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According to Chosun Biz, South Korea's Kiwoom Securities is seeking to acquire a stake in South Korea's second-largest virtual asset exchange, Bithumb. Both parties are discussing the issuance of new shares through a third-party allotment, with the specific equity ratio and investment scale still being coordinated.South Korean securities companies are rushing to enter the virtual asset industry ahead of the issuance of security tokens (STO) and the institutionalization of stablecoins; the Financial Services Commission of South Korea is also discussing the major shareholder equity regulations in the second phase of the virtual asset law, which will generally limit the shareholding ratio of major shareholders in virtual asset exchanges to 20%, with exceptions allowing up to 34%. Bithumb's largest shareholder, Bithumb Holdings, currently holds 73.56%, and if the relevant regulations are implemented, it will need to reduce its stake by more than 50 percentage points.

The cross-chain protocol Axelar Network released a statement regarding the recent security incident related to Secret Network, stating that there is a misunderstanding within the community about the event. Both Axelar and the Inter-Blockchain Communication Protocol (IBC) were not attacked or compromised. The affected token smart contracts were neither developed, deployed, nor maintained by Axelar, and Axelar's firewall mechanism also prevented the impact from spreading to other chains.It is reported that the exploited contract is a forked version based on CW20-ICS20, but the developers removed two core security checks, resulting in an "infinite minting" vulnerability. By deleting the verification mechanisms originally used to prevent such issues, this fork altered the original trust model of the contract and did not undergo a new security audit.Axelar Network explained that anyone can deploy contracts for cross-chain asset wrapping through IBC, and similar contracts have also been used to wrap tokens from other chains into Secret Network. However, the Secret side fork version in this incident has vulnerabilities due to the removal of key security checks. This incident is not a unique logical flaw, nor is it an issue with the IBC protocol itself, but rather a security risk introduced by modifications to third-party contracts.

Pudgy Penguins' Web3 game Pudgy Party announced it will cease development and fully shift to the browser-based free game Pudgy World.In August last year, the NFT brand Pudgy Penguins launched a Web3 mobile game called Pudgy Party, developed in collaboration with Mythical Games, featuring fast-paced mini-games, customization, and digital collectibles. In March this year, Pudgy Penguins launched the browser-based free game Pudgy World.

According to a report by Reuters, Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, raised £9.3 million in the first quarter of 2026, surpassing the fundraising scale of major UK political parties for the third consecutive quarter, with some of the funds coming from large donations by cryptocurrency investors.

The stablecoin apxUSD, issued by the Apyx protocol and primarily collateralized by Strategy preferred stock STRC, briefly depegged during the time Bitcoin fell below $63,000, dropping to a low of $0.93. Apyx stated that this fluctuation was not a vulnerability but rather an expected performance of the preferred stock collateralized stablecoin. Since the reserve assets of apxUSD are mainly composed of STRC preferred stock with a face value of $100, when STRC falls below its face value in the secondary market, the market value of the reserve assets will decrease, leading to price fluctuations in the stablecoin.The protocol claims that its stability mechanism includes over-collateralization, a dividend adjustment mechanism, and cash and short-term U.S. Treasury reserves as a buffer. Data shows that since last August, STRC has fallen below its face value four times, but has ultimately returned to $100 each time. In response to market concerns about a chain liquidation in the Morpho lending market, Apyx stated that its core apyUSD/apxUSD market primarily relies on the accumulation of dividend income rather than the spot price of STRC, so related fluctuations will not trigger large-scale liquidations.

