securities

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.

According to a report by crypto.news, Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz stated that the core reason for Bitcoin's recent decline is the "collapse of confidence triggered by Strategy." The issue lies not only in the price of Bitcoin itself but also in the growing concerns in the market regarding Strategy's financing model.As the largest publicly traded holder of Bitcoin globally, Strategy's stock and preferred securities have become key indicators for traders to measure Bitcoin market risk. Previously, the company's Bitcoin flywheel effect had come under pressure, with stock trading prices dipping below the value of its Bitcoin holdings, indicating that its long-reliant "premium stock issuance to repurchase Bitcoin" model is being challenged. Novogratz bluntly stated that STRC trading is weak, which should have been maintained around $100. Currently, Strategy's annual dividend obligation has risen to about $1.2 billion, and a decline in cash reserves has reduced the dividend coverage period to only about 14 months.Bitcoin is also facing pressure on a macro level. Novogratz summarized the current market logic as "a strong dollar means a weak Bitcoin," with hawkish central bank signals and a strengthening dollar suppressing demand for risk assets. From a technical perspective, the $59,000 to $60,000 range for Bitcoin has become a critical defense line, and if it breaks down, the downward space could open up to $45,000.Novogratz also admitted that the current situation is complex, with a 50-50 probability of a rebound or a deep correction. Outflows from ETF funds, weak liquidity, and cautious positioning in the options market further confirm the fragile market sentiment. Now, the health of Strategy's balance sheet, the performance of STRC prices, and cash positions have evolved from being company-level issues to becoming confidence signals for the overall Bitcoin market.

According to Jinshi reports, the research report from Zhongtai Securities indicates that overall, the market is likely to maintain a clear bottom and a pattern of consolidation in the next week or two. After the important IPO listings, as market uncertainties settle and sentiment improves, the market is expected to welcome a rally towards previous highs/new highs. The subsequent market style will still be technology diffusion rather than style switching.Focus on technology: storage and semiconductor equipment, overseas computing power chains. Storage and semiconductor equipment are currently the most certain directions.Non-technology directions: new energy, AI-related new materials and minor metals, engineering machinery, and brokerage firms. In the new energy sector, the electricity demand driven by AI computing power expansion and the logic of going overseas constitute medium-term support. In terms of AI-related new materials, the price increase spiral for copper-clad laminates (CCL) has already begun. Brokerage firms benefit from IPO participation and active market trading, still presenting opportunities for fluctuations.

Aave founder Stani Kulechov posted that Aave is expanding its business boundaries from crypto assets to traditional assets, launching securities collateral loans and securities lending services.Aave executive Luigi D'Onorio DeMeo pointed out that the global securities lending market has a borrowing scale of approximately $4.6 trillion and annual revenue of about $35 billion, but most of the profits are captured by brokers and platforms (such as Robinhood, Schwab), and users typically only receive a small percentage of the lending fees.Aave plans to allow users to directly tokenize stocks (such as AAPL, TSLA) on-chain as collateral or lending assets through V4, earning the full lending rate, and providing advantages such as real-time transparent pricing, no re-collateralization, and no intermediary cuts, in order to compete for market share in the traditional securities lending market.

According to Jinshi reports, Citic Securities research report states that the US dollar index has rapidly strengthened recently, causing gold prices to fall below the $4,000 per ounce mark. The market's easing concerns about inflation have not led to a decline in the dollar. The research report points out that the political "re-dollarization" can explain the recent strength of the dollar, but the more important driving factor is the expectation of tightening dollar liquidity. It is expected that the dollar index will have support within the year, but it will be difficult to sustain a rise; the next US inflation data may become a catalyst for the market to adjust trading strategies.

According to BTCtreasuries, the law firm Rosen Law Firm announced an investigation into Michael Saylor's company Strategy (MSTR) and STRC, involving potential securities law claims.According to the law firm, Strategy "may have released significantly misleading business information to the investing public," and is therefore assessing related investor losses and potential legal liabilities.

The Nasdaq-listed Ethereum treasury company Sharplink announced that it has signed a securities purchase agreement to sell 10,013,400 shares of common stock and corresponding warrants for 10,013,400 shares of common stock, raising approximately $75 million in total. The funds will be used for working capital, to continue accumulating ETH assets, and to repurchase company shares under the stock repurchase plan.Sharplink also disclosed that as of June 16, the company held a total of 875,776 ETH.

