[News Brief] Apr 22, morning | Coinbase Obtains UK FCA Investment Services Authorization

U.S. DOJ Internally Warns Binance Crypto Case Cooperation May Be Reduced... Binance Denies

Reports have emerged that the U.S. Department of Justice warned internal staff that cooperation related to investigations into Binance’s cryptocurrency cases could be reduced.

According to PANews, Cointelegraph, citing The Information, reported this development. Binance denied the report, stating that there has been no change in its level of cooperation with law enforcement agencies and that none is expected going forward.

Sony Receives Conditional Approval From the U.S. OCC for a National Trust Bank... Targets Dollar Stablecoin Issuance in 2027

According to Odaily, Sony has received conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national trust bank.

Sony plans to launch Connectia Trust in 2027 to oversee the issuance and management of a dollar-backed stablecoin. The trust subsidiary will operate under Sony Financial Group with capital of $40 million.

Coinbase Obtains UK FCA Investment Services Authorization... To Offer Crypto, Stocks, and Derivatives on a Single Platform

Coinbase has obtained investment services authorization from the UK Financial Conduct Authority, allowing it to offer cryptocurrencies, stocks, and derivatives on a single platform.

Source: Odaily. Coinbase said the authorization falls under the MiFID framework, which permits regulated firms to provide investment services and trading in financial instruments such as stocks and derivatives.

As a result, advanced traders will be able to access perpetual futures tied to cryptocurrencies, stocks, and commodities, while retail investors will be able to trade stocks. Coinbase also plans to introduce stablecoin payments, savings, lending, derivatives, and tokenized real-world assets.

Coinbase also holds a UK electronic money institution license and is registered as a cryptoasset service provider.

U.S. CFTC Chair Says Clarity Act Is Near Passage... Stresses Need for Federal Crypto Standards

The Chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said that passage of the Clarity Act is “very close” and emphasized the importance of establishing federal standards for crypto assets.

According to Bitcoin Magazine, the CFTC Chair stressed that the bill must be passed. The Clarity Act seeks to establish a federal regulatory framework for crypto assets in the United States.

Kazakhstan Introduces Presidential Decree Allowing Stablecoin Cross-Border Payments for Companies and Government Agencies

Kazakhstan has introduced a presidential decree allowing companies and government agencies to use stablecoins for cross-border payments.

PANews, citing Bits.media, reported that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed the decree on “measures to activate and develop the digital asset industry.”

The decree states that cryptoasset payment mechanisms could open additional import and export channels for Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan also plans to promote income tax exemptions for individuals trading crypto through regulated domestic infrastructure and encourage the transfer of digital assets held on unregulated foreign platforms to domestic service providers.

It also restricts associated gas-based mining, allowing it only when those resources are not needed for national demand. The decree was jointly developed by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Digital Development and AI, the central bank, and the Astana International Financial Centre.

Hyundai Card and Hyundai Motor Complete Stablecoin-Based Cross-Border Remittance PoC... USDT Transfer Took 7 Minutes

Hyundai Card and Hyundai Motor completed a proof of concept (PoC) for stablecoin-based cross-border remittances, PANews reported on the 9th.

According to the report, Hyundai Motor’s U.S. subsidiary converted $20,000 into USDT, sent it to its Mexican subsidiary, and then exchanged it back into dollars. The entire process took an average of 7 minutes.

Participants in the test included Hyundai Card, Hyundai Motor’s U.S. and Mexico subsidiaries, Tether, Avalanche, and Axym. Hyundai Card plans to begin a second verification test between European subsidiaries later this month, with Circle and Visa expected to participate.

Based on the PoC, Hyundai Card plans to review ways to use stablecoins for settlement and fund transfers among Hyundai Motor Group’s global subsidiaries.

U.S. Spot Ether ETFs See $70.477 Million in Net Inflows on July 8... Led by Fidelity’s FETH

According to PANews, citing SoSoValue data, U.S. spot Ether ETFs recorded total net inflows of $70.4773 million on July 8 U.S. Eastern Time.

The largest inflow went to Fidelity’s FETH, which attracted $69.2086 million in a single day. FETH’s cumulative net inflows now stand at $2.181 billion.

VanEck’s ETHV recorded net inflows of $1.2687 million, bringing its cumulative net inflows to $163 million.

Total net assets of spot Ether ETFs stand at $9.339 billion, equivalent to 4.46% of Ethereum’s market capitalization. Total cumulative net inflows have reached $11.007 billion.

Tokenized Stock Market Monthly Transfer Volume Reaches $8.4 Billion... More Than Doubles in a Month

The monthly transfer volume of the tokenized stock market reached $8.4 billion, more than doubling in just one month.

PANews, citing Cointelegraph, reported that tokenized stock transfer volume rose 105% over the month, while the number of holders increased 17% to more than 409,000.

Tokenized stocks are blockchain-based assets linked to the prices of actual stocks. Their trading volume has been growing alongside expanding demand for real-world asset (RWA) tokenization.

Mirae Asset Group Approved to Acquire 92.06% Stake in Korbit... Traditional Finance Group Completes Crypto Exchange Acquisition

PANews, citing EToday, reported that South Korean regulators approved Mirae Asset Consulting, an affiliate of Mirae Asset Group, to acquire a 92.06% stake in Korbit.

The transaction is valued at approximately KRW 133.4 billion (about $98 million). The deal is being described as a case in which a traditional financial group completed the acquisition of a cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea.

According to the Fair Trade Commission’s disclosed 2025 South Korean virtual asset exchange market share data, Upbit holds about 69%, Bithumb about 28%, Coinone about 2%, Korbit about 0.5%, and Gopax about 0.1%. Authorities judged that because Korbit’s market share is low, the acquisition is unlikely to significantly affect competition in securities and asset management or the future digital asset ETF market structure.

Summer.fi Attacker Wallet Receives 6.017 Million DAI After Exploit... Some Converted to ETH and Sent to Tornado Cash

PANews, citing Onchain Lens monitoring, reported that the wallet linked to the Summer.fi attacker received 6.017 million DAI after the exploit.

According to the report, 1.35 million DAI was swapped for ETH on Uniswap, then routed through a second wallet and sent to Tornado Cash. The original wallet currently holds about 4.67 million DAI, while the second wallet retains 50 ETH.