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Frequency is a strategy-based consulting company with 30 years of global marketing experience. It uses future-oriented and data-supported marketing and growth strategies to help enterprises achieve long-term development.
Analysis: Strategy’s Bitcoin Purchases Plunge 91%, Possibly Linked to STRC Cooling Off
According to Decrypt, Bitcoin treasury company Strategy purchased only 3,273 BTC last week—down approximately 91% from the previous week’s acquisition of 34,164 BTC for $2.54 billion. Analysts attribute this slowdown in buying pace to cooling market sentiment surrounding Strategy’s perpetual preferred shares (STRC). STRC had previously driven Strategy to execute its largest BTC purchase in nearly 16 months, fueled by an 11.5% monthly dividend. However, since the ex-dividend date on April 14, STRC’s price has persistently traded below its $100 target range, prompting Strategy to issue 1.4 million common shares for fundraising last week. Notably, Michael Saylor has announced plans to adjust STRC’s dividend distribution frequency to biweekly, aiming to mitigate cyclical fluctuations in the company’s BTC acquisition rhythm.
Strategy Plans to Change STRC Preferred Stock Dividends to Semi-Monthly
Odaily News: Strategy has proposed adjusting the dividend mechanism for its STRC preferred stock, planning to change the current monthly dividend distribution to twice a month (semi-monthly), subject to shareholder approval.STRC is a perpetual preferred stock, targeting trading near a par value of $100, with its price regulated through a floating dividend mechanism. The current annualized dividend yield is approximately 11.5%. The company stated that increasing the dividend frequency helps reduce reinvestment lag, enhance market liquidity, and improve price stability.STRC is one of a series of preferred stock financing instruments within Strategy, forming part of its capital structure alongside products like STRF, STRE, STRK, and STRD. These instruments have already helped the company raise significant funds for its ongoing accumulation of Bitcoin.
STRC Perpetual Preferred Shares Record $1.1 Billion in Daily Trading Volume, Continuously Fueling the Engine for BTC Accumulation
Odaily News Bitcoin treasury company Strategy's perpetual preferred shares, STRC, recorded approximately $1.1 billion in trading volume on April 13, representing a nearly 47% increase from the previous record. This has become a core financing tool for the company to accelerate its Bitcoin accumulation. Strategy raises capital by selling preferred shares like STRC and uses the funds for high-frequency Bitcoin purchases.Data shows that Strategy recently purchased 13,927 BTC for approximately $1 billion, bringing its total holdings to 780,897 BTC. The related funds primarily came from the issuance of over 10 million STRC shares. Within the overall capital plan, STRC, along with STRK, STRF, STRD, and common stock financing, constitutes its "42/42" financing framework. The goal is to raise $84 billion by 2027 for continuous Bitcoin purchases. Current market views suggest that STRC is gradually becoming the dominant instrument within this financing system. (The Block)
South Korea's Financial Services Commission: If Demand for Single-Stock Leveraged ETFs Does Not Cool Down, Will Consider Setting Individual Investment Quota Limits
South Korean Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eok-yeon announced that if market demand for single-stock leveraged ETFs fails to cool down sufficiently, regulators will study the introduction of further regulatory measures, including limits on individual investment quotas. It is reported that South Korea may limit the investment scale of single-stock leveraged ETFs to within 20% of an individual's total financial investment assets and assess further raising investor access thresholds, including introducing periodic re-education, simulated trading, and minimum investment experience requirements. At the same time, the South Korean Financial Services Commission requires fund companies to disperse ETF rebalancing (Rebalancing) timing to avoid concentrated position adjustments at the end of trading sessions amplifying market volatility, and calls on Liquidity Providers (LP) to reasonably control quoting and trading frequency to reduce unnecessary trading. The South Korean FSC previously announced that starting from July 31, the minimum margin for single-stock leveraged ETFs will be increased to 30 million Korean won, and investor education and premium rate management will be strengthened.
