News & Research

UK gold mining company Bluebird Mining has raised £2 million ($2.72 million) and plans to use £1 million ($1.36 million) from the funding to purchase Bitcoin, supporting its broader Bitcoin treasury strategy, according to Odaily.

Norwegian-listed company Done.ai Group AB plans to purchase NOK 20 million (approximately $2 million) worth of Bitcoin as part of an internal assessment of blockchain technologies, according to MarketScreener. The company is examining how blockchain could complement its AI-based financial platform, focusing on areas such as stablecoins, equity tokenization and on-chain settlement. The Bitcoin will be held as a long-term treasury asset and reported in quarterly filings. A technical evaluation is expected to begin in the second half of 2025.

Hana Bank, a major financial institution in South Korea, has begun pursuing trademark rights related to stablecoins, according to local news outlet Asia Today. The bank follows similar moves by KB Kookmin Bank and KakaoBank, the digital banking subsidiary of messaging platform Kakao. Hana has reportedly filed for a total of 16 trademarks related to Korean won-based stablecoins. The bank is also working alongside other banks to establish a joint venture aimed at launching a Korean won-based stablecoin, in cooperation with the Open Blockchain & Decentralized Identifier Association (OBDIA).

Marketing technology provider Aurora Mobile has approved a digital asset treasury strategy, allowing up to 20% of its cash and cash equivalents to be allocated to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Sui (SUI) and others, according to Solid Intel on X.

Genesis, the bankrupt crypto lender, has accused parent company Digital Currency Group (DCG) of knowingly enabling its financial collapse, Cointelegraph reported. Despite urgent warnings from external consultants, DCG delayed action as Genesis’s loan book grew from $4 billion to $12 billion. Internal records described the firm as flying blind, and auditors had flagged serious control failures as early as 2020. The complaint also cites a toxic culture at Genesis, where staff were pressured to serve DCG’s interests. One insider alleged DCG kept Genesis afloat only to drain its balance sheet and project false stability. After the Three Arrows Capital (3AC) collapse, Genesis staff were reportedly given scripted messages while DCG executives downplayed the crisis. Genesis filed a $1.2 billion lawsuit against DCG this past May.

Web3 security project GoPlus has walked back an earlier claim that Venus Protocol, a decentralized lending platform on BNB Chain, may have been the target of a $2 million exploit. In an update posted on X, GoPlus clarified that although the stolen assets included a significant amount of vTokens such as vUSDT, there is no current evidence linking the affected contract to Venus Protocol. The original post alleging the attack has been removed, and GoPlus said a detailed analysis report will be published soon. The initial claim had suggested that the incident could be related to maximal extractable value (MEV) exploitation and permission management vulnerabilities.

KB Kookmin Bank, a major South Korean commercial bank, has initiated the process of obtaining trademark rights related to stablecoins, according to local outlet Newsis. This marks the first such move by a traditional bank in the country and follows a similar step by KakaoBank, the digital bank affiliated with messaging giant Kakao, which previously filed trademark applications for names such as BKRW, KRWB, KKBKRW and KRWKKB. KB Kookmin's proposed trademarks include combinations of "KB" and "KRW," the symbol for the Korean won, such as KBKRW, KRWKB, KBST and KRWST.

Lawrence Chu, co-founder and CEO of IDA, a company focused on developing a suite of regulated stablecoins in Hong Kong, said his company plans to apply for a stablecoin license under the city's regulatory framework, according to Wen Wei Po. Chu noted that the primary use cases for stablecoins in Hong Kong are expected to include cross-border trade and investment settlement.

Eight major South Korean banks are preparing to launch a joint venture to issue a won-based stablecoin, according to local news outlet Economic Review. The participating banks are KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, NongHyup, Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), Suhyup, Citibank Korea and Standard Chartered Bank Korea. The project is being developed in collaboration with the Open Blockchain & Decentralized Identifier Association (OBDIA) and the Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute (KFTC). While discussions about shared infrastructure are still underway, the joint venture could launch by the end of this year or early next year, pending regulatory developments. Two issuance models are currently under consideration: a trust-based model, where customer funds are held in a separate trust before stablecoins are issued, and a deposit-token model, which pegs the stablecoin to bank deposits.

U.S. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said current interest rates are high enough to allow for future cuts if necessary, according to JinSe Finance. He emphasized patience but noted the Fed is ready to act if the labor market weakens or inflation remains stable.