据报道，韩国检察机关突击搜查 Bithumb，指控其前首席执行官在房地产交易中挪用资金

U.S. stocks rallied Friday as better-than-expected job growth and fresh signals from China about trade negotiations helped investors shake off recent concerns around tariffs.  The S&P 500 extended its winning streak to nine days, which is the longest in 20 years. The S&P 500 rose 1.47%, marking its ninth straight day of gains—its longest winning streak since November 2004. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.39%, or more than 570 points, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.51%. Markets responded positively to the Labor Department’s April employment report, which showed the U.S. added 177,000 nonfarm payrolls, well above economists’ forecasts of around 135,000.  The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%, suggesting continued resilience in the labor market despite recent economic headwinds. You might also like:Senator Lummis claims Trump supports 1M Bitcoin strategic reserve bill China’s willingness to talk  Investor sentiment was further buoyed by a potential thaw in U.S.-China trade relations.  China’s Commerce Ministry said it is evaluating recent proposals from the U.S. and signaled a willingness to start formal talks if the U.S. rolls back new tariffs.  Beijing’s openness was seen as a shift in tone following President Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” tariff announcements. The upbeat jobs data and positive trade signals helped offset concerns sparked by recent Big Tech earnings.  Apple shares dropped nearly 5% after warning that tariffs could cost the company $900 million this quarter. Amazon shares were flat after issuing guidance that fell below analyst expectations. Despite Friday’s optimism, investor caution remains. Market participants are closely watching for clarity on interest rates, with traders dialing back expectations for a June Fed cut.  Treasury yields rose, and the dollar slipped slightly as markets recalibrated. You might also like:‘Privacy shouldn’t be a luxury’: Google adds ZKPs to Wallet for age checks

Bitcoin was conceived as the first sustainable electronic commerce network independent of financial institutions. Fifteen years later, there is much talk about how Bitcoin will strengthen the American dollar, while financial institutions are investing in cryptocurrency. At the same time, it is still possible to come across remarks like “fiat money’s days are counted” when the Bitcoin price goes up. Is Bitcoin a threat to the traditional financial system? Table of ContentsWhat do we learn from the Bitcoin whitepaper?Bitcoin as a banking system competitorHow do institutional investors and governments instrumentalize Bitcoin?Conclusion What do we learn from the Bitcoin whitepaper? Before launching the Bitcoin network on Jan. 3, 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto released the Bitcoin whitepaper, a nine-page document explaining the purpose and functioning of Bitcoin. It is titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.” The Bitcoin whitepaper has a clear message regarding banks and the need for Bitcoin as a healthier alternative. Nakamoto states that the traditional commerce system “works well enough for most transactions,” however, he outlines several problems that he intends to solve using Bitcoin.  He emphasizes that the involvement of banks between the two counterparts creates additional costs for the mediation of the transaction. More than that, the system faces the task of struggling with fraudsters. It increases the costs and undermines privacy, as banks have to collect user information in order to ensure the authenticity of transactions. Despite this, fraud transactions are inevitable. Additionally, the mediation of banks means that transactions are reversible by design.  