Crypto Industry News & Market Trends

South Korea police raid former mayor's home in crypto disclosure investigation

South Korean police have searched the home of former Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok and city offices as part of an investigation into allegations that cryptocurrency assets were omitted from his local election financial disclosure.　　According to South Korea‘s Yonhap News Agency, investigators from the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency’s Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit carried out search and seizure operations on Sunday at Yoos residence and the General Affairs Division of Incheon City Hall, where they collected evidence including mobile phones and computers as part of an investigation into alleged violations of the Public Official Election Act.　　The investigation centers on claims that Yoo and his wife intentionally failed to report approximately 21,000 cryptocurrency tokens after transferring the holdings to an overseas exchange before submitting mandatory asset disclosures during South Koreas June 3 local elections.　　Police have already questioned Yoo, his wife, identified only by her surname Choi, along with individuals connected to complainant Park Chan-daes campaign, Yonhap reported. The newly executed searches are part of efforts to secure additional evidence as investigators continue examining whether the reported assets should have been included in the election filings.　　Police expand probe into crypto disclosure allegations　　According to Yonhap, the allegations first surfaced roughly 10 days before

07-28Industry

Strategy hits a 5 week pause on Bitcoin, using $25M to quietly buy back its own discounted stock

Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) has begun buying back its STRC preferred stock as the Bitcoin treasury company shifts more capital toward supporting its financing structure.　　In a July 27 SEC update, Strategy said it purchased 288,930 STRC shares for $25 million between July 20 and July 26, marking the first disclosed use of a $1 billion preferred-stock repurchase program approved last month.　　The shares were acquired at an average price of $86.52, a sizeable discount to STRCs $100 stated amount.　　The move comes during Strategys longest pause in its once-regular Bitcoin accumulation. The firm has not purchased a single BTC for the past five weeks, its longest hiatus since 2024.　　Despite this pause, the Michael Saylor-led company remains the largest public holder of the top crypto with 843,775 BTC. They were acquired at an average purchase price of $75,476 per Bitcoin, or $63.69 billion.　　STRC discount pushes Strategy toward direct support　　The STRC repurchase follows a prolonged period of weakness in the variable-rate perpetual preferred stock, which Strategy intends to keep trading close to its $100 stated amount.　　STRC fell below $77 over the past month before recovering to around $88 as of press time. Despite the rebound, the security remains well below Strategy‘s target level, complicating its

07-28Industry

OKX app returns to South Korea's Google Play Store after four day suspension

OKX has returned to South Korea‘s Google Play Store after a four-day suspension, while Bybit’s app remains unavailable in the country.　　According to a July 28 report by Digital Asset, the OKX: Trade Bitcoin & Crypto app once again appears in search results on South Koreas Google Play Store, allowing users to install the application or update existing versions after it disappeared from the platform on July 24.　　The publication verified that the exchanges Android app had resumed normal distribution as of 8:00 a.m. local time on July 28. The restoration comes roughly four days after South Korean users lost access to new downloads and updates through Google Play.　　Bybit, however, remains in a different position. Digital Asset said the exchanges app, which became unavailable on July 10, was still blocked from search results and installation at the time of publication.　　OKX becomes the first recent exchange to regain Play Store access　　Only days earlier, Digital Asset had reported that the OKX app could no longer be found on South Koreas Google Play Store, preventing Android users from installing or updating the application. At the time, other major overseas exchanges, including Binance and Bitget, continued to appear normally in search results and remained available for

07-28Industry

Fanatics to acquire BGC prediction market exchange

Fanatics agreed on July 27 to acquire Water Street Labs and CX Clearinghouse from BGC Group, giving the sports platform a federally regulated exchange and clearinghouse for its prediction markets business.　　SummaryFanatics agreed to buy two CFTC-registered entities, gaining direct control of exchange and clearing infrastructure.Water Street Labs received CFTC designated contract market status on July 16, 2026, records show.Fanatics Markets currently operates across 23 states and four U.S. territories, according to company disclosures.　　Financial terms and a closing date were not disclosed. The deal has been announced but has not been described as completed.　　Once ownership transfers, Fanatics intends to list event contracts through Water Street Labs and settle them through CX Clearinghouse rather than relying entirely on an outside exchange and clearing partner.　　You might also like:　　NFL asks CFTC to curb high risk sports prediction contracts　　Fanatics prediction markets move in-house　　Fanatics Markets launched in December 2025 through a partnership with Crypto.com Derivatives North America. Fanatics had also acquired Paragon Global Markets, a CFTC-registered introducing broker and National Futures Association member, in July 2025.　　The new transaction would add the remaining core market infrastructure. Fanatics said owning the exchange and clearinghouse would let it directly list and clear contracts across a wider range of events.