South Korea will incorporate tokenized securities into the overall framework of capital market reform. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) recently launched a review meeting on capital market infrastructure to coordinate the advancement of reforms such as speeding up securities settlement, extending trading hours, and digital transformation.According to the plan, the tokenized securities framework will officially take effect in February 2027, and relevant subordinate regulations are expected to solicit public opinions in July this year. In terms of infrastructure development, Samsung SDS has been contracted by the Korea Securities Depository (KSD) to develop a tokenized securities management platform, aiming to integrate the existing electronic securities account system with blockchain data, with the goal of completing this by February 2027.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission released the "2025-26 Annual Report," showing that Hong Kong's capital market achieved significant growth across various asset classes in the past year, including investment funds, digital assets, and the stock market. Among them, the growth of tokenized investment products accelerated. As of March, the managed assets of 13 retail products approved by the Securities and Futures Commission increased nearly sixfold year-on-year, reaching HKD 10.8 billion. At the same time, the total market value of 11 virtual asset spot ETFs reached HKD 4.3 billion, a substantial increase of 90% since their launch in 2024, recognizing Asia's first Solana spot ETF. The trading volume of 12 licensed virtual asset trading platforms increased significantly by 125% within a year.

According to BBX data, yesterday two leading publicly listed companies in the cryptocurrency sector completed key historical matters and strategic upgrades. The core updates are as follows:Hut 8 Corp. (Nasdaq: $HUT) officially disclosed on June 23 that the company agreed to pay investors $2.35 million in cash to settle a securities class action lawsuit arising from the merger with U.S. Bitcoin Corp (USBTC) in 2023. The case is being handled by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, with the plaintiffs being investors who held Hut 8 securities from February 13, 2023, to January 18, 2024. The core allegation is that the company significantly omitted disclosures regarding infrastructure issues at its King Mountain Texas Bitcoin mine (including energy limitations and network connectivity failures) during the merger process, constituting substantial misrepresentation to investors. The trigger for this case was a report released by short-selling firm J Capital Research on January 18, 2024, which questioned the company, leading to a single-day drop of over 23% in Hut 8's stock price. The $2.35 million settlement amount represents approximately 19.6% of the plaintiffs' estimated maximum recoverable damages of $12.08 million, exceeding the historical median settlement ratio for similar cases involving only Securities Act claims; the settlement is still subject to final court approval, and Hut 8 denies any wrongdoing or legal liability. This settlement eliminates the last significant historical legal uncertainty in the company's AI/HPC data center transformation narrative, allowing the valuation logic for the timely delivery of its River Bend ($7 billion contract) and Beacon Point ($9.8 billion contract) dual campuses within the year to unfold against a cleaner balance sheet backdrop.Galaxy Digital Inc. (Nasdaq: $GLXY) announced on June 23 a strategic investment in Digital Prime Technologies (a securities lending technology platform), with specific financial terms not disclosed. This investment builds on Galaxy's existing role as a participant in the Tokenet platform—Tokenet is developed in collaboration between Digital Prime Technologies and institutional securities lending infrastructure provider EquiLend, set to officially launch in May 2026, aiming to bring mature workflows, risk control mechanisms, and full lifecycle management systems from the institutional securities lending sector into the digital asset lending market. By upgrading from a platform participant to an equity investor, Galaxy directly ties the operation of the Tokenet platform to its own institutional lending and trading business, forming a triple synergy of "product + balance sheet + equity." This move is highly consistent with Galaxy's overall business strategy: based on the stable cash flow foundation provided by the CoreWeave 15-year AI data center lease (Phase 1 133MW delivered in April), it aims to deepen its institutional digital asset lending infrastructure layout, further reducing reliance on the single Beta of Bitcoin prices—on the same day, Galaxy was also listed in institutional research reports as one of the few cryptocurrency concept stocks capable of maintaining business resilience during Bitcoin price downturns, with its diversified layout seen as a core reason for being relatively decoupled from pure BTC price exposure.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission has announced that it has listed Aurum/Aurum Foundation as a suspicious virtual asset trading platform. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission stated that the company claims to be registered in Hong Kong under the Companies Ordinance and provides virtual asset, futures contracts, and derivative trading services on its relevant website, but the company is not licensed by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission and is suspected of conducting unlicensed activities.

According to Globenewswire, Nasdaq-listed Solana treasury company Upexi announced that it has signed a securities purchase agreement to sell approximately 12.2423 million shares of common stock (or equivalent pre-paid warrants) at an issue price of about $1.60 per share through a private placement, raising a total of $19.5 million. The new funds will be used to repay existing debt and continue to increase the strategic reserve of SOL assets.