South Korea's single-stock leveraged ETF daily trading volume falls below 10 trillion won, trading cools ahead of new regulatory rules
according to data from the Korea Exchange, the combined daily trading volume of 16 single-stock leveraged and inverse ETFs tracking Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fell below the 10 trillion won mark this Monday (July 27), dropping to 7.46 trillion won. This represents a 27% decrease from the previous trading day and a more than 30% decline compared to the average daily trading volume of the previous week. Their share of the total trading volume in the Korean ETF market also fell to 36.9%. Among these, products related to SK Hynix still dominated trading, accounting for approximately 70% of the total trading volume of all single-stock leveraged and inverse ETFs.Market analysts believe the cooling of trading is mainly due to new regulations from South Korea's financial authorities. Starting July 31, individual investors in South Korea who newly purchase or increase holdings of single-stock leveraged ETFs/ETNs must maintain a cash-based margin of at least 30 million won. Additionally, regulators plan to raise the minimum trading unit to further curb high-frequency short-term trading. (Duam)
Visa Partners with Artemis to Release On-Chain Data Report on AI Agent Payments
According to Visa's official website, Visa and Artemis jointly released a report that deeply analyzes the current status and trends of AI agent payments based on real-time on-chain data. The report indicates that AI agent payments are divided into two categories: one is "macro commerce" where agents replace users to complete tasks like booking tickets and subscriptions, similar to traditional e-commerce payments; the other is "micro commerce" such as high-frequency, low-value API calls between software, where single transaction amounts are typically less than 1 cent. On-chain data shows that the open protocol x402, incubated by Coinbase and Cloudflare and now hosted by the Linux Foundation, has processed approximately 109 million transactions since launching in May 2025, with an adjusted transaction volume of about $15 million, mainly active on the Base, Solana, and Polygon chains; the Machine Payment Protocol (MPP), jointly built by Stripe and Tempo with Visa's contribution, launched in mid-March 2026 and completed approximately 115,000 transactions within weeks, with a settlement amount of about $25,000. The report notes that blockchain settlement costs have dropped to extremely low levels, making small payments in the 1-cent to 1-dollar range economically feasible for the first time, but agent payments still face significant challenges at the legal and regulatory level regarding trust, liability attribution, and dispute resolution. Visa stated that its goal is to build a unified foundation that simultaneously supports card-native trust authorization and machine-native settlement
Opinion: Prediction Markets Won’t Have a Single Dominant Player; They Will Follow the Perpetual Contract Development Path, Forming a Multi-Platform Coexistence Landscape
CJ Hetherington, co-founder and CEO of prediction market platform Limitless Labs, stated that he does not believe the prediction market industry will see a single dominant monopoly player. He draws a parallel to the offshore perpetual contract market, where even leading platforms have never long-term held over 90% market share. Core trading volume in the derivatives market comes from market makers and high-frequency traders, who typically operate across multiple platforms to exploit spreads for arbitrage, structurally limiting market concentration.CJ Hetherington cited Binance’s perpetual contracts as an example, noting that its market share once approached 50% but was gradually diverted by other trading platforms, leading to a multi-platform coexistence pattern. He argues that prediction markets will follow a similar path rather than a "winner-takes-all" outcome.Hetherington pointed out that future industry distribution will primarily be conducted through brokers and futures commission merchants, with institutions like Robinhood, Interactive Brokers, and Charles Schwab competing in distribution. Fees and marketing will become the core of consumer-side competition. However, the U.S. regulatory framework is an "advantage rather than an obstacle" for the prediction market industry, as CFTC oversight helps reduce contract disputes, enhance transparency, and is also more suitable for institutional participation. (The Block)
US SEC Sues Texas Man in Crypto Fraud Scheme, Alleging $12.3 Million Scheme
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against Texas resident Nathan Fuller, alleging he fraudulently raised approximately $12.3 million from about 150 investors through a fake "AI crypto trading bot" project.The SEC stated that from October 2022 to mid-2024, Fuller offered and sold crypto investment joint venture interests through entities named Privvy Investments LLC and Gateway Digital Investments. He claimed to use an "AI high-frequency arbitrage bot" for crypto asset trading and promised investors "guaranteed returns" of 40% to over 100% within 21 to 45 days.Regulators allege that Fuller also falsely claimed investment funds were protected by FDIC insurance, surety bonds, and professional liability insurance. In reality, the purported trading bot did not operate as advertised. The SEC charges that Fuller misappropriated at least $6.2 million of investor funds for personal expenses and used approximately $5.5 million from new investors for "Ponzi-like payments," while misleading investors through fake account statements and fictitious institutional communications.The SEC has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, accusing Fuller of violating securities offering and anti-fraud laws, and is seeking permanent injunctions, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, and civil penalties.
