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South Korea to Announce Tokenized Securities Laws in July

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South Korea to Announce Tokenized Securities Laws in July

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) plans to release detailed tokenized securities rules in July as the country prepares to bring blockchain-based securities under its capital markets framework in 2027.

The measures are expected to include a roadmap for tokenizing stocks, bonds and money market funds, possible changes to over-the-counter trading limits and rules allowing some fractional investment products to pool similar underlying assets, the FSC announced on Friday at the second meeting of its public-private tokenized securities council, which was launched in March to design issuance, trading, infrastructure and settlement rules before the framework takes effect in 2027.

“The goal is to make an announcement in July,” said FSC Vice Chairman Kwon Dae-young, adding that the new rules will serve for the “institutionalization” of tokenized securities.

The July package will be an important test of how far South Korea is willing to open regulated capital markets to distributed ledger infrastructure while keeping tokenized securities inside existing investor-protection rules.

The announcement followed the new Bank of Korea Governor, Hyun-Song Shin, who voiced support for tokenized deposits in his first public address, as Cointelegraph reported on April 21.

A week earlier, on April 16, South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance announced a pilot project that will use tokenized deposits to execute government operational spending, with a full rollout set for the fourth quarter of 2026.

The Second Public-Private Joint Tokenized Securities Council. Source: FSC.go.kr

FSC accelerates tokenized regulation efforts ahead of 2027 rollout

The news comes amid the planned implementation of the amended Capital Markets Act and Electronic Securities Act, the country’s first tokenized securities framework, which is scheduled to take full effect on Feb. 4, 2027.

The implementation will mark the launch of South Korea’s first regulated environment for issuing, distributing and trading tokenized securities on distributed blockchain ledgers.

Related: South Korea’s Shinhan Card taps Solana to test real-world stablecoin payments

The framework will legally recognize blockchain-ledgers as valid securities registries, bringing tokenized assets under the FSC’s jurisdiction out of their current experimental stage.

The FSC first announced the incoming amendments to the legislation on Jan. 15, 2026, setting a one-year preparatory period for lawmakers.

Magazine: Singapore isn’t a ‘crypto hub’ — it’s something better: StraitsX CEO

Spark Publishes Risk Framework for Sky Agent Network Built on Sky Protocol Security Principles

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Spark Publishes Risk Framework for Sky Agent Network Built on Sky Protocol Security Principles

Spark has released a comprehensive risk framework for the Sky Agent Network, detailing how losses are absorbed and risk is bounded across Spark Savings, SparkLend, and the Spark Liquidity Layer.

Spark has published a full breakdown of its risk framework for the Sky Agent Network, which operates on the same security-first principles Sky Protocol has maintained for over a decade. The framework details how losses are absorbed, capital movement is constrained, and risk is bounded at every layer across three core components: Spark Savings, SparkLend, and the Spark Liquidity Layer.

The risk framework publication demonstrates Spark’s approach to managing protocol security and user fund protection across its interconnected DeFi products. By establishing explicit constraints on capital movement and loss absorption mechanisms, the framework outlines how the protocol manages counterparty and liquidity risks.

The Sky Agent Network represents an expansion of Sky Protocol’s infrastructure, leveraging its established security architecture to support new functionality within the broader Sky ecosystem.

Sources: Sky Ecosystem

This article was produced with the help of AI flows.

Yuno and Tabby Partner to Bring Interest-Free BNPL to MENA Merchants

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Yuno and Tabby Partner to Bring Interest-Free BNPL to MENA Merchants

Yuno, a global financial infrastructure platform, entered into a strategic partnership with Riyadh-headquartered financial services app Tabby. This integration allows Yuno merchants to offer Tabby’s “Pay in 4” interest-free payment option to consumers at checkout across Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

As the dominant player in the Middle Eastern BNPL market, Tabby currently boasts a shopper base of more than 25 million users and handles over $17billion in annualized transaction volume. In fact, approximately two out of every three adults in the UAE and Saudi Arabia are registered users of the platform.

Addressing regional market dynamics

The partnership is designed to tap into specific cultural and economic drivers within the GCC. Traditional credit card penetration remains relatively low in these markets, where many consumers actively prefer financial products that avoid interest for religious and cultural reasons.

Flexible solutions like Tabby have gained rapid traction by allowing users to split their purchases into four payments without incurring interest, helping them maintain control over their spending. For merchants, the benefits are equally significant:

  • Higher Conversion: Offering trusted local payment methods increases the likelihood of a completed sale.

  • Increased AOV: Flexible payment plans often lead to higher average order values.

The integration removes a major barrier for global merchants expanding into the MENA region by providing instant access to a trusted local payment stack.

