Over 400 South Korean officials disclose $9.8M in crypto holdings

South Korea’s Ethics Commission revealed that high-ranking public officials in the country hold an average of 35.1 million won ($24,000) in crypto assets. 

On March 27, the country’s Ethics Commission for Government Officials reportedly disclosed that more than 20% of the surveyed public officials hold 14.4 billion won ($9.8 million) in crypto. This means 411 of the 2,047 officials subjected to the country’s disclosure requirements hold crypto assets. 

The highest amount disclosed was 1.76 billion won ($1.2 million) belonging to Seoul City Councilor Kim Hye-young. 

The officials held different crypto assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), XRP (XRP), Dogecoin (DOGE), Luna Classic (LUNC) and others. 

South Korean public officials disclosed crypto holdings

The disclosure of public officials’ crypto assets follows calls for transparency from its prime minister.

In 2023, South

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Most EU banks fail to meet rising crypto investor demand — Survey

European banks and financial institutions may be significantly underestimating the demand for cryptocurrency services, with fewer than one in five offering digital asset products, according to a new survey by crypto investment platform Bitpanda.

The study surveyed 10,000 retail and business investors across 13 European countries and found that more than 40% of business investors already hold cryptocurrencies, with another 18% planning to invest in the near future.

Yet, only 19% of surveyed financial institutions said their clients showed strong demand for crypto products — suggesting a 30% gap between actual investor adoption and perceived interest.

Crypto investments of EU private investors by country. Source: Bitpanda

Moreover, only 19% of surveyed European financial institutions are offering crypto services, while over 80% of institutions acknowledge crypto’s growing importance.

Related: Michael Saylor’s Strategy surpasses 500,000 Bitcoin with latest purchase

Still, some European banks are recognizing the growing

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Sony’s Soneium blockchain, Animoca Brands bring anime to Web3

Sony’s Soneium blockchain partnered with Animoca Brands to boost anime culture in Web3 by integrating anime artwork in decentralized digital identities. 

On March 27, the companies announced a collaboration that targets global anime and manga fans to boost user engagement in Web3. 

With the partnership, Animoca’s digital identity infrastructure platform, Moca Network, will create an identity layer on the Soneium blockchain, starting with Anime ID, a decentralized identifier and reputation layer.

Anime ID is spearheaded by San FranTokyo, an initiative to integrate traditional anime and manga culture with decentralized technologies. 

Anime-themed experiences are coming to Web3

The partnership integrates Moca Network’s Account, Identity and Reputation Software Development Kit (AIR SDK) into the Soneium blockchain. This allows users to maintain embedded accounts with unique identities and credentials as they use different decentralized applications (DApps) on the network. 

San FranTokyo’s Anime ID will be the first to adopt the AIR SDK, enhancing anime fan engagement on Soneium. In

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Hyperliquid whale still holds 10% of JELLY memecoin after $6.2M exploit

A crypto whale who allegedly manipulated the prize of the Jelly my Jelly (JELLY) memecoin on decentralized exchange Hyperliquid still holds nearly $2 million worth of the token, according to blockchain analysts.

The unidentified whale made at least $6.26 million in profit by exploiting the liquidation parameters on Hyperliquid.

According to a postmortem report by blockchain intelligence firm Arkham, the whale opened three large trading positions within five minutes: two long positions worth $2.15 million and $1.9 million, and a $4.1 million short position that effectively offset the longs.

Source: Arkham

When the price of JELLY rose by 400%, the $4 million short position wasn’t immediately liquidated due to its size. Instead, it was absorbed into the Hyperliquidity Provider Vault (HLP), which is designed to liquidate large positions.

Related: Polymarket faces scrutiny over $7M Ukraine

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South Korea temporarily lifts Upbit’s 3-month ban on serving new clients

A South Korean court temporarily lifted the partial business suspension on crypto exchange Upbit that had prohibited the trading platform from servicing new clients for three months. 

On Feb. 25, South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) sanctioned the exchange, imposing a three-month ban on deposits and withdrawals for new clients. The FIU previously said the suspension was in response to Upbit’s violations of policies that prohibit exchanges from transacting with unregistered virtual asset service providers (VASPs). 

In response to the FIU’s sanction, Upbit’s parent company, Dunamu, filed a lawsuit against the FIU, seeking to overturn the partial suspension order. In addition, Dunamu requested an injunction to temporarily lift the suspension order. 