Analysis: AI Trading Agents Could End Exchange High-Frequency Trading Models, Bringing Fair Incentives to Retail Investors
as AI trading agents enter financial markets, structural problems in retail trading are facing potential transformation. The current business models of exchanges and brokerages rely on customers trading frequently. Regardless of whether the customer profits or loses, the platform profits through commissions, spreads, and order flow. Research shows that 74% to 89% of retail traders ultimately lose money, and the Payment for Order Flow (PFOF) mechanism hidden behind zero-commission trades ensures that the platform's profits are unrelated to customer returns.Independent, programmable AI trading agents can change this structural contradiction: by linking the agent's returns to the customer's portfolio returns, they encourage disciplined trading rather than trading frequency. Agents can choose to reduce positions, avoid impulsive moves, and protect customer assets in highly volatile markets, achieving true alignment of interests.As the US eliminates minimum asset requirements for day trading and the EU prepares to implement a PFOF ban, traditional exchange models are facing regulatory pressure. Meanwhile, AI agents are restructuring trading infrastructure through innovative channels such as on-chain payments, gas-free transactions, and decentralized exchanges, providing retail investors with transparent, fair, and verifiable trading intermediaries. (CoinDesk)
GateToken (GT) 2026 Q2 On-Chain Burn Complete, Cumulative Total Burn Value Exceeds $1.311 Billion
According to official announcements, the on-chain burn for GateToken (GT) in the second quarter of 2026 has been officially completed. A total of 2,570,063.3829548 GT has been transferred to the burn address, with a destruction value exceeding $17.75 million.Since the launch of the Gate Chain mainnet in 2019, GT has implemented a continuous burning mechanism. To date, a cumulative total of 189,947,219 GT has been burned, with a total cumulative destruction value exceeding $1.311 billion (based on the quarterly average price). The total token supply has been significantly reduced by approximately 63.32% from the initial 300 million tokens.As the sole Gas token for the Gate Layer, GT's usage frequency continues to rise. As the underlying infrastructure, the Gate Layer provides high-performance network support for applications such as Gate Perp DEX, Gate Fun, Gate Meme Go, and Gate Swap. Furthermore, Gate is continuously enriching its product ecosystem. Gate Stocks has established a 7×24 hour trading service system covering the three core markets of US stocks, Hong Kong stocks, and Korean stocks, encompassing over 12,500 global stocks and ETF assets. It supports fractional share trading starting from as low as 0.01 shares and provides entitlements to stock dividends. The platform also supports cross-broker transfer of US and Hong Kong stocks, and facilitates corporate actions such as stock splits and reverse stock splits, further enhancing the stock investment service experience. Gate will persistently execute a long-term, stable GT burning mechanism to form a tighter positive cycle between the token's economic model, actual usage demand, and ecosystem expansion.
a16z-affiliated entity transfers 77,400 HYPE worth $5.18 million to exchanges in 5 hours
that, according to on-chain analyst Ai Yi's monitoring, an a16z-affiliated entity has not accumulated HYPE for a week. Over the past 5 hours, it has transferred a total of 77,400 HYPE, worth $5.18 million, to various exchanges. The entity transfers tokens to exchanges with high frequency, but the scale is lower than its accumulation magnitude; the price of HYPE has remained largely flat over the past week.
