Regulators gain wider discretion to vet shareholders, finances and controls as South Korea tightens crypto market access. South Korea’s National Assembly has approved an overhaul of the country’s crypto licensing regime, tightening entry requirements for virtual asset service providers (VASPs) and expanding scrutiny to include controlling shareholders. On Thursday, lawmakers passed an amendment to the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information, a cornerstone of Korea’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) framework for digital assets. The committee substitute bill was approved at a plenary session and is expected to take effect six months after the law is enacted. The new rules widen background checks for crypto firms applying to operate in South Korea. Regulators will now vet not just company executives but also major shareholders. The list of red flags has expanded beyond financial crimes to include offenses such as drug trafficking, tax evasion, fair-trade violations, serious economic cr...
Crypto exchange Bybit said its new “My Bank” accounts will give users personal IBANs, instant fiat access, multi-currency transfers and crypto trading under their own name. Bybit, one of the world’s biggest crypto exchanges by trading volume, plans to launch retail banking services on its platform starting in February, the company said Thursday. Bybit unveiled the product, “My Bank powered by Bybit,” during a live online keynote on Thursday. Bybit CEO Ben Zhou said the service will offer users a personal IBAN (international bank account number), allowing them to send and receive funds across banks in multiple currencies, with US dollar transfers supported at launch. Read more
Hang Seng plans to offer tokenized gold fund units recorded on public blockchains, though the product remains subject to regulatory approval and will not trade on secondary markets. Hang Seng Investment Management has launched a new physically backed gold exchange-traded fund (ETF) in Hong Kong, with an option for future tokenized access to the asset. The Hang Seng Gold ETF, which began trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Thursday under stock code 3170, is designed to track the LBMA Gold Price AM, the widely used morning benchmark set in London. The fund is structured as a passive ETF and holds physical gold bars that meet London Bullion Market Association good delivery standards, according to product details. Gold held by the ETF is stored in vaults in Hong Kong, with HSBC acting as gold custodian. The structure allows for both in-cash and, in certain cases, in-gold creation and redemption by participating dealers, though retail investors trade units on the secondary market like ordinary shares. Read ...
ETH price charts confirmed a triangle breakdown, shifting the near-term bias lower and putting $2,250 in focus if sellers stay in control. Ether (ETH) is now more than 14% below its local peak near $3,400, underscoring the sellers’ tenacity above $3,000. A bearish technical setup suggests the pressure may extend into February. Key takeaways: ETH fell back below $3,000, confirming a triangle breakdown that targets $2,250. Read more
Abu Dhabi’s Universal Digital has launched USDU, the first US dollar‑backed stablecoin registered by the UAE central bank under its Payment Token Services Regulation. Abu Dhabi-based Universal Digital has launched USDU, the first US dollar‑backed stablecoin to be registered by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) as a Foreign Payment Token under the Payment Token Services Regulation (PTSR), the company said. According to a release shared with Cointelegraph, the registration makes Universal the UAE’s first Foreign Payment Token Issuer and creates a clear, regulated US dollar‑denominated settlement option for digital assets in the UAE. Juha Viitala, a senior executive officer of Universal, told Cointelegraph that the PTSR had allowed a transition period for payment token issuers to become PTSR-compliant and that, among all the USD stablecoins, USDU was the first to obtain such registration. Read more
Sygnum says its market-neutral BTC Alpha Fund posted 8.9% annualized returns in Q4 and raised more than 750 Bitcoin from professional and institutional investors. Cryptocurrency banking group Sygnum said its market-neutral Bitcoin fund posted an annualized return of 8.9% in the fourth quarter of 2025, highlighting growing institutional demand for yield-focused crypto strategies amid volatile prices. Sygnum on Wednesday announced seed-phase completion of its Starboard Sygnum BTC Alpha Fund, which attracted more than 750 Bitcoin (BTC) from professional and institutional investors in just four months following its October 2025 launch. The amount is worth around $66 million at current prices. Sygnum said the fund reflects a broader shift among institutional investors toward structured Bitcoin products that aim to produce steady returns while maintaining exposure to the asset. Read more
The validator entry queue for the Ethereum network is heavily congested, with 3.6 million ETH lined up to be staked with a forecasted 63-day wait. Ether held on crypto exchanges has declined over the last six months as the price of Ether has held steady, while holders are continuing to participate in staking, according to Santiment. In an X post on Tuesday, Santiment shared data from Sanbase showing that after July saw the highest amount of Ether (ETH) on exchanges with 12.31 million tokens, the amount has steadily declined to 8.15 million. Santiment analysts predict that the amount of Ether on exchanges could continue to decline as price movements remain muted and more ETH is sent for staking. Ether has been drifting between $2,801 and $3,034 in the last seven days, according to CoinGecko. Read more
Cere Network is facing a second lawsuit this month that accuses its co-founder and board of fraud in relation to a public token launch for the platform in 2021. Update (Jan 29, 10:30 a.m. UTC): This article has been updated to correct the name of the plaintiff. The co-founder and board of crypto infrastructure platform Cere Network are facing a $100 million lawsuit that alleges a pump-and-dump scheme tied to the project’s 2021 token launch. In a lawsuit filed in a San Francisco federal court on Tuesday, Vivian Liu, who said she worked for and invested in the company, claimed Cere co-founder Fred Jin, his brother, his wife, and the company’s board stole $41 million from investors. Read more