07-28Industry

Upbit lists RLUSD in KRW, BTC and USDT markets

South Korean crypto exchange Upbit announced trading support for Ripple USD on July 28, adding RLUSD pairs against the Korean won,　　Bitcoin and USDT. Trading was scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. Korea Standard Time, subject to the exchange securing sufficient liquidity.　　Deposits and withdrawals were due to open within two hours of the announcement. Upbit limited transfers to the XRP Ledger version of RLUSD, excluding the tokens Ethereum and other supported-network versions.　　신규 디지털 자산 리플유에스디(RLUSD) 거래지원 안내　　✅ 지원 마켓: KRW, BTC, USDT 마켓　　???? 거래지원 개시 시점 : 2026-07-28 14:00 KST 예정　　????공지 바로가기:https://t.co/wVLKHLQmvj#Upbit #RLUSD@Ripple pic.twitter.com/SiSlVJ9E26　　— Upbit Korea (@Official_Upbit) July 28, 2026　　Upbit placed temporary limits on RLUSD trading　　Upbit planned several controls during the opening period. Buy orders were restricted for approximately five minutes after trading began. Sell orders priced more than 10% below the previous days closing price were also restricted for the same period.　　For roughly two hours after launch, users could submit only limit orders. Market orders and other conditional order types were unavailable during that window. Upbit said it could postpone trading if the available liquidity did not meet its requirements.　　The exchange quoted RLUSD at 1,468.76 won, 0.00001583 BTC and 0.9995 USDT at 11:00 a.m. KST. Those figures preceded the scheduled

07-28Industry

Bitcoin slides 2% after U.S. close while Koreas Kospi plunges 10%

SummaryBitcoin fell about 2.7 percent to roughly $63,200, extending losses across major cryptocurrencies as Asian equities, led by South Koreas Kospi, sold off sharply.The U.S. Senate has delayed action on the closely watched CLARITY Act to focus on a Russia sanctions bill, likely pushing any vote on crypto regulatory legislation to next week before the Aug. 8 recess.Analysts say bitcoin tends to move with stocks when macro and interest-rate stress is high, and they expect volatility across asset classes around the Federal Reserves rate decision Wednesday and key U.S. data on Thursday.　　Bitcoin has come under pressure since the U.S. stock market closed Monday, with South Koreas Kospi leading Asian equities lower and providing risk-off cues to the cryptocurrency market.　　BTC has fallen to $63,200 from nearly $65,000, a 2.7% decline that has spilled over into the broader crypto market and dragged down the likes of ether (ETH), XRP (XRP), solana (SOL), and others. The drop ends the brief resilience the market showed earlier Monday as shares in NVDA tanked on Wall Street.　　The Senate has shelved the CLARITY Act to prioritize a Russia sanctions bill, making a vote on the much-awaited legislation, touted to deliver regulatory clarity and unlock massive institutional buying

07-28Industry

XRP price drops 5% as $1.05 support breaks, more downside ahead？

XRP price fell about 5% to $1.05 on July 28 as a broader risk-off move and forced long liquidations pushed the token below a closely watched technical floor.　　SummaryXRP dropped from roughly $1.11 to $1.05, breaking support near $1.054.The 4-hour RSI fell to 25.93, placing XRP in oversold territory.Daily Chaikin Money Flow reached -0.12, showing continued net capital outflows.Liquidation clusters near $1.075 and $1.097could limit an early recovery.　　XRP price breaks below a double-top neckline　　According to data from crypto.news, XRP (XRP) price traded at $1.049 at the time of writing after reaching an intraday low of $1.0486 on Binance. The decline extended a broader downtrend that has kept the token under pressure since May.　　The 4-hour chart shows XRP forming two rounded peaks near $1.17, creating a double-top structure. Both advances lost momentum before buyers could establish support above $1.15.　　XRP price forms double top on the 4-hour chart — July 28 | Source: crypto.news　　A horizontal neckline near $1.054 separated the pattern from its bearish confirmation. XRP moved below that level on July 28, exposing the psychological $1 mark and the late-June lows between $1.01 and $1.03.　　The breakdown followed repeated failures around $1.11 during the previous sessions. Sellers took control once XRP lost $1.08,