So, Bitcoin is intended to serve as a means of remote payments free of the mentioned issues, and Satoshi Nakamoto found the technical workaround for the problems inherent to transactions operated by banks. Nakamoto stresses that, unlike banks, Bitcoin is a trustless system, meaning that a third party cannot intervene in the transaction between two parties. Once your money's in the bank it's no longer your money ✌️Gold, Bitcoin, or beg. pic.twitter.com/NJQPrBpahm— Peter St Onge, Ph.D. (@profstonge) May 11, 2025 Nakamoto has criticized banks, both in the whitepaper and in a sophisticated way in the Genesis block, to which he attached a newspaper headline pointing at the situation in which the government is bailing out banks amidst the economic crisis of 2008.  However, instead of opposing banks or subjecting the banking system to scrutiny, Nakamoto offered an alternative system that may complement the banking system and deliver additional options to those who need them. Despite Bitcoin’s own drawbacks, the network is alive to this day and is gradually being absorbed by governments and financial institutions. Banks are creating Bitcoin treasuries these days. 🇨🇭 SWISS CENTRAL BANK JUST URGED TO CREATE A STRATEGIC #BITCOIN RESERVE AT ANNUAL MEETINGIT’S HAPPENING!!! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/8N93xwCvLC— Vivek⚡️ (@Vivek4real_) April 25, 2025 Bitcoin as a banking system competitor While some see Bitcoin as a replacement for the traditional financial system or central banks, it doesn’t seem to be the case. Bitcoin is good for sending transactions across the globe. As history has proven, Bitcoin has a great potential for long-term value appreciation, so it can be used as a store of value. The latter characteristic became the reason why, in 2025, various governments and companies started to grow their Bitcoin treasuries.  Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency that has huge potential and significance. Those who can’t stand Bitcoin’s volatility prefer stablecoins both as a store of value and as a means of remittance. More than that, stablecoins may have significance for central banks, but we’ll address this in the last section of the article. Bitcoin itself is not fit to replace the banks. It doesn’t regulate interest rates nor manipulate the money printing. You cannot get a loan using Bitcoin (however, it is possible to do it via specific DeFi platforms that we don’t discuss in this article). However, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are in use as a store of value and remittance tool in multiple African countries where millions of people don’t have bank accounts, but the smartphone penetration rate is high, which opens an opportunity to use blockchain-based solutions as a replacement for the banking services. However, the main type of crypto in Africa is stablecoins.  Read more:African crypto revolution continues as Ethiopia ranks among global BTC mining leaders Finally, there is a way to rationally interpret messages about the potential defeat of the fiat money system to Bitcoin. It shouldn’t be understood literally as Bitcoin replacing fiat money, but as the preference for Bitcoin over fiat money when it comes to savings. Some people prefer to save money with Bitcoin, as its price is more sustainable than that of national currencies in their countries.  So, when someone reacts to another Bitcoin price spike by saying “fiat money’s days are counted,” it means that it becomes less and less rational to save money in national currency. However, as of 2025, it is still easier to spend money using traditional avenues.  