“The MENA region has strong demand for payment options that give consumers flexibility without relying on traditional interest-based credit,” said Juan Pablo Ortega, co-founder and CEO of Yuno. “By partnering with Tabby, we enable our merchants to offer a payment method that shoppers already trust and use every day”.

Seamless merchant integration

A key differentiator of this partnership is the ease of deployment. When a merchant joins Yuno, Tabby becomes automatically available as part of their payment stack from the first day of operation. This “day one” availability bypasses the need for merchants to build or manage separate local payment infrastructures.

Zain Khan, senior director of business development at Tabby, noted that merchants are not “starting from scratch” when adding Tabby through Yuno, as the majority of their potential MENA customers are already active on the Tabby platform. This leads to faster adoption and a smoother checkout experience overall.

About the partners

Tabby, headquartered in Riyadh, serves Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait. Used by over 65,000 global brands—including Amazon, IKEA, and Samsung—the company was recently valued at $4.5billion following a secondary share sale.

Yuno, a global infrastructure platform that simplifies payments via a unified API. Connecting over 1,000 payment methods, Yuno supports major global brands such as Uber, McDonald’s, and GoFundMe.

Strategy’s STRC Hits Record $1.5B Daily Trading Volume

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Strategy’s STRC Hits Record $1.5B Daily Trading Volume

Strategy’s perpetual preferred stock, STRC, the company’s primary vehicle for funding its Bitcoin purchases in 2026, hit a new daily trading volume record of $1.5 billion on Thursday.

“All-time high volume. $1.53B of liquidity,” chairman Michael Saylor said, referring to Strategy’s Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock. 

Stretch offers investors an 11.5% dividend without requiring the company to dilute common shares. 

Source: Michael Saylor

According to the STRC.live tracker, the company could, in theory, raise an estimated $735.4 million from Thursday’s performance to purchase 9,066 Bitcoin (BTC). 

However, there’s no guarantee that Strategy will make a Bitcoin purchase based on the funds raised by Stretch. 

Strategy has now purchased 56,770 Bitcoin since April and 101,147 Bitcoin since March, accelerating its pace after a slower-than-usual February.

Estimated amount of Bitcoin that Strategy could accumulate from capital raised through STRC on Thursday. Source: STRC.Live

Perpetual preferred stocks have become a popular tool for Bitcoin treasuries to purchase more Bitcoin, particularly during the current bear market, when raising capital via senior convertible notes and at-the-market equity offerings has become more difficult. 

During Strategy’s Q1 earnings call on May 5, Saylor said the company is aiming to build Stretch into the “biggest credit instrument in the world,” while other Bitcoin treasuries have adopted similar strategies.

One of those companies is Strive, which announced on Thursday that investors of its Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Preferred Stock (SATA) would earn daily dividends from June 16, a more frequent payout schedule than the monthly distributions offered by Strategy’s Stretch. 

In recent months, the Tokyo-based Metaplanet has also raised capital to fund Bitcoin purchases through perpetual preferred stocks, such as MARS and MERCURY.

Related: Bitcoin trades at a ‘discount’ on Coinbase: Is a $76K retest next? 

Nearly 200 public companies still hold Bitcoin on their balance sheets.

Strategy remains by far the largest corporate Bitcoin treasury, holding 818,869 Bitcoin worth $66.5 billion at current market prices.

Bitcoin’s recent rally to $81,000 has also pushed above Strategy’s average purchase price of $75,543, putting its Bitcoin holdings up 7.2%. 

Magazine: eToro founder timed Bitcoin top perfectly due to belief in 4 year cycles

Currensea Secures Dutch Licence for Major European Expansion

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Currensea Secures Dutch Licence for Major European Expansion

UK-headquartered payments technology company Currensea has announced a major regulatory milestone, securing a Payments Institution Licence from the Dutch central bank, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). The approval, granted to its newly established subsidiary Currensea Europe B.V., provides the regulatory foundation for the firm to begin serving customers across the European Economic Area (EEA).

The expansion follows a period of hyper-growth for the firm, which was recently named the second fastest-growing fintech in the UK—behind only Allica Bank—in the Financial Times’ annual FT1000 ranking of high-growth European businesses. Currensea has achieved nearly 1000% revenue growth over the past three years and currently serves over 200,000 customers.

Disrupting loyalty with Open Banking

Currensea’s platform is built on Open Banking technology, offering a “multi-bank” debit card proposition that allows users to link their Currensea card directly to their existing bank accounts. This model eliminates the common friction points of traditional rewards cards or digital banks, as users do not need to:

  • Open a new bank account to access benefits.

