government

Polymarket stated on platform X, "Last month, we released enhanced market integrity rules to combat insider trading. When we discover users trading on government confidential information, we refer the matter to the Department of Justice and cooperate with their investigation. Polymarket does not tolerate insider trading, and today's arrests prove that this system is effective."The arrest mentioned by Polymarket refers to the U.S. federal authorities arresting a special forces soldier this Thursday who was involved in the arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro. This soldier is suspected of profiting over $400,000 by betting on Maduro's ouster. Sources say federal investigators believe this commando placed over $33,000 in bets on the prediction market Polymarket just hours before President Trump announced the capture of Maduro in January.

Tether announced that it has supported the U.S. government's freeze of over $344 million USDT, involving two wallet addresses. This freezing action was carried out in collaboration with the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and U.S. law enforcement agencies, aimed at preventing further movement of funds.The freeze was based on information provided by multiple U.S. law enforcement agencies, linking these addresses to illegal activities. Tether stated that when wallet addresses are associated with sanctions evasion, criminal networks, or other illegal activities, the company will take freezing measures. This has now become Tether's routine response to legitimate requests from U.S. and global law enforcement agencies.Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated, "USDT is by no means a safe haven for illegal activities. We take immediate action when there are credible links to sanctioned entities or criminal networks. Recent events have shown what can happen when platforms fail to act swiftly, law enforcement fails, users are exposed, and trust is lost. Our approach is different; we combine blockchain transparency, real-time monitoring, and direct coordination with law enforcement agencies to prevent the flow of funds. This is a responsibility we take very seriously as one of the largest issuers in the market."This action is part of Tether's cooperation with U.S. law enforcement agencies. The U.S. Department of Justice had previously confirmed Tether's support in law enforcement actions, successfully seizing nearly $61 million and approximately $225 million in "pork scam" funds.

According to CoinDesk, the U.S. Treasury repurchased $15 billion of issued government bonds, setting a record for the largest scale of government bond repurchases in U.S. history.

The Japan Securities Clearing Corporation (JSCC), a clearing institution under the Japan Exchange Group, has partnered with Mizuho Bank, Nomura Securities, and Digital Asset to launch a proof-of-concept trial aimed at exploring the use of blockchain technology for collateral management of Japanese Government Bonds (JGBs).According to a joint statement released on Monday, the trial will integrate existing systems from multiple institutions through the Canton Network to test the on-chain transfer and management of JGBs. This initiative aims to assess the feasibility of achieving real-time collateral trading while ensuring compliance with relevant financial instruments and trading laws. The trial will also investigate cross-border use cases involving clearinghouses, institutional investors, and other market participants.JSCC stated that this trial is part of a broader initiative under the Financial Services Agency's "Payment Innovation Project." As overseas markets like the United States make progress in testing similar infrastructures, advancing JGBs collateral management has become an "urgent priority." Previously, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) in the U.S. launched a pilot to tokenize U.S. Treasury securities, and South Korea is also conducting related tests.

Arkham monitoring shows that a U.S. government address has just transferred $606,470 worth of Bitcoin to Coinbase Prime. This Bitcoin was previously seized by the U.S. government from Bitfinex hacker Ilya Lichtenstein. It is currently unclear whether this batch of stolen Bitcoin will be sold on Coinbase.

According to on-chain analysis platform Lookonchain, the U.S. government deposited 8.2 BTC (approximately $606,000) into Coinbase Prime, with the funds originating from previously seized assets related to the Bitfinex hack.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance of South Korea announced that it will launch a pilot program for blockchain deposit tokens in Sejong City in the fourth quarter of 2026, to replace traditional government procurement card payments.The project has been approved under the 2026 regulatory sandbox program, allowing institutions to pay business promotion expenses in the form of tokenized deposits. Token payments can preset spending limits and available industry ranges, helping to reduce the need for manual audits and lowering transaction fees for small businesses by removing intermediaries such as card networks.This is the second application of deposit tokens in fiscal operations, following the completion of the first pilot in the electric vehicle charging infrastructure subsidy program. If the pilot proves effective, the Ministry of Finance of South Korea plans to further promote the program.

According to market news, South Korea is piloting blockchain deposit tokens for government spending.