HyperLiquid Upgrades to AQAv2 Mechanism: USDC Balances in Contract and Treasury Addresses Maintain Dynamic 1:9 Ratio
: HyperLiquid has announced an upgrade to the AQAv2 mechanism. The system will use on-chain automated trading to maintain a dynamic 1:9 balance of USDC between two core addresses in each HyperEVM block, corresponding to the contract execution layer and the treasury reserve layer, respectively.According to the mechanism design, this ratio is used for functional stratification between "high-frequency trading and liquidation liquidity" and "long-term reserves and yield pools," aiming to enhance system stability and isolate trading risks.On the technical side, the balancing process is executed automatically by the system without manual intervention. Circle is responsible for the technical deployment, while Coinbase undertakes the treasury deployment and management.Regarding the yield mechanism, AQAv2 stipulates that stablecoin issuers must distribute approximately 90% of their cost-adjusted reserve earnings generated within the Hyperliquid ecosystem to the protocol. Settlement occurs on a 30-day cumulative cycle, and the earnings will be automatically transferred to the Assistance Fund on the 8th day after the cycle ends.Additionally, the mechanism includes a transition period arrangement:1. Start of yield accrual: August 26;2. First yield payment: October 3.The market believes this design marks the evolution of stablecoins from traditional custody structures toward an on-chain infrastructure model characterized by "protocolized capital stratification + automated yield distribution."
Hyperliquid whale closes BTC/ETH short positions for profit taking, then places new short orders with total notional size exceeding $50 million
According to Hyperbot data, a certain address recently closed its short positions in BTC and ETH simultaneously for profit taking. Among them, approximately 363.2 BTC (about $27.8 million) was closed at a price of around $76,774, and approximately 2,808 ETH (about $5.98 million) was closed at a price of around $2,130, with a total closed position size of approximately $33.8 million.After completing the profit taking, this address immediately placed new short orders: planning to short approximately 257.2 BTC (about $40 million) in the $77,500–$78,000 range, and short approximately 4,484 ETH (about $10 million) around the $2,230 level. This overall indicates that the address maintains a bearish trading strategy and engages in high-frequency position switching.
GateToken (GT) 2026 Q1 On-Chain Burn Completed, Cumulative Burn Value Exceeds $1.3 Billion
According to an official announcement, the on-chain burn of GateToken (GT) for the first quarter of 2026 has been officially completed, with a total of 2,557,729.381387 GT transferred to the burn address, representing a burn value exceeding $20.68 million.Since the launch of the Gate Chain mainnet in 2019, GT has maintained a continuous burn mechanism. To date, a total of 187,377,156 GT have been burned, with a cumulative burn value exceeding $1.382 billion (at current prices). The total token supply has been significantly reduced by approximately 62.46% from its initial 300 million tokens.With the launch of Gate Layer and the gradual rollout of native applications such as Gate Perp DEX, Gate Fun, and Meme Go, the utility frequency of GT, the sole Gas token for Gate Layer, has been continuously increasing. Concurrently, Gate is driving the coordinated development of infrastructure and applications including Gate for AI Agent, GateClaw, Gate.AI, and GateRouter, leading to a simultaneous increase in on-chain transaction and interaction demand. Gate will continue to implement its long-term, stable GT burn mechanism, fostering a tighter positive feedback loop between the token's economic model and real usage demand alongside ecosystem expansion.
