Crypto treasury companies are emerging as a new category, bringing significant liquidity to the crypto industry. Corporate cryptocurrency treasuries are emerging as a new class of public companies bridging traditional finance and digital assets, signaling increasing institutional interest in crypto. Corporate cryptocurrency treasury firms including Strategy, Metaplanet and SharpLink have collectively amassed about $100 billion worth of digital assets, according to a Galaxy Research report released Thursday. Bitcoin (BTC) treasury firms hold the lion’s share, with over 791,662 BTC worth about $93 billion on their books, representing 3.98% of the circulating supply. Ether (ETH) treasury firms hold 1.3 million ETH tokens, worth more than $4 billion, representing 1.09% of the Ether supply, the report said. Read more
The guidelines are expected to cover leverage limits, user eligibility and risk disclosures for crypto lending activities. South Korea’s financial regulators plan to release guidelines on cryptocurrency lending services next month in an effort to tighten oversight and protect investors amid growing concerns over leveraged crypto products. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) and Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on Thursday announced the formation of a joint task force to develop a regulatory framework for crypto lending, according to local media Yonhap News Agency (YNA). The move follows new lending services introduced by South Korean exchanges Upbit and Bithumb. According to YNA, Bithumb has allowed users to borrow as much as four times their collateral, while Upbit has offered loans worth up to 80% of users’ asset value. Read more
Coinbase’s satirical video takes aim at Britain’s struggling economy as data shows almost half of UK adults are financially vulnerable. Coinbase has taken aim at the United Kingdom’s financial system in a darkly satirical video, which comes as data reveals an increase in financial hardship across the country. Titled “Everything is fine,” the video uses a musical tone and lyrics to brag about the UK's strong finances while showing grim scenes of inflation, poverty, debt and financial struggle, a hint at the gap between what people are told and what they actually face. “We ain’t got no troubles. No reason to complain,” the video starts, as damaged homes and cash-strapped individuals fill the screen. “The streets can’t get no cleaner. Nor the rat meat any leaner. No. Life is just as great,” it claims, as dirty streets flash across the screen. Read more
The Philippine government launched a blockchain-based document validation system on Polygon, despite the network suffering a partial outage on the same day. The government of the Philippines announced that it will notarize its documents on the Polygon blockchain — on the same day that the network’s Heimdall v2 mainnet suffered a temporary outage. Maria Francesca Montes Del Rosario, undersecretary at the Philippine Department of Budget and Management, announced in a Wednesday Facebook post that the government’s blockchain transparency was live. According to a Thursday report by local crypto news outlet BitPinas, Del Rosario said at the launch event that blockchain addresses the issue presented by artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes and prevents bad actors from falsifying government documents. Read more
XRP price needs to beat its January record monthly close above $3.03 for a renewed push toward new all-time highs. Key takeaways: July’s monthly candle close can become XRP’s highest ever. A close above $3.03 could stage a rally to $7-$11, according to analysts. Read more
CoinDCX operator Neblio reportedly filed a complaint against software engineer Rahul Agarwal after discovering that his credentials had been compromised through his work laptop. An employee of CoinDCX, a cryptocurrency exchange that was hacked for $44 million in mid-July, was arrested in India in connection with a security breach, according to multiple local reports. Bengaluru City police detained CoinDCX software engineer Rahul Agarwal after hackers allegedly managed to compromise his login credentials to siphon the exchange’s assets, The Times of India reported on Thursday. The arrest followed a complaint and internal investigation by CoinDCX operator Neblio Technologies, which determined that Agarwal’s credentials had been compromised via his work laptop, allowing unauthorized access to the company’s servers. Read more
Phoenix Group launched a $150 million crypto treasury with Bitcoin and Solana, becoming the first Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange-listed company to hold digital assets on its balance sheet. Abu Dhabi-based Bitcoin miner Phoenix Group has launched a $150 million strategic cryptocurrency reserve, becoming the first publicly listed company on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) to establish a digital asset treasury. The company said Thursday the reserve includes 514 Bitcoin (BTC) and 630,000 Solana (SOL), describing it as a long-term holding strategy. This makes Phoenix Group the first company listed on the ADX to establish a strategic cryptocurrency treasury, the company said in an announcement shared with Cointelegraph. Read more