How do institutional investors and governments instrumentalize Bitcoin? Institutional investors are getting increasingly interested in Bitcoin. It’s early to declare that Bitcoin is something normal for all of them, but these days, Bitcoin is way less marginal than it was in 2017 or even 2021. They start to perceive Bitcoin as a strategic investment. JUST IN: $11 TRILLION BLACKROCK CIO SAYS INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS ARE "FOCUSED ON #BITCOIN RIGHT NOW"ALL OTHER CRYPTOS ARE A "DISTANT SECOND" 🔥 pic.twitter.com/OKVpaFIvO3— The Bitcoin Historian (@pete_rizzo_) April 28, 2025 The latest Gallup poll shows only 4% of Americans see crypto as a worthy investment, preferring to invest in real estate, gold, and stocks. However, in 2024, Bitcoin investments brought bigger returns than the NASDAQ stocks. It couldn’t go unnoticed by professional traders and investors. BlackRock has a Bitcoin-based ETF called IBIT. The capital management giant recommends allocating up to 2% of the portfolio to Bitcoin. BlackRock manages over 625,000 bitcoins, which is nearly 3% of Bitcoin’s total supply. Bitcoin ETFs approved in early 2024 allowed huge institutional investors to take advantage of Bitcoin’s ascending value. Strategy (formerly known as MicroStrategy) became a Bitcoin Standard-based public company, meaning that it gradually collects more and more Bitcoin in its treasury. Its stock MSTR became the fastest-growing stock. Governments see the use of Bitcoin in various ways. For instance, Russia and Iran use crypto, including Bitcoin, to bypass Western sanctions in their overseas trade. North Korean hackers steal crypto to fund the country’s nuclear program. The U.S. needs Bitcoin to weaken the American dollar, which will leverage export trades, while popular USD-pegged stablecoins will continue to keep the dollar as a global reserve currency. Conclusion It’s hard to say how radically anti-banking Satoshi Nakamoto himself was. In his whitepaper, he only outlined several issues with the banking system and offered a workaround. While Bitcoin was made to empower individuals’ financial independence, it has now become a staple of Wall Street and the government, which doesn’t mean that others are somehow blocked from Bitcoin’s advantages. Love it or hate it, the anti-banking ethos is not mainstream among Bitcoin investors. You might also like:What is a genesis block? Powering blockchain networks

Strategy added 1,895 Bitcoin using stock sale proceeds, while Semler Scientific boosted its holdings to 3,634 BTC, highlighting rising corporate adoption. Michael Saylor’s Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, acquired an additional 1,895 Bitcoin (BTC) last week, spending roughly $180.3 million between April 28 and May 4, according to a filing with the SEC on Monday.  The average purchase price was $95,167 per Bitcoin. The company funded the purchase by selling 353,825 shares of its MSTR common stock and 575,392 shares of STRK preferred stock. The equity sale was part of Strategy’s ongoing capital-raising programs aimed at increasing its bitcoin reserves.  With this transaction, the company has now exhausted the MSTR portion of its “21/21 Plan,” a campaign launched to raise $42 billion for bitcoin purchases. The STRK component still has $20.87 billion in remaining capacity. In response, Strategy has initiated a new “42/42 Plan,” which aims to raise another $42 billion through a combination of equity and debt offerings over the next two years. The firm continues to issue both STRK and STRF perpetual preferred shares to support additional bitcoin acquisitions. Strategy now holds a total of 555,450 BTC, acquired at an aggregate cost of $38.08 billion. With bitcoin trading around $94,000, the company’s holdings are currently valued at over $52 billion — representing an unrealized gain of approximately $14.2 billion.  That stash accounts for over 2.6% of bitcoin’s total circulating supply. You might also like:Stablecoin bill unraveling? One deal may have done what lobbyists couldn’t Semler Scientific expands BTC treasury position Joining the growing list of corporate bitcoin holders, Semler Scientific disclosed the purchase of 167 bitcoin for $16.2 million last week.  The company now holds 3,634 BTC in total and has generated a 22.2% year-to-date yield on its bitcoin holdings, making it the fourth-largest public bitcoin treasury in the U.S. You might also like:Missed the BNB boom? This altcoin under $1 might be a second chance