Citadel Securities Sues Former Employee for Over $7.9 Million Over Crypto Startup
Citadel Securities has filed a lawsuit in London, seeking over £6 million (approximately $7.9 million) from Leonard Lancia, its former European Head of Derivatives Systematic Market Making and co-founder of high-frequency crypto trading firm Portofino Technologies.Citadel Securities alleges that Leonard Lancia and his colleagues began planning their startup while still employed, and has won damages and legal cost support in related labor arbitration. Additionally, Citadel Securities filed a lawsuit against Portofino Technologies in the US in 2023, accusing it of stealing trade secrets. Leonard Lancia and Portofino Technologies have denied all allegations. The High Court in London rejected Leonard Lancia's request to lift the asset freezing order last Friday. (Bloomberg)
2026 Q2 sees 83 crypto hacks, a new all-time high
according to DefiLlama data, Q2 2026 has become the most active quarter on record for crypto hacks, with 83 separate attack incidents, setting a new all-time high.Despite the increased frequency of attacks, the total losses for the quarter were approximately $755.3 million, still lower than the $3.56 billion lost in Q4 2020. Of this, the $293 million attack on KelpDAO and the $280 million attack on Drift Protocol accounted for more than three-quarters of the quarter's total losses. Cross-chain bridges were the largest source of losses, with related attacks leading to approximately $351 million being stolen. Earlier this month, Humanity Protocol lost $36 million, Aztec Connect experienced two attacks on passive smart contracts, each losing about $2.1 million, and decentralized exchange Raydium suffered a $1.3 million attack in June. (financefeeds)
Threshold Network: Successfully Thwarted Attempt to Maliciously Mint tBTC
Threshold Network posted on platform X, stating that on May 18, 2026, a malicious attacker attempted to mint tBTC without depositing the underlying Bitcoin. The attempt was unsuccessful; no invalid tBTC was issued, and user funds were not at risk.As a precautionary measure against high-frequency malicious activity in the broader crypto ecosystem, Optimistic Minting has been temporarily suspended. Currently, minting operations are conducted through the liquidation mechanism, with typical minting times increasing from approximately 1.5 hours to around 6 to 7 hours.
PeckShield: Cross-chain bridge attacks from February to May 2026 caused $329 million in losses
PeckShield posted on platform X, stating that from February to mid-May 2026, at least 8 major cross-chain bridge security incidents occurred in the crypto industry, with attackers stealing approximately $328.6 million in assets from cross-chain protocols in total.PeckShield pointed out that cross-chain infrastructure remains a high-frequency target for hackers, with related risks continuing to intensify amid the expansion of the multi-chain ecosystem.
Coinbase internal tool Mux reveals AI coding paradigm shift: Engineers transition from "code writers" to "multi-agent orchestrators"
Coinbase, a cryptocurrency trading platform, has disclosed in a technical sharing session that its internal multi-agent development tool "Mux" is reshaping software engineering workflows, transitioning the engineer's role from traditional code implementers to task orchestrators for AI agents.With the widespread internal adoption of AI programming tools such as Cursor, Copilot, OpenCode, and Claude Code, code generation efficiency has significantly improved. However, development workflows have long remained stuck in a traditional "single-task, single-branch, sequential execution" mode, creating a new collaboration bottleneck.Mux was born as an internal tool against this backdrop. By assigning each AI agent an independent git worktree, branch, and terminal environment, the system enables parallel multi-task development and conflict-free collaboration, allowing engineers to simultaneously direct multiple agents to handle tasks such as API development, test writing, vulnerability fixes, and code refactoring.Data shows that as of April 2026, Mux has covered over 600 users within Coinbase (including engineers, product managers, and designers), with 335 actively using it and 197 being high-frequency users. It has facilitated over 5,000 PR merges across 461 code repositories and 10 organizations. Engineers using Mux achieved an average of 39.6 PR merges, approximately 3.5 times the baseline of 11.4.Coinbase stated that Mux's success relies on its internal infrastructure capabilities, including an LLM Gateway, secure model access, and a code flow deployment system, enabling deep integration of multi-agent tools into real development workflows. This trend marks a structural shift in the software engineering paradigm: as AI reduces the cost of code generation, the core value of engineers is transitioning from "implementation capability" to "problem definition and agent orchestration capability."
Study: Generative AI Has Not Yet Significantly Enhanced Hackers’ Capabilities; It Is Mostly Used for Spam and Scams
The study suggests that AI’s currently observable applications in crime are primarily concentrated on low-barrier, high-frequency activities such as mass-produced SEO spam content, romance scams, voice cloning, image generation, and low-cost AI-powered nude image generation services.