  • Manually top up separate balances or change their daily spending behavior.

  • Manage multiple cards for different currencies, as the platform automatically saves users on FX fees.

“This licence enables us to build on our success in the UK and bring our award-winning, multi-bank debit rewards offering to customers across the continent,” said James Lynn, CEO and co-founder of Currensea. Lynn noted that the firm will soon announce new partnerships with global travel and hospitality brands, following the success of its UK offerings with Hilton Hotels, Marriott Bonvoy, and United Airlines.

A senior team to lead European operations

To lead the continental business, Currensea has assembled a leadership team based in the Netherlands with extensive experience in international payments:

  • Leon Muis (ex-Yolt and ING) serves as head of Europe and CEO of Currensea Europe B.V..

  • Simone Aurighi (ex-PayU and Verifone) has been appointed chief Ccmpliance & risk officer.

  • Maurice Jongmans, CEO of online payment platform, takes the role of chair of the supervisory board.

Market context: The UK-Europe corridor

Currensea’s international move arrives at a time when UK fintech continues to draw significant investment compared to its European neighbors. Despite a 43% decline in overall UK fintech funding in Q1 2026 reaching $741M, early-stage capital has surged by 177% as investors double down on the next generation of scalable platforms.

Ceri Morgan CBE, His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Europe, remarked that Currensea is a prime example of a British founder-led startup working closely with regulators to scale internationally. Operating out of the Netherlands—one of the EU’s leading fintech hubs—Currensea aims to launch its co-branded multi-bank debit cards across all major continental European markets in the coming months.

Poland Approves Crypto Bill Amid Looming MiCA Deadline

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Poland Approves Crypto Bill Amid Looming MiCA Deadline

Polish lawmakers approved a government-backed bill Friday to bring the country’s crypto market under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework, after President Karol Nawrocki twice vetoed earlier versions.

The vote took place on Friday during the 57th sitting of the Sejm in Warsaw, where lawmakers adopted the legislation in a 241–200 decision, according to official parliamentary records.

Backed by the Ministry of Finance, the approved bill (No. 2529) designates the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) powers to oversee market participants, impose administrative sanctions and temporarily block accounts and transactions.

Source: Sejm RP

The vote marks the third attempt by the government to pass a crypto bill following two earlier presidential vetoes, with lawmakers favoring the state-backed approach over three competing draft bills.

Poland’s crypto regulation split: Four competing bills amid rising tensions

After Nawrocki vetoed two earlier government-backed crypto bills, lawmakers returned this week to a debate over four competing proposals.

Parliament’s latest vote was based on a consolidated committee text incorporating government bill 2529 alongside competing proposals from the president (No. 2528), Confederation (No. 2530), and a parliamentary draft (No. 2363), according to official records.

Source: Crypto Patel

The opposition Law and Justice party (PiS) also submitted a separate draft bill proposing a complete ban on all crypto-asset activity in Poland, according to local media.

Community expects another veto despite Zonda controversy

Market participants and crypto commentators reacted critically to the latest Sejm vote, with some expecting the president to veto the legislation again, as repeated parliamentary approvals have not resolved key disputes over supervisory powers and enforcement under KNF.

Critics highlighted ongoing concerns over account and domain blocking provisions, which they say remain largely unchanged despite earlier presidential objections, while proposed safeguards such as stronger judicial oversight were not included in the final text.

They warned that continued deadlock could prolong regulatory uncertainty as Poland aligns with the EU’s MiCA framework ahead of upcoming implementation deadlines in July.

Source: Tomasz Mentzen

The latest debate has also been shaped by a deepening scandal around Zondacrypto, after prosecutors launched a fraud probe and thousands of users were reportedly unable to withdraw funds.

Related: Estonia’s FSA issues investor warning about Zondacrypto

The issue has entered Polish politics, with Prime Minister Donald Tusk alleging links between Zondacrypto and Russian capital and influence, citing its early history and later development under new ownership. Tusk also argued that the lack of a full investor protection framework delayed regulatory action, pointing to Poland’s repeated delays in aligning with the EU’s MiCA rules.

Magazine: How crypto laws changed in 2025 — and how they’ll change in 2026

Bitcoin Exchange Supply Stays At 8-Year Lows: Bullish Sign?

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Bitcoin Exchange Supply Stays At 8-Year Lows: Bullish Sign?

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On-chain data shows the Bitcoin exchange reserves have been at 8-year lows for the past month despite the recovery that the asset has witnessed.

Bitcoin Supply On Exchanges Has Been Flat Recently

As highlighted by on-chain analytics firm Santiment in an X post, Bitcoin and Ethereum have differed in their trend of the Supply On Exchanges. This indicator measures, as its name suggests, the total amount of a given asset that’s currently stored in the wallets associated with centralized exchanges.