The Liberal Democratic Party's Blockchain Promotion Parliamentary Alliance in Japan submitted a policy proposal to Finance Minister Katsuyuki Kitayama, calling for the clear inclusion of blockchain and Web3 in the national strategy. The proposal covers multiple areas including tax reform, cryptocurrency ETFs, leveraged trading regulation, responses to unregistered operators, cryptocurrency strategy, and trade logistics. Among them, the proposal suggests further research on the choice mechanism for "declaration separation taxation" and "withholding separation taxation" for crypto assets, and explores the tax treatment methods for exchanges and inheritance of crypto assets.In terms of derivatives regulation, the proposal believes that the current 2x leverage limit for individual cryptocurrency trading is too low and suggests gradually increasing the leverage level in conjunction with margin management systems. At the same time, the proposal also calls for a clear positioning of the cryptocurrency ETF system and strengthening law enforcement cooperation with overseas regulatory agencies. Katsuyuki Kitayama stated that he will actively promote the construction of related systems, including facilitating the implementation of cryptocurrency ETFs and researching a new tax system to be implemented in January 2028.

According to CoinDesk, Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party has proposed the establishment of a legal framework for cryptocurrency ETF trading and the promotion of the use of yen stablecoins. A group within the party that advocates for blockchain technology has submitted the relevant proposal to Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama. The proposal states that cryptocurrency ETFs can provide investors with a more understandable way to invest.

According to Cointelegraph, crypto-related political action committees (PACs) and industry executives have invested over $500 million in the 2026 U.S. elections.Follow the Crypto data shows that crypto industry companies and related individuals have contributed over $320 million, and crypto-related PACs still hold over $245 million in cash; among them, Republican-related candidates/committees received about $127 million in support, significantly higher than the approximately $11.5 million for Democrats.

According to crypto analyst Yu Jin @EmberCN, in the past 11 hours, addresses associated with the ESPORTS project have continuously sold tokens on-chain, with a total of 253 million ESPORTS sold, accounting for 28% of the total token supply. Data shows that this batch of ESPORTS was first exchanged for approximately 26,000 BNB, and then further converted into 17.29 million USDT.Due to the ongoing sell-off, the price of ESPORTS has currently dropped about 95% from its peak, falling from $0.70 to around $0.035.

The cross-chain routing protocol Squid stated on platform X that the SquidRouterModule involved in the attack disclosed by Blockaid was neither developed, deployed, nor operated by Squid, but rather a third-party Gnosis Safe module that chose to integrate with protocols like Squid, with no prior connection between the two parties.Squid indicated that this third-party module has a vulnerability that accepts a fixed string provided by the caller as message security verification. The attacker exploited this string, which is publicly visible in the verified code of the contract, to execute arbitrary call data and steal funds. Squid's own routing contract (0xce16F) is architecturally completely different from this module and is unaffected; user funds, authorizations, and integrations are all secure.

Republican lawmakers in the United States are accelerating the push for a new version of the ARMA Act, hoping to complete the bill's signing while the Republican Party still controls both houses of Congress. The bill advocates for the establishment of a national-level Bitcoin reserve in the United States and plans to hold approximately 5% of the global Bitcoin circulating supply for the long term. According to market news, there is an internal effort within the Republican Party to elevate the Bitcoin strategic reserve to the level of national finance and geopolitical competition, believing that the United States should seize a dominant position in the global digital asset system. If the bill is ultimately passed, the U.S. government may become one of the largest holders of Bitcoin in the world, further reinforcing the narrative of BTC as "digital gold" and a sovereign reserve asset.

Tiger Research's Research Director Ryan Yoon stated that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is preparing to launch an "innovation exemption" framework that allows third parties to tokenize listed stocks without the issuer's approval.Ryan Yoon warned that this move could cause two major structural shocks to traditional exchanges: first, liquidity fragmentation, as funds will disperse from centralized exchanges to multiple blockchain platforms; second, revenue fragmentation, as trading fees and intermediary income may flow to overseas or competing platforms, threatening the competitiveness of U.S. finance.He believes that traditional exchanges are like monopolistic superstores, while tokenized stocks are akin to allowing anyone to set up a street stall, which will significantly change the concentration of capital markets. The SEC is advancing this framework at this time to keep global financial income within the domestic regulatory scope.

