ChainCatcher news, the South Korean court has made a ruling against a gang involved in illegal foreign exchange transfers. Four members of the gang were sentenced for illegally transferring approximately 400 billion won in foreign exchange by exploiting price differences in virtual currencies. The main culprit A (43 years old) was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison, while the other two defendants received sentences of 2 years and 2 months and 2 years, respectively. One defendant was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months, with a 2-year probation and 160 hours of community service.The court stated that the gang profited by having Japanese investors commission the purchase of virtual currencies in Japan and reselling them in South Korea, taking advantage of the relatively lower prices of virtual currencies in Korea. The total amount of foreign exchange they illegally transferred was approximately 400 billion won, with illegal gains of about 27 billion won.The court found that the defendants obstructed bank remittance operations through means such as forging invoices and contracts, indicating a strong organizational nature and severe nature of the criminal behavior.

ChainCatcher 消息，据《香港文汇报》报道，香港立法会议员兼 Web3 虚拟资产发展事宜小组委员会主席吴杰庄接受采访时表示，香港要研究在美国搅局比特币、影响传统资产市场下，维护国家金融安全。 他建议，香港应用好一国两制优势，先行先试将比特币纳入外汇基金资产中，并为国家探索盘活手上比特币的出路。对于持有比特币是否有助特区政府对抗财赤，吴杰庄认为虽然政府可以利用比特币作为资产增值的工具，但要大量持有才会收到明显效果，目前政府财赤已过千亿元，那么只能少量持有对灭赤帮助不大，持有比特币保值功能会大过增值。

ChainCatcher 消息，据中国国家外汇管理局网站显示，为了更好统筹发展和安全，保障跨境贸易和投融资便利化，预防和遏制外汇违法违规活动，维护外汇市场秩序，国家外汇管理局根据《银行外汇展业管理办法（试行）》（以下简称《展业办法》）及相关法律法规，制定了《银行外汇风险交易报告管理办法（试行）》（以下简称《办法》）。 根据《办法》，银行发现或者有合理理由怀疑本行境内、境外机构和个人客户（以下统称交易主体）存在外汇风险交易行为的，应当监测外汇风险交易信息，报送外汇风险交易报告。 外汇风险交易行为，是指涉及涉嫌虚假贸易、虚假投融资、地下钱庄、跨境赌博、骗取出口退税、虚拟货币非法跨境金融活动，以及其他涉嫌违法违规跨境资金流动行为；外汇风险交易信息，是指与外汇风险交易行为相关的信息。银行应当及时通过其总部或总部指定的机构向国家外汇管理局报送外汇风险交易报告。

ChainCatcher news, according to the announcement from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, the "Measures for the Administration of Bank Foreign Exchange Risk Transaction Reporting (Trial)" have been issued and will take effect immediately. The "Measures" are a supporting document to the "Measures for the Administration of Bank Foreign Exchange Business (Trial)", aimed at strengthening banks' foreign exchange risk management, and early identification, early warning, and early handling of high-risk transactions such as suspected false trade, underground banks, and illegal cross-border financial activities involving virtual currencies.The main contents include: clarifying the responsibility for bank foreign exchange risk transaction reporting, requiring the establishment of a monitoring system and submission of reports; specifying the scope of information reporting, including activities suspected of illegal cross-border capital flows; clarifying the report content, such as basic information and proposed measures; and strengthening internal management measures, including internal control systems and data confidentiality management, etc.

ChainCatcher news, according to Coinpost, the Japanese government has made an official response to Senator Akira Hamada's inquiry regarding "the promotion of Bitcoin reserves by the United States and other countries." Akira Hamada previously suggested on December 11 that "Japan should follow the example of the United States and other countries and consider converting part of its foreign exchange reserves into Bitcoin and other crypto assets."In response, the Japanese government stated that it has not yet fully grasped the relevant movements of the United States and other countries, believing that discussions in other countries about introducing Bitcoin reserves are still ongoing, and "the government finds it difficult to take a position on specific situations." According to the legal framework governing special accounting operations, "crypto assets do not fall under foreign exchange," and the current foreign exchange reserves aim to maintain the stability of foreign currency assets and foreign currency bond markets.The response document repeatedly emphasizes that ensuring the safety and liquidity of foreign exchange reserves is the top priority of special accounting operations, implying that the volatility of Bitcoin and other crypto assets is not compatible with the current system.

