Upbit, South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange, said it will list Derive (DRV) and open trading against KRW, BTC and USDT. Trading is set to start at 17:00 Korea time on July 14. Derive is the rebranded version of Lyra Finance, an onchain options protocol. The project adopted the Derive name in 2024 and migrated its token from LYRA to DRV. The protocol is currently focused on onchain options and perpetual futures trading.

BlockBeats reports that the U.S. Department of Labor will publish June CPI figures at 8:30 p.m. Beijing time on July 14. Key releases include headline CPI year over year, unadjusted (prior 4.20%, forecast 3.80%); headline CPI month over month, seasonally adjusted (prior 0.5%, forecast 0.1%); and June core CPI month-over-month readings in both seasonally adjusted and unadjusted terms. The data is widely seen as a potential catalyst for market swings. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said the Fed may need to raise rates \u0022in the near term\u0022 if upcoming data show inflation remains well above the 2% target. He described policy as being at a \u0022crossroads\u0022, with the next direction dependent on fresh information, including Tuesday\u0027s CPI report. Should the data turn unfavorably, he warned the Fed should not become \u0022complacent.\u0022 Wall Street Journal reporter Nick Timiraos noted economists expect falling energy prices to pull down June\u0027s overall CPI, though he said core measures currently matter more for the Fed. Core CPI is expected to come in close to May\u0027s 0.21% month-over-month pace. After CPI, attention is likely to shift to PPI and what it may imply for PCE. InvestingLive analyst Eamonn Sheridan said June CPI is expected to decline 0.2% month over month, which would be the first such drop since the pandemic, driven entirely by a roughly 15% fall in gasoline prices from mid-May to end-June. On a year-over-year basis, headline inflation is projected to slow from 4.2% in May to 3.8%. Core CPI is expected to rise 0.2% month over month, with core inflation seen easing slightly from 2.9% in May to 2.8%.

South Korea's ruling party is pushing legislation to loosen holding-company capital-raising rules, aiming to open the door to more outside funding for SK Hynix as AI-driven semiconductor demand accelerates. Under the country's chaebol structure—family-controlled conglomerates that dominate large parts of the economy—holding-company regulations have traditionally limited how subsidiaries can tap external investors. The constraints have often made it harder to finance capital-heavy projects such as semiconductor fabrication plants. The proposed change would ease those restrictions for the chip industry, allowing SK Hynix to attract external capital for new factories and advanced packaging facilities without breaching ownership and control rules that have historically kept outside investors at arm's length. The push comes as SK Hynix steps up global fundraising and investment. The company raised $26.5 billion in its Nasdaq ADR debut on July 10, 2026, the largest first-time share sale by a foreign issuer in the US. Seoul's policy shift also ties into a broader national semiconductor initiative estimated at about 800 trillion won (roughly $518 billion), with SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics positioned as core participants. The strategy is centered on protecting leadership in memory and advanced packaging, including high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips that have become critical components for AI data centers. The legislative overhaul is intended to ensure SK Hynix can secure the capital required to deliver on that role.

South Korea is reportedly preparing to launch a pilot program that would tokenize government bonds on a blockchain, with the initiative linked to the Bank of Korea's institutional (wholesale) CBDC.

With the Senate returning July 13, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (H.R. 3633), known as the CLARITY Act, has a narrow runway to reach the floor and clear a 60-vote threshold before lawmakers depart for the Aug. 7 summer recess—about 25 calendar days, often described as roughly 20 working Senate days. Republicans hold 53 seats, leaving leaders needing about seven Democrats to invoke cloture. Only Sens. Ruben Gallego (Arizona) and Angela Alsobrooks (Maryland) are currently viewed as committed Democratic "yes" votes, implying roughly five more Democratic votes would still be required. The bill advanced out of the Senate Banking Committee on May 14, 2026, by a 15"9 vote, with Gallego and Alsobrooks joining Republicans. The bigger question is whether that momentum can translate into a floor schedule within the remaining days. Negotiations have been complicated by ethics talks after a financial disclosure indicated crypto-related business entities tied to President Donald Trump and his family generated $1.4 billion of income in 2025, part of a reported $2.2 billion total. Democrats have pushed to address ethics language alongside the market-structure legislation. Former White House ethics lawyer Richard Painter argued that Trump "stands alone" compared with "for every other executive branch official," a critique that has hovered over the talks. Market expectations have cooled as the calendar tightens. Alex Thorn, Galaxy Digital's Head of Firmwide Research, lowered his estimated odds of CLARITY passing in 2026 from 75% in May to 60% on June 9, then to 50% on June 26, citing the lack of a unified Banking"Agriculture text and the absence of a firm floor timetable. Thorn wrote that "the absence of news is itself the news," while noting that "50/50 are pretty good odds" for a bill of this scale. A refreshed Senate draft could be released as soon as next week, but the decisive hurdle remains assembling 60 votes before the Aug. 7 recess. Key Takeaways - CLARITY needs about seven Democrats by Aug. 7; only Gallego and Alsobrooks are confirmed so far. - Galaxy Digital cut estimated 2026 passage odds from 75% to 50% as delays cloud the outlook for crypto policy. - A new CLARITY draft may arrive next week, with the 60-vote threshold still the make-or-break test.