On March 27, local media Newsis reported that the court granted the injunction, moving the suspension order 30 days after a court judgment is reached. This allows

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Bitcoin price prediction markets bet BTC won't go higher than $138K in 2025

BItcoin (BTC) retains a $138,000 price target for 2025 as the market recovers from US trade tariffs, new analysis concludes.

Data covering bets on prediction service Polymarket suggests that BTC/USD could still gain around 60% from current levels this year.

“Conservative” Polymarket users cap BTC price upside at 60%

Bitcoin bull market projections have taken a beating this quarter thanks to multiple setbacks impacting crypto and the wider risk-asset spectrum.

Now, an assessment of all potential BTC price outcomes on Polymarket concludes that the bull market cycle may be capped at around 60% before 2026.

The results were uploaded to X by user Ashwin on March 27 and show that price bets extend all the way down to $59,000.

“The great thing about this analysis is that it not only provides a market sentiment score, like the Fear and Greed Index, but also attaches to it

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DeFi’s yield model is broken — Here’s how we fix it

Opinion by: Marc Boiron, chief executive officer of Polygon Labs

Decentralized finance (DeFi) needs a reality check. Protocols have chased growth through token emissions that promise eye-popping annual percentage yields (APYs) for years, only to watch liquidity evaporate when incentives dry up. The current state of DeFi is too driven by mercenary capital, which is creating artificial ecosystems doomed to collapse.

The industry has been caught in a destructive cycle: Launch a governance token, distribute it generously to liquidity providers to boost total value locked (TVL), celebrate growth metrics, and watch helplessly as yield farmers withdraw their capital and move to the next hot protocol. This model doesn’t build lasting value — it creates temporary illusions of success.

DeFi deserves a better approach to value creation and capital efficiency. The current emission-driven yield model has three fatal flaws that continue to undermine the industry’s potential.

Inflationary emissions

Most yield in DeFi comes from<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/explained/how-do-inflationary-vs-deflationary-token-models-affect-market-liquidity"

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Ghibli memecoins surge as internet flooded with Studio Ghibli-style AI images

Solana Ghibli-inspired memecoins are surging in popularity as ChatGPT users have flooded social media with Studio Ghibli-inspired images over the past 24 hours.

On March 25, OpenAI launched image generation for its ChatGPT-4o mode, leading users to splash images across social media style in the art style of Studio Ghibli — known for its anime films Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk contributed to the trend, posting portraits of themselves generated by the model. Musk, with over 219 million followers on his platform X, has a history of influencing memecoins such as Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Dogecoin (DOGE) with his posts.

Sam Altman posted a Studio Ghibli-inspired AI image while announcing ChatGPT’s image generation tool. Source: Sam

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Robinhood offers to Uber cash to customers and have AI give trading advice

Trading platform Robinhood Markets plans to offer a service that delivers cash to its customers alongside an artificial intelligence research assistant that offers trading advice.

The company said in a March 27 blog post that its online banking arm, Robinhood Banking, will offer savings accounts to its Gold subscribers through its partner Coastal Community Bank and will be given the option to have physical cash delivered on demand.

“You could be sitting at home and decide to get a cash delivery the same way you’d want to order an Uber or a Postmates,” Robinhood Markets CEO Vlad Tenev said during a livestream

He added there are already home delivery services for groceries and meals, but banking still “hasn’t progressed that much past the branch office and the ATM.”

https://t.co/oGJ630tmI2

— Robinhood (@RobinhoodApp) March 27, 2025

“In the past, cash delivery was a service that some private

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OpenAI expects to 3X revenue in 2025 but Chinese AI firms are heating up

OpenAI expects to more than triple its revenue this year to $12.7 billion, despite fast-growing competition from the likes of China’s DeepSeek and other competitors making rapid progress.

The ChatGPT creators also expect its revenue target for 2025 to more than double to $29.4 billion by 2026, Bloomberg reported on March 26, citing a person familiar with the matter.

The 2025 estimate is a little higher than the $11.6 billion revenue target that OpenAI was reportedly eyeing for 2025, The New York Times reported last September.

Bloomberg noted that the bulk of ChatGPT’s revenue has come from its paid AI software subscription offerings for consumers and businesses.

OpenAI reportedly hit 1 million paid users for the corporate versions of ChatGPT last September, while the company more recently added a $200 monthly ChatGPT Pro option.

The Sam Altman-led firm does <a

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