07-28Industry

Zimbabwe approves 7 fintech projects for sandbox

Zimbabwes securities regulator listed seven fintech projects as approved regulatory sandbox participants on July 24, with tokenization accounting for four of the projects.　　The Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe named Zimbabwe Entrepreneurship Exchange, Ndarama Standard, Questview Brokers, Crowdaxe Capital, Procode Platforms, Financial Securities Exchange and Colmin Resources Zimbabwe.　　据 Bitcoin News 报道，津巴布韦证券交易委员会批准 7 家金融科技公司进入监管沙盒，测试区块链融资、合成交易、众筹及资产代币化等业务，其中 5 家涉及资产、基础设施或证券代币化。监管机构将全程监督测试，并可根据风险追加运营要求。https://t.co/c4xSFDofni　　— 吴说区块链 (@wublockchain12) July 28, 2026　　The projects will test products under SECZ supervision rather than immediately begin unrestricted commercial operations. The regulators framework defines a sandbox as a controlled environment for testing eligible financial technology with live users and set operating limits.　　Zimbabwes sandbox places tokenization at the centre　　Zimbabwe Entrepreneurship Exchange will test a blockchain-based capital-raising platform. Ndarama Standard focuses on asset tokenization, while Questview Brokers will test synthetic trading. Crowdaxe Capital operates a web-based crowdfunding platform intended to connect businesses seeking capital with investors.　　The remaining projects deepen the tokenization focus. Procode Platforms is testing securities tokenization, FINSEC is working on an asset-tokenization market, and Colmin Resources Zimbabwe is developing an infrastructure-tokenization project. Industry disclosures show that FINSEC and Zimbabwe Entrepreneurship Exchange had received project-specific regulatory approvals before SECZ published the consolidated participant notice.　　Sandbox approval is not a commercial licence　　SECZs Regulatory Sandbox Guidelines allow licensed securities intermediaries,

07-28Industry

Is the US Natural Gas undervalued？

In this article I will talk about the U.S. benchmark natural gas futures contract traded on NYMEX (Henry Hub Natural Gas; CME Globex code: NG) and will attempt to objectively answer a straightforward question: ‘is the U.S. natural gas currently undervalued？’. I will conclude with my market outlook and whether I am currently buying or selling.　　Current price context　　The U.S. natural gas front-month futures contract (NGQ26) settled at $2.767 per Million British thermal units (MMBtu) on 27 July 2026, down 3.62% on the day. On the continuation chart, natural gas lost more than 16% in value this month and is down almost 20% since 1 June. It currently sits at 11-week low, below all key daily moving averages.　　The current price is also well below both the prior-year average of $3.621 and the running five-year average price of $3.818. Furthermore, a substantial disconnect exists between natural gas pricing at Henry Hub and global benchmarks, such as Title Transfer Facility (TTF) in Europe and Japan Korea Marker (JKM) in Asia. Although this disparity is partly the result of major structural differences in supply access, it is still quite substantial. Yesterday, TTF settled at $19.398 per MMBtu, while JKM settled at $21.43 per MMBtu,

07-28Industry

PayPal expands stablecoin push as crypto assets factor into Q2 results

PayPal highlighted growth of stablecoins and AI-driven payment tools in Q2 while reporting $8.68 billion in revenue and an $81 million crypto-related earnings adjustment.　　Global payments giant PayPal highlighted stablecoins and artificial intelligence-driven payment tools as part of its second-quarter strategy while crypto assets remained part of its earnings reconciliation.　　PayPal reported Q2 earnings of $1.26 per share on Tuesday, compared with $1.30 per share in the same period last year and below analysts $1.28 estimate. Revenue reached $8.68 billion, up from $8.29 billion a year earlier and above the $8.47 billion analyst consensus.　　The company also recorded an $81 million non-GAAP adjustment related to gains and losses from strategic investments and crypto assets held for investment. PayPal said it excludes gains and losses from strategic investments and crypto assets held for investment from non-GAAP results because it does not actively trade those assets or rely on them to fund ongoing operations.

07-28Industry

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