Author: John Smith

South Korea has moved to deepen venture capital ties with Silicon Valley as President Lee Jae-myung has urged six of the world’s largest venture capital firms to invest in Korean startups while the National Pension Service has signed long-term investment cooperation agreements with them. Summary South Korea has partnered with six leading Silicon Valley venture capital firms while the National Pension Service signed long term investment cooperation agreements with them. President Lee Jae myung has asked the global investors to increase funding for Korean startups as the government expands support for technology industries. The government is pairing the initiative with…

Stripe’s stablecoin partnerships head, Connor Fitzgerald, has stepped down after helping build the company’s global stablecoin card program from launch to operations across more than 100 markets. Summary Stripe partnerships head Connor Fitzgerald has left the company after helping build its global stablecoin card program. He joined Bridge shortly after Stripe acquired the stablecoin infrastructure company and helped establish sponsor bank and card network partnerships. His departure comes as Stripe continues expanding its regulated stablecoin payment infrastructure through Bridge. Connor Fitzgerald announced on X that last week was his final week at Stripe and its stablecoin infrastructure business Bridge, ending…

BitMart has started a phased shutdown of its global cryptocurrency exchange after reviewing its operating conditions, market environment, and future strategy.  Summary BitMart stopped new registrations, deposits, and orders before ending all trading services on August 26. BMX lost about 63% in 24 hours as traders reacted to the exchange’s shutdown announcement. Withdrawals remain available, but BitMart advised users to submit requests before August 26’s recommended deadline. According to the official shutdown notice, the exchange stopped new registrations, cryptocurrency and fiat deposits, and new spot orders from 01:30 UTC on July 26. Futures accounts entered reduce-only mode, while copy trading,…

Wise plans to submit a new application for a U.S. national trust bank charter under the GENIUS Act after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency rejected its first bid. Summary Wise plans a fresh U.S. charter application under the GENIUS Act after the OCC rejection. The OCC cited weak AML controls, management gaps, and limited national banking experience in denial. William Blair expects Wise to remain rail-agnostic rather than make stablecoins its core business model. The July 21 decision ended the payments company’s effort to create Wise National Trust in Austin, Texas. Wise disclosed the outcome on July…

Binance runs simulated phishing attacks against its employees every month to reduce social engineering risks.  Summary Binance runs monthly phishing simulations to measure employee awareness and identify weak security habits early. Workers who fail receive training, while repeated severe failures can lower ratings and risk dismissal. Recruiter lures and fake conference invitations mirror scams already causing large losses across cryptocurrency firms. Chief security officer Jimmy Su said the exchange’s red team creates fake attacks to test whether staff recognise suspicious messages, links and requests. Employees who fail must complete follow-up training. Repeated failures can also affect performance ratings and may…

The Bitcoin Policy Institute has joined the U.S. State Department’s Freedom Tech Excellence Program as a founding partner. Summary Bitcoin Policy Institute staff will support temporary State Department assignments focused on digital freedom worldwide. Palantir, Anduril, and a human-rights foundation joined BPI as founding partners in the new programme. FTEP covers online expression, privacy tools, digital surveillance, scams, and responsible artificial intelligence governance standards. The programme will place private-sector specialists inside the department for limited assignments tied to digital freedom and freedom of expression. Palantir Technologies, Anduril Industries and the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation are the other founding partners.…

The XRP Ledger added about $2.6 billion in tokenized real-world asset value during the past six months, excluding stablecoins, according to data from RWA.xyz.  Summary XRP Ledger added $2.6 billion in RWA value, ranking second among blockchains over six months. JMWH alone represents $2.23 billion, making tokenized energy XRPL’s largest real-world asset category by value. Most XRPL RWA value is represented, while distributed assets total only about $323 million currently. That placed XRPL second among tracked blockchain networks for net RWA inflows during the period. BNB Chain ranked first with about $3 billion, while Stellar followed XRPL with roughly $2.1…

Bitcoin mining’s annualized electricity demand rose to about 190 terawatt-hours in December 2025, up 38% from 138 the in June 2024, according to preliminary research reported by theEnergyMag. Summary Bitcoin mining electricity use rose 38% to 190 TWh between June 2024 and December 2025. Hydropower became mining’s largest energy source as low-carbon power reached 59.4% of the reported mix. Only 10% of surveyed miners had already allocated power to AI or accelerated computing services. Alexander Neumueller of the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance presented the figures at the Energy Investors Forum in Dallas. Cambridge expects to publish the second edition…

Strategy says its current capital structure could withstand a prolonged Bitcoin decline while continuing to fund interest payments and preferred stock dividends.  Summary Strategy says its current structure can fund obligations through 5.8 years of steady Bitcoin declines. Company data shows a $3.225 billion cash reserve supporting preferred dividends and debt interest payments. The stress test uses Strategy’s internal BTC Rating rather than an independent credit agency assessment. In a July 24 post on X, the company said Bitcoin could fall 11.4% each year for 5.8 consecutive years without pushing its company-defined BTC Rating below 1.0x. At today’s capital structure,…

Europe’s crypto market has moved beyond the race to secure a Markets in Crypto-Assets licence.  Summary MiCA’s transition ended July 1, leaving unlicensed firms to exit, sell, or transfer European clients. U.K. crypto firms face FCA authorisation, prudential controls, governance rules, and client-asset safeguards from 2027. Banks already hold compliance systems and networks, making partnerships or acquisitions cheaper than greenfield builds. The next test is whether authorised firms can afford the staff, capital and controls required to keep operating under the European Union’s full rulebook. The cost pressure may push smaller crypto companies towards mergers, sales or bank partnerships. The…