When the value of the metric rises, it means investors are depositing a net number of tokens to these platforms. As one of the main reasons why holders transfer to exchanges is for selling-related purposes, this kind of trend can have a bearish impact on the cryptocurrency’s price.

On the other hand, the indicator witnessing a decline suggests the exchange outflows are overwhelming the inflows. Such a trend implies the investors may be participating in accumulation, which can naturally be a bullish signal.

Now, here is the chart shared by Santiment that shows the trend in the Supply On Exchanges for Bitcoin and Ethereum over the past year:

Bitcoin Vs Ethereum Supply On Exchanges

Looks like the value of the metric has gone up for ETH in recent days | Source: Santiment on X

As displayed in the above graph, the Bitcoin Supply On Exchanges observed some decline during March and has since followed a mostly flat trajectory. Currently, around 5.6% of the BTC supply is sitting inside exchange-connected wallets. “It has stayed consistent around this level for the past month, and it is the lowest ratio of BTC supply on exchanges since 2018,” noted the analytics firm.

While Bitcoin has witnessed its exchange supply remain flat at 8-year lows recently, the trend has been a bit different for Ethereum. From the chart, it’s apparent that ETH observed a much more dramatic decline in the Supply On Exchanges compared to BTC for most of the past year, but recently, the trajectory has flipped for the network.

Over the past 10 days, Ethereum has seen the indicator go from 4.2% to 4.6%, which is a notable increase. “Nevertheless, this is also still near the lowest levels we’ve seen since $ETH’s public trading inception back in 2015,” explained Santiment.

Interestingly, the flat exchange netflow for Bitcoin has arrived while BTC has observed a recovery surge. This means that despite the profit-taking opportunity, holders haven’t made deposits to sell.

Something to note when it comes to the Supply On Exchanges is that while exchanges held a central role in the digital asset sector earlier, the paradigm has shifted recently as a result of the emergence of off-chain investment routes like the spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs). As such, the exchange reserves alone no longer capture the full picture of the market.

BTC Price

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is floating around $79,400, down 0.9% in the last seven days.

Bitcoin Price Chart

The trend in the price of the coin over the last five days | Source: BTCUSDT on TradingView

Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView.com

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Arkham Intelligence Reports 90%+ Token Concentration in $LAB Project Trading at $4B Market Cap

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Arkham Intelligence Reports 90%+ Token Concentration in $LAB Project Trading at $4B Market Cap

Blockchain intelligence firm Arkham flags extreme insider ownership concentration in $LAB, which has surged 3000% in three months.

$LAB, a cryptocurrency project with a $4 billion market capitalization, faces scrutiny from blockchain intelligence firm Arkham over concentrated token ownership. According to Arkham’s analysis, a single entity likely controls 90% or more of the token supply, with insider holdings potentially reaching 95% according to on-chain analyst ZachXBT. The token has rallied 3000% over the past three months.

Arkham’s investigation, published on X, identified the extreme concentration through on-chain analysis. The findings raise questions about token distribution and potential market manipulation risks in a project of this market size. The concentrated ownership structure suggests limited decentralization and liquidity for retail participants.

The 3000% three-month gain in a token with such heavily concentrated supply dynamics represents a significant market move in the crypto space.

Sources: Arkham Intelligence

This article was produced with the help of AI flows.

Sharplink CEO Points out 3 Catalysts for Ethereum’s Price to Surge Higher

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Sharplink CEO Points out 3 Catalysts for Ethereum’s Price to Surge Higher

Ethereum needs three catalysts to fall into place for its price to regain momentum and surge higher, according to SharpLink Gaming CEO Joseph Chalom.

“One is the CLARITY Act to pass in the US,” Chalom pointed out in an interview with Robert Baggs on Cointelegraph’s Chain Reaction show published to YouTube on Thursday. It came on the same day that all 13 Republican members and two Democrats voted to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY) at the US Senate Banking Committee meeting.

Chalom said that while many view the legislation, which aims to give the US crypto industry greater clarity, as “a US phenomenon,” it is also being seen as a major signal for other jurisdictions around the world.

Other countries are noticing the US shift away from a hostile stance toward crypto

“I’ve been traveling a lot in Asia, and if you go to Korea, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore, they are watching really closely because they realize the US went from having a hostile stance towards crypto and digital assets to um it could become the leader again in finance and you’ll see a red dollarization of a lot of financial activity and these other capitals are very worried,” Chalom said.