ChainCatcher news, South Korean lawmaker Choi Eun-sik has proposed an amendment to the "Foreign Exchange Transactions Act," aimed at preventing money laundering and other foreign exchange crimes related to virtual assets. The amendment proposes the establishment of a monitoring system for virtual asset transactions, the improvement of the institutional foundation for financial technology foreign exchange services, the enhancement of the convenience of foreign exchange transactions for individuals and businesses, and the strengthening of the intelligent construction of the foreign exchange monitoring system.He stated that the rapid development of virtual assets and financial technology in recent years has diversified cross-border transaction methods, but current laws have failed to cover these changes, leading to regulatory blind spots, particularly as money laundering involving virtual assets and illegal foreign exchange transactions have become increasingly serious.According to data from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the number of suspicious transaction reports from virtual asset merchants increased by 48.8% last year compared to the previous year. The Ministry of Finance plans to add definitions for virtual assets and virtual asset merchants next year and requires virtual asset merchants to register before conducting cross-border transactions and to regularly report users' transaction records to the Bank of Korea.The amendment is expected to be implemented in the second half of next year.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cryptoslate, founder of the Satoshi Act Fund, Dennis Porter, stated that U.S. President-elect Trump plans to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR) through an executive order, intending to use the Treasury's Exchange Stabilization Fund (ESF) to purchase Bitcoin. The ESF is typically used to address financial crises, with total assets exceeding $200 billion as of October 2024. If implemented, this plan would position the U.S. at the forefront of the global Bitcoin reserve race.At the same time, several U.S. states have begun to push for Bitcoin reserve legislation, including Pennsylvania and Texas. Additionally, countries such as Brazil, Poland, and Japan are also discussing proposals to establish national Bitcoin reserves.

ChainCatcher news, according to 4E monitoring, the S&P 500 halted a three-week winning streak last week, falling 0.64% for the week; the Dow Jones dropped a cumulative 1.82% over the week, marking seven consecutive trading days of decline; the Nasdaq gained a cumulative 0.34% over the week, breaking the 20,000 point mark for the first time in history.Bitcoin rose back above $100,000 last week, setting a record for the longest seven-week winning streak since 2021. The altcoin market saw a decrease in enthusiasm, with a general pullback. Over the week, Bitcoin ETFs saw a net inflow of $2.115 billion, Ethereum ETFs had a net inflow of about $712.7 million, and the supply of stablecoins increased by $2.1 billion, indicating a sustained positive outlook for funds. As of the time of publication, Bitcoin surged suddenly, breaking its historical high to reach $106,648, with the top ten cryptocurrencies also seeing an increase of nearly 1% to 4%.In the forex commodities sector, the US dollar index performed strongly last week, breaking above 107 on Friday and continuously refreshing a two-week high, with a weekly increase of nearly 1%, marking the best weekly performance in a month, while non-USD currencies fell cumulatively over the week. International oil prices surged across the board last week due to geopolitical tensions, halting two weeks of declines, with US oil rising over 6% for the week and Brent oil increasing by 4.54%. Benefiting from market expectations of an upcoming interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve next week, spot gold rose a cumulative 0.56% over the week.The most anticipated economic event this week is the FOMC meeting to be held by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, followed by the announcement of interest rate decisions and quarterly economic forecasts on Thursday. The market has already fully priced in expectations for a 25 basis point rate cut in December, with the real focus being on clues regarding the future direction of Federal Reserve policy. The market expects that rate cuts next year will be more cautious and gradual, with a possibility of pausing rate cuts in January.Additionally, this week marks the last "central bank super week" of 2024, with up to 25 central banks, including those from Japan, the UK, and Sweden, meeting in the same week. The decisions from some key central banks may trigger market volatility, especially in the fast-paced forex and commodities markets. eeee.com is a financial trading platform that supports assets such as cryptocurrencies, stock indices, commodities like gold, and forex, recently launching a USDT stablecoin wealth management product with an annualized return of 5.5%, providing investors with a potential hedging option. 4E reminds you to be aware of market volatility risks and to allocate assets wisely.

