Korean Assembly Mandates Crypto Disclosure Amidst Lawmaker’s Scandal

Israel Freezes Crypto Accounts Linked to HamasIsrael has taken action to freeze cryptocurrency accounts believed to be involved in a fundraising campaign for the Palestinian militant group Hamas on social media, according to a statement by Israeli police on Tuesday.Hamas recently carried out a series of devastating attacks from Gaza into Israel, leading to one of the most severe escalations in the Israel-Palestinian conflict in years.According to the police statement:“With the outbreak of the war, Hamas’ terrorist organisation initiated a fundraising campaign on social networks, urging the public to deposit cryptocurrencies into their accounts.”Photo by Taylor Brandon on UnsplashBinance implicatedIn response, the Police Cyber Unit and the Ministry of Defense, with the cooperation of global crypto exchange Binance, located and froze these accounts, with the intention of diverting the funds to the state treasury.While the statement did not provide specific details about the number of accounts frozen or the value of the cryptocurrencies seized, it emphasized the government’s proactive efforts to counteract these activities.Hamas had been using cryptocurrencies as a fundraising method for some time, but in April, the group announced that it would discontinue receiving donations in Bitcoin, citing an increase in “hostile” activities against its donors.Binance has been cooperating with global law enforcement agencies and regulators to combat illicit activities, including those related to terrorism financing. A spokesperson for Binance stated:“Over the past few days, our team has been working in real time, around the clock, to support ongoing efforts to combat terror financing.”Unwelcome attentionThe exchange also mentioned that the data used to identify individuals and entities associated with specific organizations comes from intelligence provided by law enforcement and investigative tools developed in collaboration with partners.While Binance is cooperating with law enforcement on these matters, such specific attention is likely to be unwelcome. The exchange platform has been the subject of severe regulatory pushback internationally in 2023. Any suggestion of terrorist financing being enabled through the platform, even if unknowingly so, won’t be helpful to the business in overcoming its regulatory challenges.In the lawsuit taken against Binance by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in the United States earlier this year, the CFTC claimed that Binance was aware that it had facilitated terrorist financing, specifically referring to Hamas-related transactions.Given that all eyes are currently on the activities of the Palestinian terrorist group, there could also be trouble for rival platform Bitfinex. According to a Wall Street Journal report earlier this year, Bitfinex Turkiye was alleged to have facilitated an account that was used by Hamas for money laundering purposes.Previous crypto seizuresThis action by Israel is not the first of its kind. In May, Reuters reported that Israel had seized approximately 190 crypto accounts on Binance since 2021, including two accounts linked to the Islamic State and dozens owned by Palestinian firms associated with Hamas.Binance responded to these developments by affirming its commitment to cooperate with law enforcement agencies and emphasized that it uses information available only to law enforcement to identify individuals involved in activities related to illicit organizations.