Joe Chalom spoke to Cointelegraph’s Robert Baggs on Chain Reaction. Source: Cointelegraph

Chalom said the second catalyst is a return in market risk appetite, which he said will largely depend on geopolitical tensions easing and the cooling of the “AI thesis.” “I think we’ll need some of that to go away in order to see crypto rise again,” Chalom said.

Sharplink Gaming is the second-largest publicly listed Ethereum treasury company, holding approximately 861,251 ETH, valued at $1.89 billion at the time of publication, according to Ethereum Treasuries data.

Ether (ETH) reached an all-time high of $4,823 in August 2025 as part of a broader market uptrend, but has since fallen 55% to $2,190 at the time of publication, according to CoinMarketCap. 

Tokenization is where Ethereum will “dominate”

Chalom said the final Ethereum catalyst he’s watching is the continued expansion of real-world asset tokenization.

“Tokenization of financial assets is where Ethereum is going to dominate,” Chalom said.

“I think there’s about 32 billion of tokenized RWA. And tokenization started in 2017. So it’s been remarkably slow. Now you’re seeing announcements of whole fund complexes being tokenized,” he said.

Several major asset managers have recently made announcements related to tokenization.

Related: How the stablecoin market tripled from $100B to $300B in one year

On Wednesday, JPMorgan filed to launch a tokenized money market fund on Ethereum, allowing stablecoin issuers to hold reserves backing their stablecoins in a regulated, cash-like vehicle while earning interest.

In March, Franklin Templeton announced it is teaming with Ondo Finance to bring tokenized versions of its exchange-traded funds onchain, allowing investors to access them through crypto wallets.

Chalom said, “You could see a world where there’s not $30 billion in tokenized assets in a year from now. It could be $500 billion or a trillion.”

Magazine: eToro founder timed Bitcoin top perfectly due to belief in 4 year cycles

Spot Bitcoin ETFs Lose $1B in a Week, Ending Six-Week Inflow Streak

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Spot Bitcoin ETFs Lose $1B in a Week, Ending Six-Week Inflow Streak

Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded $1 billion in weekly net outflows, ending a six-week inflow streak that had drawn a combined $3.4 billion.

The week started on a cautiously optimistic note, with Monday posting modest inflows of $27.29 million, according to data from SoSoValue. The tide turned sharply on Tuesday, when investors pulled $233.25 million from the funds. Selling pressure intensified on Wednesday, the worst single day of the week, with outflows reaching $635.23 million.

A brief reprieve came on Thursday, as inflows of $131.31 million offered a momentary reversal. However, Friday erased that recovery as well, when a further $290.42 million exited the products, sealing the week in the red at exactly $1 billion in net outflows.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs see weekly outflows. Source: SoSoValue

The weekly loss marks a reversal from the previous six weeks, during which spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted consistent net inflows, with the week of April 17 standing out as the strongest, pulling in $996.38 million. This week’s selling leaves total net assets sitting at $104.29 billion, with cumulative net inflows across all products at $58.34 billion.

Related: Bitcoin ETFs Post Largest Outflows Since January as BTC Slips

Capital rotates toward AI, crypto

In a recent note, analysts at Bitunix said capital is “aggressively” rotating toward both the “AI growth narrative” and the institutionalization of crypto assets. NVIDIA, Google and Apple pushed toward fresh all-time highs last week, while AI chipmaker Cerebras surged more than 70% intraday on its IPO debut.

On the crypto front, the CLARITY Act, widely seen as one of the most consequential crypto market structure bills in the US, cleared the Senate Banking Committee. Coinbase shares rallied sharply subsequently as markets priced in the development, and Bitcoin climbed back toward the $82,000 mark.

However, Bitcoin’s price structure points to a market on edge, Bitunix said. They noted that heavy short liquidity sits clustered between $82,400 and $82,600, with $80,000 serving as the key support level to watch. “Current price action suggests the market has clearly entered a high-leverage volatility structure, as capital waits for further direction from the three dominant macro themes: AI expansion, U.S.-China relations, and crypto regulation,” they wrote.

Related: JPMorgan Boosts Bitcoin ETF Holdings in Q1 2026 Filing

Spot Ether ETFs see consistent outflows

Meanwhile, spot Ether ETFs recorded outflows across all five trading days last week. Tuesday was the worst session, with $130.62 million exiting the products, followed by $65.65 million on Friday, $36.30 million on Wednesday, $16.89 million on Monday, and a relatively muted $5.65 million on Thursday.

Combined, the five-day streak wiped $254.46 million from the funds, pulling total net assets down to $12.93 billion by week’s end.

Magazine: Guide to the top and emerging global crypto hubs — Mid-2026

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