Onchain stock-related perpetuals on Hyperliquid (@HyperliquidX) are seeing a sharp jump in activity. HIP 3 markets now represent close to 50% of the platform's perpetual trading volume, up from roughly 2% at the start of the year. The upswing reflects growing retail demand for onchain access to equity-linked trading. Products tracking Nvidia, Tesla, and the Nasdaq 100 have been key contributors to the expansion. Source: The Block

South Korea has implemented a sweeping update to its foreign-exchange regulations, with revisions taking effect on July 4, 2023. The Ministry of Economy and Finance first signaled the changes in February, and the cabinet formally approved them on June 27. A key adjustment is a higher documentation trigger for overseas remittances. The evidentiary threshold has been doubled to $100,000 per year from $50,000, meaning Korean residents and companies generally face paperwork requirements only once annual transfers exceed the new limit. Regulators also raised the reporting threshold for large-scale foreign-currency borrowing to $50 million annually from $30 million. The change gives Korean corporates more room to manage significant foreign-currency debt before mandatory filings are required. Foreign direct investment procedures were simplified as well. Transactions that previously required real-time or deal-by-deal reporting can, in many cases, be reported annually after the fact. Market access has been broadened. More securities firms can now provide currency-exchange services, and securities finance companies have been allowed to participate in the foreign-exchange swap market. Foreign investors also benefit from relaxed transaction rules. Seoul is presenting the package as a way to cut regulatory friction and support smoother cross-border capital flows. The broader policy objective is to expand the Korean won's role in global trade and finance. The country's FX regime is rooted in the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act of 1999, and the government has been gradually easing constraints over time. Notably, the 2023 amendments do not introduce new penalties, revise reporting obligations, or make direct rule changes related to crypto or digital assets. South Korea's digital-asset framework has been developed through separate legislation, including the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information, which brought crypto exchanges under anti-money-laundering requirements. For now, FX liberalization and crypto regulation remain on parallel tracks. For multinational companies operating in Korea, the higher foreign-currency borrowing threshold may have the most immediate operational impact by reducing filings tied to debt management. For foreign investors, the eased transaction rules and the expanded set of authorized currency-service providers reinforce the same message: South Korea is working to make its markets more accessible from abroad.

AiCoin data show U.S. spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs posted a $425 million net outflow yesterday, marking the largest one-day redemption since July 2. FBTC led the withdrawals with $246 million, followed by IBIT at $186 million. AiCoin's proprietary [Spot BTC ETF Tracking] live strategy indicates ETF flow trends are strongly positively correlated with BTC price moves. Users can subscribe to the indicator to support automated trading based on fund-flow signals. For reference only.

Lawson will begin a pilot program in early August to accept payments in the JPYC stablecoin at a store in Tokyo, according to Bitcoin.com. The initiative is positioned as Japan's first test of stablecoin payments integrated directly into a point-of-sale (POS) system. Hashport will provide wallet technology support. Transaction data from the stablecoin payments will be linked directly to Lawson's existing store management system. The retailer plans to assess the stability of the POS integration before deciding whether to expand the program. JPYC is already accepted at a limited number of restaurants and dental clinics. Separately, Japan's three major banks are running their own stablecoin trials in coordination with the Financial Services Agency. Citigroup has forecast the global stablecoin market could grow to between $1.9 trillion and $4 trillion by 2030.