 million worth of shares from investors and employees in a program set to give the company a $50 billion valuation. According to a Wednesday Bloomberg report, Ripple plans to run a tender offer for the shares through April. The $750 million buyback program will reportedly value the company at $50 billion, 25% higher than the valuation assigned following its $500 million raise in November 2025. The company’s president, Monica Long, said at the time that Ripple had no plans to go public. The reported buyback follows Ripple's expansion of operations beyond the crypto industry, including through the $1.2 billion acquisition of non-bank prime broker Hidden Road and treasury management system provider GTreasury in October. Earlier this week, the company said that it would move forward with plans for a financia...

Thai crypto operators reportedly froze 10,000 suspected “mule accounts” as new AML checks and transfer delays took effect in a wider anti-fraud push. Thai cryptocurrency platform operators have reportedly frozen more than 10,000 accounts suspected of being used to launder illicit funds, as the country steps up efforts to crack down on so-called mule accounts. The freezes followed the rollout of stricter screening measures aimed at slowing suspicious crypto transfers and requiring additional Know Your Customer checks before higher-risk transactions are completed, according to local reporting from the Bangkok Post on Tuesday. The tighter process helped operators identify and freeze more than 10,000 suspected mule accounts, Att Thongyai Asavanund, chief executive of KuCoin Thailand and chairman of the Thai Digital Asset Operators Trade Association (TDO), told the Bangkok Post. Read more

Stablecoin banking startup Kast secured fresh funding as it looks to expand payment infrastructure across North America, Latin America and the Middle East. Stablecoin payments company Kast has raised $80 million in a funding round that values the company at $600 million, according to a Bloomberg report on Monday citing people familiar with the matter. The round was co-led by QED investors and Left Lane Capital, and Kast expects an annual revenue run rate of around $100 million in 2025, according to Bloomberg. The company reportedly plans to use the funding to expand across North America, Latin America and the Middle East, while also adding staff, securing licenses and developing new products. Read more

Prediction market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket are exploring potential fundraising rounds that could value each company at around $20 billion. The post Kalshi, Polymarket Discuss Fundraising at $20B Valuations: Report appeared first on Cryptonews.

Nigel Farage’s Reform UK reportedly secured a second boost of 3 million British pounds ($4 million) from Thailand-based crypto investor Christopher Harborne Nigel Farage’s Reform UK secured a second boost, this one worth 3 million British pounds ($4 million), in November 2025 from Thailand-based crypto investor Christopher Harborne, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. The aviation entrepreneur and early crypto backer, who is one of Reform’s biggest individual funders, donated $12 million to the party in August 2025, in what was a record single gift to a UK political party by a living donor. The additional donation cemented Reform’s position at the top of the UK’s political party money race. The party pulled in about $18 million in 2025 in total, with the Conservatives receiving $17 million and the governing Labour party $10 million, according to the FT. Read more

The crypto venture giant has launched a fifth fund with plans to close by mid-2026, according to sources. Crypto venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz is doubling down on crypto despite a major market downturn, seeking $2 billion for a new crypto fund. A16z Crypto, the blockchain arm of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, is raising a fifth crypto-focused fund, with plans to close by mid-2026, Fortune reported on Wednesday, citing anonymous sources. The latest round is significantly smaller than its previous $4.5 billion fund from 2022, but the company has shifted to a shorter fundraising cycle to remain flexible to ever-changing crypto narratives.  Read more

The meeting reportedly happened hours before Donald Trump posted to his social media platform, echoing some of Brian Armstrong's public statements about stablecoin yield. US President Donald Trump reportedly met with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong just hours before issuing a statement criticizing banks for holding a market structure bill “hostage.” According to a Tuesday Politico report, Trump met privately with Armstrong after a group of Coinbase representatives went to the White House. The details of the reported meeting were unclear, but the president posted to his Truth Social channel afterwards, that “the US needs to get Market Structure done, ASAP.” “The banks are hitting record profits, and we are not going to allow them to undermine our powerful Crypto Agenda [...],” said Trump in his Tuesday post. Read more

Fundraising platform Giving Block said it faciliated more than $100 million in donations of stablecoins to charities in 2025, a surge possibly aided by a change in US laws. The cryptocurrency fundraising platform Giving Block reported that it had seen a surge in donations with stablecoins in 2025 compared with previous years. In its annual report released on Wednesday, the Giving Block said there had been a “major shift” in donations using stablecoins, particularly with Ripple USD (RLUSD) and Circle’s USDC (USDC). The platform reported that it had facilitated more than $100 million in crypto donations in 2025, with more than $32 million coming through USDC, RLUSD, Tether’s USDt (USDT), Dai (DAI), and other stablecoins. “The trend is clear: stablecoins are no longer a side story in Crypto Philanthropy—they’re becoming one of its fastest-growing channels,” said the report. Read more

South Korea’s government and ruling party reportedly agreed on a proposal to cap major shareholder stakes in crypto exchanges at 20%, with limited exemptions for new operators. South Korea’s government and ruling party have reportedly agreed on a plan to cap the ownership stakes of major shareholders in domestic crypto exchanges at 20%. The Democratic Party of Korea’s digital asset task force and the Financial Services Commission (FSC) agreed to set the maximum shareholding limit at 20% after discussions, according to a Wednesday report by local media outlet Herald Economy. However, regulators may allow exceptions of up to 34% for new businesses through an enforcement decree. The threshold references the Commercial Act’s 33.3% veto threshold in general shareholders’ meetings, per the report. Read more

The newly created Polymarket wallets placed bets on the timing of a US strike against Iran, buying shares hours before the first explosions were reported in Tehran. Six Polymarket traders earned roughly $1 million after accurately betting that the United States would strike Iran before the end of February, triggering insider trading suspicions. The six wallets were all created in February and placed nearly all of their activity on contracts predicting the timing of a potential US attack, Bloomberg reported, citing data shared by analytics firm Bubblemaps SA. In several cases, shares were purchased only hours before explosions were first reported in Tehran, with some contracts acquired for around $0.10, per the report. Read more

Tether blocked billions in USDt tied to scams and laundering cases as authorities increasingly rely on stablecoin issuers to halt suspicious funds. Stablecoin issuer Tether has reportedly frozen roughly $4.2 billion worth of its USDt tokens connected to suspected criminal activity over the past three years. Most of the blocked funds were restricted since 2023, as regulators and law enforcement agencies intensified scrutiny of crypto-related fraud and sanctions evasion, the El Salvador-based firm reportedly told Reuters on Friday. Tether’s dollar-pegged USDt (USDT) token is the largest stablecoin in circulation, with more than $180 billion outstanding, up sharply from about $70 billion three years ago. Read more

The UK lender is reportedly seeking a technology partner to support blockchain-based payments and deposits as stablecoin adoption accelerates across finance and Big Tech. UK banking giant Barclays is reportedly exploring blockchain technology for core banking services, the latest sign that major financial institutions are evaluating digital ledger infrastructure to modernize legacy systems. Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported Friday that Barclays is seeking technology providers for a blockchain platform capable of handling payments, deposits and crypto-related applications such as stablecoins and tokenized deposits. The lender has issued requests for information to several technology suppliers, though the companies were not identified. A vendor selection could be made as early as April, the report said. Read more