Japanese Bitcoin treasury firm Metaplanet has opened a U.S. subsidiary company in Florida while also issuing 3.6 billion Japanese yen ($24.7 million) in bonds for the purpose of buying more Bitcoin.Photo by Kanchanara on UnsplashAccelerating the Bitcoin strategyIn an announcement on May 1, the company outlined that it had established Metaplanet Treasury Corporation in Miami, Florida. The firm cited the purpose of the subsidiary as a means through which it can accelerate its overriding strategy of accumulating more Bitcoin. Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich commented on X on the rationale behind locating the U.S. subsidiary in Florida, stating:”The reason for choosing Florida is clear: the state is rapidly emerging as a global hub for Bitcoin innovation, corporate adoption and financial liberalization.” Gerovich added that the newly formed company will enhance Metaplanet’s “around-the-clock operational capabilities across time zones.” The Metaplanet CEO sees the development as part of the firm’s evolution as a global Bitcoin treasury company.  $250 million capital raiseThe company stated that it had already established a corporate entity in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), with the U.S. addition enhancing the company’s ability “to respond to market dynamics with speed and precision.”  Metaplanet intends to raise $250 million in funding through the Miami-based entity, having launched it with initial capital of $10 million. It’s envisaged that the U.S. subsidiary can act as a vehicle to attract institutional investment.  Back in March it was reported that Metaplanet was investigating the idea of listing its stock in the U.S. At the time, Gerovich stated that the firm was “considering the best way to make Metaplanet shares more accessible to investors around the world.” As part of that process, Gerovich met with officials from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Nasdaq.  In further U.S.-related developments, the company appointed Eric Trump, second son of U.S. President Donald Trump, to its strategic board of advisors in March. Last week, Metaplanet appointed David Bailey, CEO of Bitcoin Magazine, to its strategic board of advisors. Bond issuanceIn a separate development, Metaplanet has issued 3.6 billion Japanese yen ($24.7 million) in 0% ordinary bonds to purchase additional Bitcoin. The company used its EVO FUND as the mechanism through which it issued the bonds.  It has set out a goal of accumulating 10,000 BTC by the end of the year. Currently, the company holds 5,000 BTC. One community member believes that Metaplanet could hit this target as early as July on the basis of ongoing share dilution.Appearing on The Bitcoin Treasuries Podcast earlier this year, Metaplanet’s Director of Bitcoin Strategy, Dylan LeClair, described how prior to adopting its Bitcoin treasury strategy in 2024, the firm was a “zombie” on the Tokyo stock exchange with the pandemic having had a negative impact on the company’s fortunes.  He outlined that the company consolidated and dealt with some debt issues, but at that point it lacked a clear strategy. It then set out to replicate the success of U.S. Bitcoin treasury pioneer, Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy). On May 1 Gerovich posted on X that the company had achieved unrealized gains on Bitcoin exceeding six billion yen ($41.68 million). 

Taiwan has built a prototype platform that potentially could provide for a central bank digital currency (CBDC). In light of that development, there are plans afoot to hold a number of hearings and forums in 2025 relative to CBDC development. In a report cited by local news media, Taiwanese Central Bank Governor Yang Chin-long stated that the development of a CBDC is not an international competition. Yang is not motivated by a desire to be the first to launch a CBDC on the basis that such a thing doesn’t ensure a successful outcome.  At the outset, Taiwan intends to introduce a non-interest bearing CBDC although this may be revised as further development and rollout progress. The system may encompass the use of both anonymous and registered digital wallets, the report suggests.Photo by Timo Volz on UnsplashWholesale CBDCReports last year had disclosed that the retail CBDC prototype supports 20,000 transactions per second. The central bank also plans to develop a wholesale CBDC (wCBDC) proof of concept to support three sets of functionality which it plans to test via a unified ledger, developed with the assistance of Taiwan’s commercial banks.  According to feedback from the office of the Taiwanese parliament’s finance committee provided to The Block, Yang is due to present the report on the current state of progress relative to a CBDC on July 10 at the Legislative Yuan, Taiwan’s parliament. While no projected timeline has been provided for CBDC issuance, Yang emphasized that Taiwan’s CBDC project is a long-term affair. He disclosed that the Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) will take a three pronged approach to the new digital currency. In the first instance, the wCBDC will be used for for the purpose of interbank settlement relative to tokenized deposits.  In practice, this will mean that when a payee transfers a tokenized deposit to another party, the other party will receive the money instantly. However, in the background, the payee’s bank will need to transfer funds to the second party’s bank. Taiwan’s central bank also plans to trial the settlement of tokenized asset transactions. Settlement of securities in this way is seen as an opportunity to minimize risk when compared with commercially issued stablecoins. Such tests will be similar in nature to the wholesale digital ledger technology (DLT) trials carried out in recent times by the European Union (EU).  Purpose bound money trialLastly, the Republic of China plans to trial purpose bound money (PBM), a concept which covers the middle ground between programmable payments and programmable money. PBM was introduced in a whitepaper in 2023 by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). It enables the sender to specify certain conditions relative to the digital currency being sent. This may include a validity period and further specification as to how the money can be spent. This development represents the latest installment in an ongoing pipeline of announcements from various central banks with regard to CBDC project milestones. Last month, Qatar’s central bank announced the launch of the first phase of its CBDC project.