Bitcoin’s Rally Leans on Fears That Fiscal Strains are Mounting
Markets
“Crypto’s true believers suddenly have a spring in their step again. Just days ago, Bitcoin still looked trapped in a market that had spent months grinding lower. Then, almost out of nowhere, it ripped toward $80,000, notching its best weekly gain in years and reviving the memes, the HODL chants and the conviction that momentum itself can pull crypto higher. Rocket-ship emojis returned to X, bear-market obituaries resurfaced and Michael Saylor posted an AI-generated nightclub meme urging followers to 'buy Bitcoin, hold 10 years, ignore the noise, survive the fears.' The spark came partly from the bond market. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s plan to at least double long-dated Treasury buybacks initially pulled yields lower and weakened the dollar while gold surged.”
Source: Bloomberg
South Korea's Shinhan Partners with Solana Foundation, Etherfuse, Orca for Tokenized Fund Issuance
Tokenization
“Shinhan Asset Management, one of South Korea's largest financial institutions, announced Friday that it has signed a four-party memorandum of understanding with the Solana Foundation, Etherfuse, and Orca. The agreement covers a proof-of-concept for the issuance and distribution of a Korean won-denominated tokenized fund, according to the press release. Shinhan said it modeled the initiative after BlackRock's tokenized fund BUIDL. The structure of the fund, currently under review, would involve overseas institutional investors purchasing a KRW ultra-short-term bond fund managed by Shinhan. The holdings would then be issued in tokenized form.”
Source: The Block
Binance Faces New Scrutiny in Its Crypto-Friendly UAE Haven
Exchanges
“Police inquiries involving Binance Holdings Ltd. employees in the United Arab Emirates are testing the crypto exchange in a country that has become one of its most important bases, after investigators scrutinized a bank account it uses to hold customer money. Authorities in two of the emirates, Sharjah and Dubai, recently questioned the Binance staffers as part of a probe into the account, according to people familiar with the matter and a statement from Binance on Thursday. Some of them were signatories on the account, which Emirati authorities had received complaints about, said some of the people, who were not authorized to speak publicly about the incidents. The exchange is working with Dubai Police and authorities in other emirates to establish coordination procedures, Binance said in its statement.”
Source: Bloomberg
Nomura-backed Laser Digital Wins Japan's First Crypto Approval in Four Years
Policy
“Laser Digital became the first new entrant into Japan's crypto industry in four years after its local subsidiary secured registration as a crypto asset exchange service provider just as the country prepares to bring crypto under a financial-instruments framework. The firm will initially offer liquidity services to domestic virtual-asset service providers, the company said Friday. It plans to expand into digital-asset trading opportunities for institutional investors, though a launch date and the full scope of those services have not been announced. The firm announced its plans to expand its crypto offering in Japan late last year. Laser Digital is backed by Nomura, Japan's largest investment bank. Institutional demand for digital assets in the country is growing. A 2026 survey by Nomura and Laser Digital found that 79% of respondents planned to invest in crypto assets within the next three years.”
Source: CoinDesk
Prediction Market Exec Says Gambling Fight Could Reach Supreme Court by June
Prediction Markets
“Prediction markets are headed for a legal reckoning. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and state regulators are battling over who gets to police the fast-growing platforms, a conflict that could force the Supreme Court to settle the question before the end of next year, according to Flip Pidot, a prediction market executive with nearly 20 years of experience in the industry. 'When you have a high-stakes intergovernmental conflict where a federal regulator like the CFTC is opposed in their position to a supermajority of state attorneys general… then that can get the Supreme Court’s attention,' Pidot, the Chief Strategy Officer at PredictIt, told Fortune.”
Source: Fortune