Franklin Templeton Digital Assets Head Says AI Agents Are Next Key Use Case for Blockchain
: Sandy Kaul, Head of Digital Assets and Innovation at investment management firm Franklin Templeton, stated that the AI agent economy will increase demand for blockchain protocols to facilitate machine-to-machine micropayments. Traditional bank card networks are unsuitable for agent-based payments due to fees and settlement times. Sandy Kaul pointed out that blockchain networks like Aptos, Solana, and BNB Chain are more suitable for the agent economy, with transactions settling in seconds, faster than the 1 to 3 business day settlement time of the Visa network. In a joint report, payment company Visa and investment validation platform Artemis stated that traditional bank cards designed for low-frequency human commercial activities are insufficient to support AI agents, which require near-zero fees and faster settlement. Since its launch in May 2025, the x402 payment protocol developed by Coinbase has seen an adjusted transaction volume of $15 million and over 109 million adjusted transactions.
predict.fun launches Up/Down Market Maker Rebates: Higher rebate rates than Polymarket, with real-time settlement
: Prediction market platform predict.fun has announced that all Up/Down markets now feature a Maker order rebate mechanism. Users who complete trades via limit orders can receive a 25% rebate on Maker fees.Compared to Polymarket, predict.fun's Maker rebate offers two key advantages that are more direct: a higher rebate rate, and real-time settlement immediately after the trade, without waiting for finalization.For high-frequency traders, professional market makers, and users who frequently employ limit orders, real-time rebates allow for faster capital release, reducing the continuous impact of fees on trading profits. The higher rebate rate also means that as trading frequency and volume increase, the actual cost savings become more significant.This mechanism now covers all Up/Down markets on predict.fun. Users do not need to register or apply separately; rebates for qualifying orders will be automatically credited to the account upon execution.
ForeGate Launches EWC Esports World Cup Themed Zone
Odaily报道, ForeGate, the next-generation event prediction trading platform globally endorsed by legendary footballer Michael Owen, has officially launched its EWC (Esports World Cup) themed zone. This zone covers all popular events of this year's EWC, offering real-time event tracking and AI-powered deep predictions.To coincide with the launch of the EWC zone, ForeGate has simultaneously initiated the "Esports Prediction Trading Competition" limited-time incentive event, with a total prize pool of up to 500,000 USDT. During the event, users can participate in trading to share the prize pool. The event runs from July 16, 14:00 to August 24, 16:00 (UTC+8). This move marks a further expansion of ForeGate's event prediction market ecosystem centered around high-frequency sports and esports. Currently, users can seamlessly access the platform directly through mainstream DApp wallets such as Binance Wallet and OKX Wallet.
Visa Partners with Artemis to Release On-Chain Data Report on AI Agent Payments
According to Visa's official website, Visa and Artemis jointly released a report that deeply analyzes the current status and trends of AI agent payments based on real-time on-chain data. The report indicates that AI agent payments are divided into two categories: one is "macro commerce" where agents replace users to complete tasks like booking tickets and subscriptions, similar to traditional e-commerce payments; the other is "micro commerce" such as high-frequency, low-value API calls between software, where single transaction amounts are typically less than 1 cent. On-chain data shows that the open protocol x402, incubated by Coinbase and Cloudflare and now hosted by the Linux Foundation, has processed approximately 109 million transactions since launching in May 2025, with an adjusted transaction volume of about $15 million, mainly active on the Base, Solana, and Polygon chains; the Machine Payment Protocol (MPP), jointly built by Stripe and Tempo with Visa's contribution, launched in mid-March 2026 and completed approximately 115,000 transactions within weeks, with a settlement amount of about $25,000. The report notes that blockchain settlement costs have dropped to extremely low levels, making small payments in the 1-cent to 1-dollar range economically feasible for the first time, but agent payments still face significant challenges at the legal and regulatory level regarding trust, liability attribution, and dispute resolution. Visa stated that its goal is to build a unified foundation that simultaneously supports card-native trust authorization and machine-native settlement
Binance Futures Updates SKHYNIXUSDT, SAMSUNGUSDT, and HYUNDAIUSDT USDT-Margined Perpetual Contract Funding Rates
Starting from July 15, 2026, 00:15 (UTC+8), Binance Futures will adjust the funding rate settlement frequency for SKHYNIXUSDT, SAMSUNGUSDT, and HYUNDAIUSDT perpetual contracts from once every 8 hours to once every 4 hours, and the funding rate cap/floor will be adjusted to ±0.50%.