According to CoinPost, the "Next Generation AI and On-Chain Finance Concept Project Group" of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan has released a proposal that suggests combining AI with blockchain to automate decision-making, financing, and asset management, operating around the clock, and lists finance as the "18th growth investment area."Specific measures in the proposal include: promoting the tokenization of current accounts at the Bank of Japan (including wholesale CBDC), completing the argument organization within the year; the three major banks jointly issuing stablecoins, aiming to launch practical operations before March next year; and promoting the on-chain tokenization of real assets (RWA) such as accounts receivable and real estate.On the international cooperation front, the proposal suggests establishing an "AI and On-Chain Finance Asia Policy Dialogue Framework" and advancing cross-border settlements using yen-denominated stablecoins, building a "Global SC Corridor Concept."

According to Digital Asset, Jeong Tae-ho, a Democratic Party official from the National Assembly's Finance and Economy Planning Committee in South Korea, stated that the taxation of digital assets "has already been postponed and should be implemented as planned," and mentioned that internal party discussions will begin once the tax reform proposal is submitted to the committee.This statement marks a significant shift from his more reserved stance a month ago. The South Korean government has also officially confirmed that it will impose taxes on the transfer and rental income of digital assets starting January 1, 2027. Several hardline lawmakers within the Democratic Party have recently voiced their support for advancing the timeline as scheduled.

According to Axios, American Republicans are increasingly dissatisfied with the flow of political donations in the cryptocurrency industry, demanding that the pro-crypto super PAC Fairshake, which holds about $165 million in funds, clarify its stance and focus on supporting Republican candidates in the 2026 midterm elections.Republicans pointed out that, against the backdrop of significant progress in promoting pro-crypto legislation such as the CLARITY Act, Fairshake has yet to announce specific election investment plans, which is disappointing. The points of contention include:Ohio Democratic Senate candidate Sherrod Brown: Fairshake spent over $40 million in 2024 to defeat incumbent Senator Brown, but Brown's attitude towards the cryptocurrency industry has noticeably softened in recent years.New Hampshire Congressman Chris Pappas: His Stand With Crypto rating rose from "F" to "A" within 8 months, and Republicans initially expected Fairshake to focus on his campaign.In response, Fairshake supporters stated that it is still too early to speak out and emphasized that the PAC is bipartisan in nature, aiming to "reward supporters and punish critics," rather than unconditionally supporting a particular party. Some pro-crypto Republicans (such as the Winklevoss brothers) have established separate independent groups specifically to support Republican candidates.

Binance announced that due to third-party system maintenance, Binance Alpha tokenized securities trading services are currently in temporary maintenance status, and users are temporarily unable to place orders or conduct transactions.Binance stated that user asset security is not affected, and the platform is actively communicating with the third party to promote service recovery. Users will be notified as soon as the relevant functions are restored.

The UK Parliament's Standards Commissioner is investigating UK MP and leader of the Reform Party, Nigel Farage, due to allegations of failing to declare a £5 million (approximately $6.7 million) personal donation from Tether investor Christopher Harborne. Christopher Harborne holds a 12% stake in Tether. Nigel Farage stated that the donation was received in 2024 before he announced his candidacy, intended for personal security, and therefore he had no obligation to declare it. According to the House of Commons Code of Conduct, new MPs must register any benefits received in the previous 12 months after being elected. If found in violation, Nigel Farage could face penalties such as an apology, suspension, or expulsion from Parliament.

Anthropic announced that starting from June 15, 2026, a new billing policy for the Agent SDK will be implemented. According to the new regulations, third-party Agent tools such as OpenClaw will be allowed to access the Claude subscription version again, but they must use a separate "exclusive monthly quota," which will no longer be shared with the regular chat quota.Previously, Anthropic had restricted third-party tools from accessing the Claude subscription quota in April of this year to prevent abuse. This adjustment is seen as the final solution to the related controversy, which is to reopen third-party access while completely isolating Agent calls from the regular chat quota.Specifically, Pro users will receive a monthly exclusive quota of $20; Max 5x and advanced Team versions will receive $100; Max 20x and advanced Enterprise versions can receive up to $200. The relevant quotas can only be used for third-party applications, self-built Agent projects, and claude-p backend command calls, with quotas refreshing monthly, and any excess must be paid at the standard API rate.