美国证券交易委员会已正式结束对澳大利亚加密游戏公司 Immutable 的调查。 根据该公司 3 月 26 日的一份声明，监管机构不会对 Immutable (IMX)、IMX 生态系统基金会或其首席执行官采取任何执法行动。这正式结束了此事。 Immutable 于 10 月首次透露，它已收到美国证券交易委员会的威尔斯通知。该通知意味着该机构正在考虑对违反美国证券法的行为提出可能的指控。然而，随着调查现已结束，Immutable 表示，这一结果证实了其长期以来对法律和监管合规的承诺。 该公司对美国证券交易委员会的裁决表示欢迎，并指出这是 web3 游戏行业朝着正确方向迈出的一步。Immutable 声称，在整个过程中，它始终致力于实现目标，并不断为游戏玩家开发产品。 在过去一年中，该公司签约的游戏数量创下了纪录，推出了 Immutable Play，并有超过一百万新用户注册了其 Passport 系统。公告发布后，Immutable 的原生代币 IMX 在过去 24 小时内上涨了 6%。 你可能还喜欢：Immutable 联合创始人：数家市值数十亿美元的游戏公司正在探索代币发行 SEC 的决定是其加密货币执法方式重大转变的一部分。自今年年初以来，该机构已放弃对多家加密货币公司的调查，其中包括 OpenSea、Uniswap (UNI)、Robinhood 和 Gemini。 为了对数字资产提供更明确的监管指导方针，SEC 成立了一个由专员 Hester Peirce 领导的加密工作组。与此同时，Ripple 也正处于与 SEC 长期法律纠纷的最后解决阶段。 3 月 20 日，crypto.news 报道称，SEC 已同意无条件撤回对 Ripple 的上诉。3 月 26 日的另一则最新消息中，Ripple 的法律官员透露，该公司将不再进行反上诉。Ripple 获得了减免罚款，将原来的 1.25 亿美元罚款削减至 5000 万美元。 阅读更多：WLFI 确认推出由美国国债支持的 USD1 稳定币

新数据显示，超过 30% 的韩国富裕投资者青睐加密货币以实现长期价值增长，超过对黄金或房地产的兴趣。 韩国投资者——尤其是年轻投资者——正更加倾向于加密货币，而韩亚银行智库的一份新报告表明，这可能不仅仅是一种短暂的趋势。 根据韩国最大的银行之一韩亚银行（Hana Bank）最近的一份报告，数字资产可能标志着投资模式的范式转变，尤其是在传统金融体系未能满足年轻投资者预期的情况下。该智库指出，如果这些资产获得结算功能并成为金融投资产品的法律地位，那么形成新金融秩序的可能性将会增加。虽然这并非预测，但它绝对可以起到警示作用。 这也是一个需要反思的时刻。虽然该报告并未宣称加密货币是金融的未来，但它指出，在加密货币上投资超过 1000 万韩元（约 7000 美元）的富人比例“超过 70%，平均投资额是其他投资者的两倍多”。 您可能还喜欢：韩国国民养老金服务将利用区块链 韩国年轻人忽视股票 其中一些现象已在现实中显现。韩国年轻人正在撤离国内股市，而且速度很快。“我从不投资韩国综合股价指数 (Kospi)，”一位20多岁的上班族在4月中旬接受《韩国中央日报》采访时表示。其他30多岁的年轻人也表达了同样的看法，他们表示正在转向美国股市，甚至更积极地投资加密货币。 该报告援引韩国证券托管机构的数据，显示到2023年，韩国市场仅有11%的投资者年龄在20多岁，低于2021年的14.9%。同期，30多岁投资者的比例也从20.9%下降到19.4%。 那么加密货币呢？它在同一群体中蓬勃发展。根据韩国金融服务委员会的数据，去年韩国近48%的加密货币投资者年龄在20多岁和30多岁之间。 报告称，仅在五家主要交易所——Upbit、Bithumb、Coinone、Korbit 和 Gopax——其交易量总计“2.52 万亿韩元 [约合 1.76 万亿美元]”。一位经纪业内人士表示：“现在业内普遍认为，比特币等加密货币正在从股市吸走散户投资资金。” Crypto.news 多次联系 Upbit 和 Bithumb 征求意见，但截至发稿时均未做出回应。 Upbit 和 Coinbase 的交易量 | 来源：CryptoQuant CryptoQuant chief executive Ki Young Ju told crypto.news the strong demand likely comes from Korean retail investors, who “have a much higher appetite for risk assets compared to those in the U.S.” “Crypto trading volume in Korea has long surpassed that of the local stock market (Kosdaq), and when it comes to altcoins, Korea leads the world. By the end of 2024, Coinbase’s monthly altcoin volume was $107 billion —while Upbit’s hit nearly $154 billion.” 奇英珠 Hana 的报告并未推荐任何单一的加密资产。但其研究员 Yoon Seon-young 指出，富裕群体对加密货币的增长潜力充满期待，“这标志着该领域的成熟”。 然而，制度安全网仍然不足，对新技术的理解也不足，导致人们对虚拟资产的看法存在明显分歧。尽管如此，富人往往在投资前进行充分研究，并倾向于投资他们了解的领域。我希望他们对新投资领域的兴趣和学习努力能够持续下去。 尹善英 虽然这并不意味着加密货币是安全的，但它确实意味着它受到了更重视——即使是传统玩家也是如此。 Changing regulatory landscape South Korea’s regulators are catching on as well. The Financial Services Commission recently said it plans to release comprehensive investment guidelines for crypto by the third quarter of 2025. It’s part of a broader effort to bring crypto closer to the formal financial system. Universities and nonprofits could be allowed to sell their crypto holdings soon. Institutional rules are in the works. Even spot ETFs — once banned — are being quietly reconsidered. At a policy meeting this month, FSC Vice Chairman Kim So-young said Korea is moving faster to “foster its crypto market,” noting that the U.S. under Trump is accelerating global crypto adoption. The upcoming rules will focus on “best practices,” with standards around disclosure, reporting, and trading. Two-sided sword It’s a tightrope. On one side, potential. On the other, volatility. South Korea — home to one of the world’s most active crypto markets — is trying to walk that line. 政界人士也开始注意到这一点。总统候选人洪准杓最近表示，他希望撤销加密货币监管，并将其与特朗普政府的放松监管举措相提并论。这种言论可能会引起年轻选民的共鸣，他们中的许多人已经将加密货币视为一项长期投资——或者至少是比韩国综合股价指数更好的选择。 这种转变并不局限于韩国，但在这里尤为明显。据《韩国经济日报》报道，大约30%的韩国人口从事加密货币交易。这是一个惊人的数字，监管机构、银行和政治领导人都无法忽视。 阅读更多：苹果在韩国封锁了 KuCoin、MEXC 和其他 14 家加密货币交易所