Kalshi Launches Professional Trading Terminal Kalshi Pro, Supporting Multi-Market Operations and Perpetual Contract-Specific Trading Tools
: Prediction market platform Kalshi has officially launched the beta version of its professional trading terminal, Kalshi Pro. The product is targeted at high-frequency, professional event traders to meet real-time trading demands across multiple markets. The terminal is equipped with several institutional-grade features, including real-time public trade data feeds, full order book depth, multi-leg contract calculation, and batch order management. It also introduces professional charting tools and position risk management tools tailored for perpetual contracts. Kalshi Product Lead Andy Chang stated that active traders now view prediction markets and perpetual contracts as standardized trading asset classes comparable to stocks and bonds. Kalshi Pro aims to provide professional investors with the complete suite of institutional trading capabilities they require. (CNBC)
Related news
South Korea's Financial Services Commission: If Demand for Single-Stock Leveraged ETFs Does Not Cool Down, Will Consider Setting Individual Investment Quota Limits
South Korean Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eok-yeon announced that if market demand for single-stock leveraged ETFs fails to cool down sufficiently, regulators will study the introduction of further regulatory measures, including limits on individual investment quotas. It is reported that South Korea may limit the investment scale of single-stock leveraged ETFs to within 20% of an individual's total financial investment assets and assess further raising investor access thresholds, including introducing periodic re-education, simulated trading, and minimum investment experience requirements. At the same time, the South Korean Financial Services Commission requires fund companies to disperse ETF rebalancing (Rebalancing) timing to avoid concentrated position adjustments at the end of trading sessions amplifying market volatility, and calls on Liquidity Providers (LP) to reasonably control quoting and trading frequency to reduce unnecessary trading. The South Korean FSC previously announced that starting from July 31, the minimum margin for single-stock leveraged ETFs will be increased to 30 million Korean won, and investor education and premium rate management will be strengthened.
South Korea's single-stock leveraged ETF daily trading volume falls below 10 trillion won, trading cools ahead of new regulatory rules
according to data from the Korea Exchange, the combined daily trading volume of 16 single-stock leveraged and inverse ETFs tracking Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fell below the 10 trillion won mark this Monday (July 27), dropping to 7.46 trillion won. This represents a 27% decrease from the previous trading day and a more than 30% decline compared to the average daily trading volume of the previous week. Their share of the total trading volume in the Korean ETF market also fell to 36.9%. Among these, products related to SK Hynix still dominated trading, accounting for approximately 70% of the total trading volume of all single-stock leveraged and inverse ETFs.Market analysts believe the cooling of trading is mainly due to new regulations from South Korea's financial authorities. Starting July 31, individual investors in South Korea who newly purchase or increase holdings of single-stock leveraged ETFs/ETNs must maintain a cash-based margin of at least 30 million won. Additionally, regulators plan to raise the minimum trading unit to further curb high-frequency short-term trading. (Duam)
South Korea Tightens Threshold for Single-Stock Leveraged ETF Trading: Individual Investors Need 30 Million KRW in Cash from July 31
Odaily Odaily News The Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC) has announced that it will advance the implementation of strengthened base deposit requirements for single-stock leveraged ETFs and ETNs to the end of July. Starting July 31, individual investors wishing to newly purchase or add to existing positions in single-stock leveraged ETFs/ETNs must hold at least 30 million KRW in cash as a base deposit in their accounts. This measure applies to single-stock leveraged ETFs and ETNs listed both domestically and overseas. Financial authorities stated that the decision to accelerate investor protection measures was made due to the rapid growth in market capitalization and trading volume of these products since their launch on May 27, and the increased volatility in the stock prices of major memory chip companies.Data shows that the total market capitalization of the 16 single-stock leveraged products currently on the market has grown from 4.4 trillion KRW on May 27 to 11.9 trillion KRW on July 