Aave founder Stani Kulechov stated that Aave V4 can be used to reconstruct the on-chain securities financing market. He mentioned that securities financing is one of the largest markets on Wall Street but receives relatively little attention from the outside. Securities collateralized loans have become a multi-trillion dollar business, with the U.S. repurchase market having an average daily exposure of about $12.6 trillion, secured financing reaching $1.3 trillion, wealth management securities collateralized loans exceeding $400 billion, and approximately $4.6 trillion in assets in the securities lending market being lent out, generating a record $15 billion in revenue by 2025.Aave V4, through a "liquidity hub + modular market" structure, allows for shared liquidity at the underlying level while setting up segmented markets with different risk parameters, asset ranges, and rules at the upper level. Aave V4 can support three core securities financing scenarios: securities collateralized loans, repurchase transactions, and securities lending. Tokenized securities can be used as collateral to borrow GHO or stablecoins; repurchase transactions can borrow stablecoins using tokenized securities as collateral and achieve atomic settlement; in securities lending, the tokenized securities themselves can become borrowable assets, with lending income flowing directly to asset holders.Stani indicated that Aave V4 could adopt a single shared liquidity hub or split multiple hubs by asset class and risk. The former has deeper liquidity, while the latter offers stronger risk isolation. He believes that the realistic path may start with unified liquidity and, as the types of collateral expand, gradually evolve into a multi-hub structure categorized by asset class and risk.

According to Nikkei News, on June 19, the Financial Services Agency of Japan announced a partial business suspension order for moomoo Securities, requiring it to suspend the solicitation and acceptance of new account openings from June 19 to September 18, for a period of three months. At the same time, the regulatory authority also issued a business improvement order, requiring the company to clarify the responsibility attribution, including that of management, and to develop a rectification plan to prevent recurrence.It has been disclosed that moomoo Securities engaged in improper conduct, such as making false statements to clients regarding the applicability of the Japanese Individual Savings Account system (NISA). Additionally, there are multiple internal management issues, including a long-standing lack of suspicious transaction verification and reporting, as well as insufficient cybersecurity measures. moomoo Securities is a subsidiary of Futu Holdings in Japan.

According to Jinshi reports, the Federal Reserve FOMC statement reiterates the policy of maintaining ample reserves in the banking system and instructs the open market operations department to increase securities holdings when appropriate.

According to the Shanghai Securities Journal, Wu Qing, the Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, stated at the 2026 Lujiazui Forum that the next step will be to timely release guidelines for the standardized development of artificial intelligence in the capital market.Wu Qing pointed out that the CSRC will strictly investigate and deal with illegal activities such as using technology to ride on trends, hype concepts, and even manipulate the market and insider trading; at the same time, it will legally and strictly crack down on illegal stock recommendations using artificial intelligence, as well as industry chaos such as spreading rumors and illegal trading using artificial intelligence.

According to Jinshi, Castle Securities in the United States stated that as inflation continues and spreads, the Federal Reserve may begin a series of interest rate hikes as early as September.

According to Cointelegraph, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) stated that it will soon conduct a live demonstration of asset tokenization using the securities held by DTCC.

According to Crowdfund Insider, the Chairperson of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), Laura Liang, stated at the Caixin Summer Summit that Hong Kong will continue to expand its digital asset regulatory framework and promote the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in the financial services sector to consolidate its position as an international financial center.Laura Liang pointed out that regulatory agencies will improve the institutional framework around areas such as digital asset trading, custody, investment consulting, and asset management, while adhering to the regulatory principle of "same business, same risks, same rules," achieving a balance between innovation and investor protection.She stated that as the application of AI in the financial industry accelerates, regulatory focus will include potential risks such as model reliability, algorithm bias, data privacy, and cybersecurity, emphasizing that financial institutions need to strengthen risk management during the innovation process.In addition, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission and relevant regulatory agencies have expanded the regulatory sandbox mechanism, allowing financial institutions to test generative AI applications in a controlled environment to promote technological implementation and compliant development. Analysts believe that Hong Kong is further enhancing the openness and standardization of its financial markets through a dual regulatory framework for digital assets and AI, while also increasing its competitiveness in the global capital markets.

According to a report by TheStreet Roundtable, Coinbase's Head of Institutional Sales, John D'Agostino, stated in an interview at the New York Stock Exchange that Coinbase is committed to migrating the existing financial infrastructure from the outdated ledger system of decades ago to a faster, cheaper, and more stable blockchain ledger, with the goal of becoming a fully functional integrated financial platform in the crypto space.D'Agostino pointed out that Coinbase's current growth mainly comes from four directions: first, derivatives; the company acquired the world's largest crypto options exchange, Deribit, for $2.9 billion last year, becoming a market leader in this field; second, tokenized securities; approximately 20 stocks have been tokenized and are continuously expanding, with assets like REITs included in the tokenization scope, claiming the market size is about $15 trillion; third, DeFi; Coinbase has become the official USDC treasury deployer for the Hyperliquid platform, with about $5 billion USDC in revenue used for repurchasing HYPE tokens on the platform; fourth, stablecoins; continuously deepening the coverage of USDC in the on-chain market.He summarized Coinbase's positioning as, "The safest custody for crypto assets is our foundational moat, while hyper-fast growth comes from tokenizing everything and creating universal applications."