Japanese Crypto Exchange Zaif Adds KLAY/JPY and KLAY/BTC Trading Pairs

A Korean Lawmaker’s Crypto Holdings Worth $4.5M Spark ControversySouth Korean lawmaker Kim Nam-kuk, a member of the opposition party Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), has recently come under scrutiny due to his reported possession of 800,000 WEMIX tokens from January to February last year, as reported by the Maeil Business Newspaper. These tokens were worth approximately 6 billion KRW or $4.5 million at the time. While Korean lawmakers are obligated to disclose their wealth, virtual assets are an exception. The disclosure of Kim’s ownership of these tokens has ignited controversy, as it unveiled a wealth magnitude significantly greater than previously understood.Photo by Karolina Grabowska on PexelsTravel Rule regulationA central issue in the unfolding dispute is the source of Kim’s investment in the WEMIX tokens. It has been reported that he purchased a significant amount of these tokens between January and February last year and withdrew the entire sum between February and March before the crypto exchange implemented measures to comply with the Travel Rule regulation. This rule requires that financial authorities be informed of transactions over 10 million KRW ($7,500). After the crypto exchange reported the transactions to the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Financial Services Commission, the government agency requested a warrant to search Kim’s account due to the transactions’ abnormality. However, the court dismissed the request.Jeonse deposit to LG Display sharesIn response to the controversy, Kim took to a YouTube channel on Tuesday to explain his WEMIX token investments. He stated that he had retrieved 600 million KRW ($450,000) after his jeonse contract expired and used the money to purchase LG Display shares. Jeonse a housing rental system in Korea where tenants put up a lump-sum refundable deposit on a rental space for a two-year stay. Kim claims that these LG Display shares later rose in value to 985.7 million KRW ($744,000) in January 2021 and that he used this sum to purchase the tokens.Account balance and WEMIX tokensDespite his explanation, there are still questions surrounding Kim’s sudden increase in his bank account balance. His account balance reportedly increased from 100 million KRW ($76,000) at the end of 2020 to 1.12 billion KRW ($850,000) by the end of 2021, which raised suspicions. If Kim had directed all the money withdrawn from the LG Display shares to WEMIX tokens, it is unclear where the additional $774,000 in his account came from. Kim has reportedly explained to his party’s leadership that he retrieved the principal amount of his investment due to the increase in the WEMIX token price. However, this explanation has not satisfied some critics.Insufficient explanationIn an attempt to address these concerns, Kim shared part of his bank transaction records on Monday. However, this disclosure has fallen short of addressing all the questions that have been raised, such as the precise amount invested in the tokens and their purchase prices. There is still significant public scrutiny and skepticism surrounding Kim’s explanation for his crypto holdings, and it remains to be seen if further disclosures will be made.Kim apologized to the Korean public via Facebook for any disappointment caused, especially amid challenging economic conditions. However, he denied accusations of using undisclosed information or unlawfully acquiring wealth. Kim maintained that all transactions were transparently made using only his own wallets through his real-name bank accounts.Potential insider trading and conflict of interestNevertheless, the public’s acceptance of his explanation is yet to be seen, as questions about his $4.5 million virtual assets persist, particularly given his reported total wealth of around $1.1 million. There are concerns surrounding the possibility of insider trading. Furthermore, Kim’s participation in proposing a bill to defer tax implementation on digital assets has triggered suspicions of a potential conflict of interest.Call for an impartial third partyRecent updates indicate that the prosecution is considering requesting a warrant against Kim in relation to the controversy surrounding his crypto holdings. The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission is also examining if his participation in proposing the bill constitutes a conflict of interest. It is evident that an impartial third party will need to investigate and analyze all relevant information to resolve this dispute. Until a thorough and unbiased investigation takes place, the public’s concerns and questions are likely to continue.