15, and their trading volume has also risen from 10.4 trillion KRW to 13 trillion KRW. Under previous regulations, individual investors purchasing single-stock leveraged products were required to meet a base deposit requirement of 10 million KRW, which could be fulfilled using converted assets such as stocks, ETFs, and bonds. After the new regulations take effect, the base deposit standard is raised to 30 million KRW, and only cash assets will be accepted, with securities-type assets no longer eligible for conversion.Furthermore, proceeds from securities sales will only be counted towards the base deposit after settlement is completed on T+2 and funds are actually credited. Loan amounts secured by using sold funds as collateral will also not be included in the deposit scope. The FSC stated that this aims to curb investors' high-frequency circular trading behavior of selling positions and immediately repurchasing leveraged products on the same day.For existing investors adding to their positions, the 30 million KRW cash deposit standard also applies, but sell operations are not subject to the deposit limit.Previously, on July 16, Korean financial authorities had suspended the new listing of single-stock leveraged ETFs/ETNs and restricted related advertising. Going forward, they also plan to strengthen the product premium rate management mechanism, shorten the designation process for investment warning items, and promote adjustments to trading units.The FSC stated that it will continue to monitor the market trends of related products. If the market overheating phenomenon is not alleviated, it will consider taking further supplementary measures. (Chosun)
Franklin Templeton Digital Assets Head Says AI Agents Are Next Key Use Case for Blockchain
: Sandy Kaul, Head of Digital Assets and Innovation at investment management firm Franklin Templeton, stated that the AI agent economy will increase demand for blockchain protocols to facilitate machine-to-machine micropayments. Traditional bank card networks are unsuitable for agent-based payments due to fees and settlement times. Sandy Kaul pointed out that blockchain networks like Aptos, Solana, and BNB Chain are more suitable for the agent economy, with transactions settling in seconds, faster than the 1 to 3 business day settlement time of the Visa network. In a joint report, payment company Visa and investment validation platform Artemis stated that traditional bank cards designed for low-frequency human commercial activities are insufficient to support AI agents, which require near-zero fees and faster settlement. Since its launch in May 2025, the x402 payment protocol developed by Coinbase has seen an adjusted transaction volume of $15 million and over 109 million adjusted transactions.
predict.fun launches Up/Down Market Maker Rebates: Higher rebate rates than Polymarket, with real-time settlement
: Prediction market platform predict.fun has announced that all Up/Down markets now feature a Maker order rebate mechanism. Users who complete trades via limit orders can receive a 25% rebate on Maker fees.Compared to Polymarket, predict.fun's Maker rebate offers two key advantages that are more direct: a higher rebate rate, and real-time settlement immediately after the trade, without waiting for finalization.For high-frequency traders, professional market makers, and users who frequently employ limit orders, real-time rebates allow for faster capital release, reducing the continuous impact of fees on trading profits. The higher rebate rate also means that as trading frequency and volume increase, the actual cost savings become more significant.This mechanism now covers all Up/Down markets on predict.fun. Users do not need to register or apply separately; rebates for qualifying orders will be automatically credited to the account upon execution.
ForeGate Launches EWC Esports World Cup Themed Zone
Odaily报道, ForeGate, the next-generation event prediction trading platform globally endorsed by legendary footballer Michael Owen, has officially launched its EWC (Esports World Cup) themed zone. This zone covers all popular events of this year's EWC, offering real-time event tracking and AI-powered deep predictions.To coincide with the launch of the EWC zone, ForeGate has simultaneously initiated the "Esports Prediction Trading Competition" limited-time incentive event, with a total prize pool of up to 500,000 USDT. During the event, users can participate in trading to share the prize pool. The event runs from July 16, 14:00 to August 24, 16:00 (UTC+8). This move marks a further expansion of ForeGate's event prediction market ecosystem centered around high-frequency sports and esports. Currently, users can seamlessly access the platform directly through mainstream DApp wallets such as Binance Wallet and OKX Wallet.