ChainCatcher news, according to the Hong Kong government's press release, Hong Kong's Acting Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Chan Ho-lam, confirmed for the first time at a Legislative Council meeting that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority holds a small amount of cryptocurrency assets through external investment managers. He emphasized that while cryptocurrency assets are not the investment target of the foreign exchange fund, there are indeed "individual investments involving cryptocurrency assets" in the diversified portfolios of external investment managers, but they account for a "very small" proportion.At the same time, Chan Ho-lam revealed that the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission will launch a consultation group for virtual asset trading platforms in early 2024. In addition, the Hong Kong government will submit a draft regulation on the supervision of stablecoin issuers to the Legislative Council within this month and plans to conduct a second round of public consultation on virtual asset over-the-counter trading services in 2024, while proposing a licensing system for virtual asset custodians.

ChainCatcher news, according to the Procuratorial Daily report, on November 18, the Jiangsu Province Jianhu County Procuratorate organized police officers to distribute promotional materials in communities and streets, explaining the main forms of crimes involving virtual currency and interpreting the legal risks of virtual currency transactions in connection with a new type of crime case mediated by virtual currency trading. In this case, three young men born after 1995 engaged in foreign exchange "business" through virtual currency trading, completing over 650 transactions and exchanging nearly 30 million yuan in just a few months. The Jianhu County Procuratorate filed a public prosecution, and recently, the court sentenced Lin and two others to fixed-term imprisonment of five years to one year and six months for illegal business operations, along with fines.Lin, in collaboration with a Nigerian national, used the local legal currency Naira to purchase Tether on the Binance exchange, then transferred the Tether to Lin's Binance account. Lin sold the Tether to domestic currency traders in exchange for RMB, which was then transferred to a bank account in China provided by the Nigerian national. Lin determined the purchase price by discounting 5% from the day's listing price of Tether and then sold it to domestic currency traders at the listing price, earning the price difference.The prosecutor reviewed and concluded that Lin and the other two used virtual currency as a medium to provide cross-border exchange and payment services to earn exchange rate differences, which circumvented national foreign exchange regulations by exploiting the special properties of virtual currency, affecting the effectiveness of foreign exchange management and the stability of legal exchange rates, thereby disrupting the normal order of the financial market. They should be held criminally responsible for illegal business operations according to the law.

ChainCatcher news, on Thursday, the U.S. financial markets were closed for Thanksgiving, resulting in light trading and weak liquidity. Bitcoin experienced a strong rebound yesterday after some investors took profits, briefly rising to $97,200, and currently trading at $96,382, maintaining a steady defense of the $95,000 level, with a slight increase of 0.68% in the past 24 hours.Ethereum has shown strong performance recently, with the price breaking above $3,684 yesterday, reaching a new high in over five months, which boosted the prices of ecosystem tokens. The L2 and DeFi sectors performed well, and the market may officially welcome altcoin season. Currently, after a peak and pullback, Ethereum continues to oscillate in the $3,500 to $3,600 range, reporting $3,564 before the deadline, down 1.6% in 24 hours.In the forex market, the U.S. dollar index rebounded to 106.21 on Thursday after falling to a two-week low in the previous trading session. The euro fell against the dollar as traders reduced bets on further interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank, while the overall forex market was subdued due to the U.S. holiday. Gold prices rose, driven by geopolitical uncertainty and trade concerns, boosting safe-haven demand. Oil prices climbed on Thursday, supported by the situation between Israel and Lebanon and the delay of the OPEC+ meeting, with U.S. and Brent crude prices rising over 0.8% during trading.Due to the impact of the Thanksgiving holiday, the market trading atmosphere has become subdued, significantly reducing the likelihood of various asset prices breaking through existing range-bound movements. eeee.com is a financial trading platform that supports assets such as cryptocurrencies, stock indices, bulk gold, and forex, recently launching a USDT stablecoin financial product with an annualized yield of 5.5%, providing investors with a potential safe-haven option. 4E reminds you to pay attention to market volatility risks and to allocate assets wisely.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, the dollar is heading towards its largest weekly decline in three months, as silver investors begin to question the so-called "Trump trade" that has driven the dollar's strength since the U.S. elections. The dollar index DXY fell nearly 0.2% during the Asian session on Friday, with the weekly decline expanding to 1.1%.This week, the dollar weakened against all other G10 currencies, with the dollar falling the most against the yen. Singapore's StoneX Financial forex trader Mingze Wu stated, "The market is still struggling to find the direction of the dollar." "We expect the dollar to move sideways until Trump is inaugurated in January next year, and once he announces his policies, the dollar's direction will become clearer."Posts by Trump on social media have begun to disrupt financial markets, as concerns grow that his policies may ultimately harm the world's largest economy, causing the dollar's eight-week rally to stall. Citigroup's index tracking forex fund dollar positions rose this week to its highest level since August 2023, indicating that long positions may be overly stretched.

