South Korean authorities have confirmed that crypto gains held in personal wallets and on overseas exchanges will be subject to taxation starting January 1, 2027. The Ministry of Economy and Finance and the National Tax Service stated that crypto income will be classified as other income, with a 2.5 million won deduction and a 20% tax rate (up to 22% including local tax). To address tracking difficulties, the tax agency plans to introduce transaction tracing analysis programs and collect information through overseas financial account reporting and automatic exchange of crypto asset information. Staking, lending, airdrop, and hard fork income standards are still being developed.

BitGo announced that its Korean entity has obtained Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) registration from the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU), making it the first foreign-controlled company to receive the license. This milestone enables BitGo to offer custody and related services directly in the Korean market, signaling increased institutional acceptance of foreign crypto firms amid the country's evolving regulatory landscape.

Bitcoin surged past $71,000 on OKX, gaining 3.62% intraday, as a broad crypto rally swept through Asian markets. The move was fueled by positive regulatory signals from the U.S. and strong ETF inflows, with Asian exchanges like Binance, OKX, and Bybit seeing elevated trading volumes. The rally also triggered significant liquidations across leveraged positions.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) said at the SALT conference that Bitcoin is still following its four-year cycle and currently in a bear phase, but volatility will narrow as the market grows. He described the current period as the most friendly regulatory environment in his 12 years in the industry, with Hong Kong accelerating its legislative efforts to match U.S. frameworks. CZ also disclosed that YZi Labs allocates about 70% of funds to crypto and blockchain, 20% to AI, and the rest to biotech.

On-chain data shows large investors withdrawing substantial ETH from Binance amid the price surge. One whale 0x2d59 withdrew 30,000 ETH ($67.42 million) in the last 20 minutes, bringing its three-week total to 120,000 ETH ($237.7 million). Abraxas Capital also pulled 18,000 ETH ($39.56 million), and a new wallet extracted 6,704 ETH ($14 million), indicating strong accumulation by high-net-worth players.

A wallet linked to Amber Group withdrew 200,000 HYPE tokens (approximately $13.83 million) from Hyperliquid early this morning, according to Onchain Lens. The move comes as HYPE surged over 20% following news that the CFTC is working to bring Hyperliquid to the U.S. in a compliant manner, highlighting the token's volatility and institutional interest.

A whale address bc1qsy sold an additional 2,000 BTC ($136 million) as the market rebounded, bringing its total sales over the past month to 9,513 BTC ($623 million). The sustained distribution by this large holder may signal profit-taking at higher levels, even as Bitcoin's price shows strength.

FalconX transferred 198,750 HYPE ($14 million) to the Gate exchange this morning, likely for sale. Onchain data suggests that multiple over-the-counter buyers who accumulated HYPE over the past months are now offloading positions, contributing to potential supply pressure amid the token's price spike.

Wang Chun, co-founder of major mining pool F2Pool, posted on social media that the bear market has ended. His statement follows Bitcoin's breakout above $70,000 and comes after he reduced ETH and WBTC positions in July, suggesting a shift in sentiment among influential Asian crypto figures.

Over the past 24 hours, 174,350 traders were liquidated for a total of $2.98 billion, making it the eighth-largest liquidation event in crypto history, according to Lookonchain. The massive liquidations occurred as Bitcoin and Ethereum experienced sharp rallies, catching many leveraged short positions off guard, particularly on Asian exchanges where perpetual futures dominate.