Odaily Planet Daily reports that several scholars expressed caution at a seminar on "Institutionalization of Stablecoin Issuance and Trading Infrastructure" held on January 16th, regarding the South Korean financial authorities' proposal to limit the shareholding ratio of major shareholders in virtual asset exchanges to between 15% and 20%. Moon Cheol-woo, a professor at the College of Business Administration at Sungkyunkwan University, pointed out that forcibly reducing the shareholding ratio of major shareholders could raise issues of property rights protection and pose a constitutional risk. He also mentioned that comparing the equity structures of Binance and Coinbase, it is not uncommon for founders to maintain a high shareholding ratio globally, and such restrictions might contradict the international trend of emphasizing responsible management. Furthermore, Kim Yoon-kyung, a professor at Incheon University, believes that directly intervening in the equity structure through percentage restrictions is too radical and could weaken the industry's innovation and development momentum. Several experts at the seminar suggested that regulators could guide equity dispersion and compliant development by strengthening the qualification review of major shareholders and improving IPO-related systems, rather than adopting mandatory divestiture arrangements. (News1)

Odaily Planet Daily reports that BitMEX announced on its X platform the launch of a COIN/CRCL trading pair based on Equity Perps. This strategy hedges by going long on COIN and short on CRCL, offering a 0% base interest rate and 20x leverage. Data shows that this strategy outperformed BTC by over 25% in the second half of 2025, aiming to mitigate market risk and capture relative value.

According to a report by Decrypt, Chainalysis' latest report shows that Iran's cryptocurrency ecosystem is projected to reach approximately $7.78 billion in 2025, exceeding the growth rate of the previous year. Domestic protests and currency devaluation are the main driving factors. The report points out that during the large-scale protests and internet censorship at the end of December last year, the number of Iranians withdrawing Bitcoin from exchanges to their personal wallets surged, with Bitcoin being seen as a preferred safe-haven asset during the crisis. Meanwhile, addresses associated with the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps received over 50% of the country's cryptocurrency value in the fourth quarter of 2025, demonstrating the increased reliance of state-backed actors on crypto channels under sanctions.

Odaily reports that Google Play Korea will ban the listing or updates of unregistered overseas cryptocurrency exchanges and wallet apps. According to Google's official policy, cryptocurrency trading platforms and wallet service providers must register as virtual asset service providers with the Korean Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to continue operating in the app store. Affected by this policy, starting January 28th, Korean Android users will be unable to download or update unregistered overseas exchange apps through Google Play, including Binance, Bybit, and OKX. Currently, only 27 local platforms, including Upbit and Bithumb, have completed registration. The report points out that although web access will still be possible, this measure may impact Korean retail investors who rely on overseas platforms for high-leverage trading, arbitrage, and access to more tokens. Bypass methods such as using VPNs or APK installations have begun circulating in the local community, but these practices are considered to pose high security risks. (The Block)

Odaily Planet Daily reports that Kaito founder Yu Hu has provided a more complete timeline of the recent controversy on the X platform. He stated that on January 13th, he first received an email from his account manager regarding a possible reassessment of the matter, followed by a formal legal notice from X on January 14th, which he responded to that same day. On January 15th, he learned of Nikita's related content simultaneously with the public. Yu Hu stated that Kaito had received legal notices from X in the past and had resolved them amicably. Therefore, given the short timeframe in this incident, choosing to wait for further clarification and communication before making any unilateral public statement was a reasonable decision. He also confirmed that Yaps has now been shut down, but this adjustment will not affect Kaito Launchpad, Kaito Pro, Kaito API, or the upcoming Kaito Markets. Furthermore, Yu Hu stated that Kaito plans to drive cross-platform expansion through Kaito Studio in 2026, covering channels such as TikTok and YouTube, and exploring business directions beyond the cryptocurrency field. He revealed that Kaito Studio has been in preparation for several months and will serve as a new model to complement Yaps, with more roadmap details to be released later.