ChainCatcher news, Standard Chartered Bank and Zodia Markets analysts predict that the adoption rate of stablecoins will significantly increase, potentially accounting for 10% of U.S. M2 transactions in the future.Geoff Kendrick, Global Head of Digital Assets Research at Standard Chartered Bank, and Nick Philpott, Co-founder of Zodia Markets, stated in the report: "Currently, the scale of stablecoins is only equivalent to 1% of U.S. M2 transactions and 1% of foreign exchange transactions, but as the industry becomes legitimized, reaching 10% on every metric is feasible."The M2 money supply is a key indicator of the total money supply in an economy, including all currency in circulation and other assets that can be easily converted to cash.

ChainCatcher news, on Tuesday the market's attention was focused on the Russia-Ukraine situation. On the 1000th day of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia's new policy has lowered the threshold for using nuclear weapons, causing global financial markets to be on edge, although the overall reaction has been relatively limited.According to 4E monitoring, U.S. stocks experienced a rollercoaster ride, initially declining due to heightened tensions in the Russia-Ukraine situation as investors panicked and turned to safe-haven assets. U.S. stocks collectively fell, but later, as the U.S. responded that there was no reason to adjust its nuclear posture or strategy, the market shook off concerns about nuclear war escalation. Ultimately, only the Dow Jones fell, while the S&P 500 rose slightly, and the Nasdaq gained 1%, with most large tech stocks rising, led by Nvidia with an increase of nearly 5%.The U.S. is embracing cryptocurrency more closely, as pro-crypto candidates are set to lead the U.S. Department of Commerce, ETF options are being listed, and the Trump Media Group is in deep negotiations to acquire the cryptocurrency platform Bakkt. Bitcoin reached a new high, peaking at $93,905, before slightly retreating to $91,900 at the time of writing. The rise in Bitcoin attracted a significant amount of liquidity, while altcoins generally fell.In the forex commodities sector, the U.S. dollar index rose on Tuesday, initially boosted by geopolitical tensions, with safe-haven currencies like the dollar, Swiss franc, and yen gaining traction. However, this boost weakened after comments from Russian and U.S. officials. Spot gold rose nearly 2%, continuing the upward trend from the previous trading day, marking the third consecutive day of gains. Geopolitical tensions supported oil prices, which saw a slight increase on Tuesday.The current market is focused on Nvidia's earnings report on Wednesday. With Nvidia's market capitalization having grown to approximately $3.5 trillion, the expected volatility in its market cap post-earnings is close to the largest ever and will impact U.S. stocks. Additionally, this week investors are also closely watching the cabinet nominations of the Trump administration. eeee.com is a financial trading platform that supports assets such as cryptocurrencies, stock indices, gold commodities, and forex, recently launching a USDT stablecoin financial product with an annualized return of 5.5%, providing investors with potential safe-haven options. 4E reminds you to be aware of market volatility risks and to allocate assets reasonably.