Singaporean regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), has awarded cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp a Major Payment Institution (MPI) trading license.Photo by Julien de Salaberry on UnsplashExpanding into APACIn a blog post published on July 3, Bitstamp proclaimed that it is “globally trusted & now licensed in Singapore.” The company described the acquisition of the license as a milestone that “marks the start of [its] expansion into the APAC region.” It emerged in June 2024 that Bitstamp had been acquired by American trading platform Robinhood. The $200 million acquisition was finally completed last month. Bitstamp signaled last September that it planned to expand its institutional business across Australia and Asia. Earlier this year, parent company Robinhood outlined that it would use Bitstamp to crypto offerings in Singapore in 2025.Acquiring licensesAt that time, Johann Kerbrat, vice-president and general manager of Robinhood Crypto, said that “part of the reason why Bitstamp was attractive was because of their licenses with Singapore, in addition to its institutional business.” This latest license award strengthens the company’s efforts in gaining more traction in Asia. Licensing is all the more relevant given the recent actions of the Singaporean regulator. Last month, MAS set a June 30 deadline for unlicensed crypto firms operating out of the city-state and serving overseas customers to cease offering such services. Over recent years, Singapore has been striving towards establishing itself as a global hub for crypto startups. It has been successful in that endeavor insofar as a whole host of international crypto businesses have established a presence there.  However, its recent move to curb unlicensed firms working out of Singapore in providing services internationally has been interpreted as a much more cautious approach being taken by the Singaporean authorities. The regulator clarified its concerns recently:”MAS has set the bar high for licensing and will generally not issue a licence. The money laundering risks are higher in such business models and if their substantive regulated activity is outside of Singapore, MAS is unable to effectively supervise such persons. Without a licence, such DTSPs [Digital Token Service Providers] will have to cease their regulated activities.”Caution in Singapore to benefit Hong KongSingapore has been competing with cities like Hong Kong to develop and maintain that crypto hub status. Some commentators have expressed the view that Hong Kong will benefit from this latest move in Singapore.  Joshua Chu, a lawyer who co-chairs the Hong Kong Web3 Association, told the South China Morning Post (SCMP) recently that “this is likely to attract quality projects [to Hong Kong] looking for a compliant, liquid, and globally connected base.” In addition to licensing achieved in Asia, Bitstamp has acquired licensing in a number of European countries such as Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands. Last month, Robinhood launched the trading of tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for users resident within the European Union (EU). It also revealed that it is in the process of building out a layer-2 network on top of the Arbitrum blockchain with a view towards using it to host tokenized real-world assets (RWAs).

Despite Bitcoin’s recent decline, a South Korean analyst says investors’ trust in the market remains intact. He added that a U.S. crypto market structure bill, which Congress could approve as early as December, may give investors a chance to buy the dip ahead of a potential rebound. According to Etoday, Hong Sung-wook of NH Investment & Securities, one of South Korea’s major brokerage firms, noted that the crypto market has given back all gains made since mid-October, with Bitcoin briefly slipping below $100,000. Most altcoins also saw steep declines, erasing the advances they posted following roughly $19 billion in liquidations around Oct. 10. In this environment, Solana’s year-to-date performance has turned negative despite the recent launch of spot Solana ETFs in Hong Kong and the U.S., while Ethereum has similarly surrendered its earlier gains.Photo by Michael Förtsch on UnsplashContext from past declinesHong framed the latest pullback in a historical context. Since 2018, Bitcoin has recorded a daily closing price drop of more than 20% on seven occasions. The latest decline of about 21% from peak to trough, he said, is broadly in line with previous downturns. He added that Bitcoin is now less likely to experience the extreme volatility seen in earlier years, citing growing institutional participation and its increasing use in so-called “debasement trades,” or hedges against fiat currency inflation. Building on this, Hong attributed the recent weakness primarily to the liquidation wave and the temporary hit to sentiment. However, he argued that confidence could recover faster than in past stress events, emphasizing that trust in the market has not been fundamentally damaged, unlike in prior downturns triggered by unexpected “black swan” shocks. Policy progress could lift market moodIn the near term, Hong pointed to progress on the U.S. crypto market structure bill as a potential catalyst. Further movement on the bill, he said, could help improve sentiment, similar to the supportive reaction seen around the passage of the stablecoin GENIUS Act. Other market observers have expressed a comparable view on Bitcoin’s outlook. BeInCrypto underscored three key factors supporting its stance in an analysis published on FXStreet. First, citing Glassnode’s Accumulation Trend Score, it noted that Bitcoin has managed to hold above the $100,000 level thanks to a balance between whale sell-offs and continued accumulation by other investors. Second, expectations for U.S. interest rate cuts projected for December are seen as another supportive element. Third, Bitcoin continues to trade above its 50-week moving average (WMA), a technical level that has underpinned the market since BTC moved above it in 2023; even when brief sell-offs have pushed prices below this line, buyers have stepped in to restore it by the weekly close. Warning signs of weakening momentumAt the same time, signals of moderating momentum have emerged. Another BeInCrypto report pointed to CryptoQuant’s Bitcoin Bull Score, an on-chain metric that gauges the asset’s upside potential, which fell to zero on Nov. 6, its lowest level since January 2022, just before the market entered its last major bearish phase. This more cautious tone is reflected in institutional forecasts as well. Crypto financial services firm Galaxy Digital last week lowered its year-end price target for Bitcoin from $185,000 to $120,000. The firm cited heavy whale sell-offs, shifting investor focus toward AI, gold, and stablecoins, and the weak performance of Bitcoin-focused digital asset treasury (DAT) companies as key reasons for its downgrade. Even so, Galaxy Digital said it continues to view Bitcoin as a structurally strong asset.From a longer-term perspective, some high-profile experts have also trimmed their expectations. According to Decrypt, Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood told CNBC she now sees Bitcoin reaching about $1.2 million in a bullish scenario by 2030, down from her previous $1.5 million target. She attributed the revision mainly to the rapid growth of stablecoins, which are expanding faster than Bitcoin and emerging as a new payment method, a trend she suggested could dilute some of Bitcoin’s potential price momentum over time.