The South Korean Ministry of Finance and Economy stated that the "blockchain-based digital currency for treasury fund execution pilot project" has been selected as a topic for the 2026 targeted regulatory sandbox. According to the pilot, the government department's business promotion fees will be changed from the current government procurement card to be issued and paid using blockchain-based deposit tokens.The South Korean government claims that this move is expected to enhance the transparency of fund usage by pre-setting usable time periods and industry scopes, and to reduce the fee burden on small merchants through a no-intermediary payment structure. The pilot program is set to officially launch in the fourth quarter of this year, starting in Sejong City, with plans to gradually expand its applicability thereafter.

According to Onchain Lens monitoring, the government of the Kingdom of Bhutan transferred 250 BTC for sale, worth 18.46 million USD.

Ripple has partnered with Kyobo Life to launch a pilot project for tokenized government bonds, aiming to validate a blockchain-based government bond trading structure.The project issues and trades tokenized government bonds in a test network environment, achieving synchronized processing of trading and settlement, and utilizes stablecoins to test a 24-hour settlement mechanism to enhance trading speed and reduce settlement risk. The two parties have initiated technical feasibility testing starting from September 2024 and are assessing the stability of the entire process, including digital asset custody. At the same time, they are analyzing the regulatory environment in South Korea and studying the feasibility of integrating stablecoin settlements and tokenized bonds into the existing financial system. Ripple stated that this collaboration helps promote the establishment of institutional-level digital asset infrastructure in South Korea and supports its long-term strategic layout in the South Korean market.

According to a report by Jinshi, citing CCTV news, on the 11th local time, Iranian government spokesperson Mohajerani stated that Iran has sent a diplomatic team led by Speaker Ghalibaf to participate in the US-Iran negotiations, demonstrating Iran's willingness to engage in dialogue.She emphasized that, as the Iranian president previously stated, Iran will negotiate with "its finger on the trigger." Although Iran is willing to engage in dialogue, there is a lack of trust in the other party, so the Iranian diplomatic team will participate in the negotiations with the utmost caution. Mohajerani hopes that under the guidance of the Supreme Leader, the Iranian negotiating team can achieve success.

According to Lookonchain monitoring, the U.S. government marked addresses (funds seized from Glenn Olivio) transferred a total of approximately 2.438177 BTC, equivalent to about $177,400, in two transactions to the Coinbase Prime Deposit address, with 0.459637 BTC and 1.97854 BTC respectively.

According to Onchain Lens monitoring, the government of the Kingdom of Bhutan transferred 250 BTC to a newly created wallet, worth 18.05 million dollars.

The Japanese government has passed an amendment to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act at a cabinet meeting. This amendment regulates cryptocurrency assets (virtual currencies) as financial instruments for the first time and prohibits insider trading and other activities based on undisclosed information. At the same time, it requires cryptocurrency issuers to disclose information annually to improve the healthy market environment. If this bill is passed in the current Diet session, it is expected to be implemented as early as the 2027 fiscal year.Previously, the Financial Services Agency of Japan primarily regulated cryptocurrencies based on their positioning as "means of payment" under the Funds Settlement Act. However, in recent years, the use of cryptocurrencies as investment tools has been increasing, leading to their inclusion in the regulatory framework of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act. Additionally, the name of registered institutions will change from "cryptocurrency asset exchange operators" to "cryptocurrency asset trading operators."At the same time, the penalties will also be strengthened: for unregistered institutions engaged in sales, the maximum prison sentence will increase from 3 years to 10 years, and the fines will rise from the current maximum of 3 million yen to a maximum of 10 million yen. By increasing penalties, the stance on protecting investors will be further reinforced.

According to The Block, based on monitoring by Onchain Lens, the Royal Government of Bhutan transferred approximately 319.7 BTC (about 22.68 million USD) to two addresses three hours ago. About 250 BTC were transferred to a wallet that was previously used to sell funds through Galaxy Digital and OKX, while another 69.7 BTC were sent to a new unmarked address.According to Arkham data, the Bhutanese government has transferred out Bitcoin worth 215.7 million USD from its holding addresses this year, of which 162.6 million USD was sent to unmarked wallets. After this transfer, Bhutan currently holds 3,954 BTC, valued at approximately 280.6 million USD.The country held about 13,000 BTC at its peak in October 2024, with its Bitcoin assets managed by the national sovereign wealth fund Druk Holding and Investments Ltd. Bhutan previously accumulated its Bitcoin holdings through a hydropower-supported mining operation, but according to Arkham data, its last recorded Bitcoin inflow exceeding 100,000 USD was a year ago.

According to on-chain analyst Onchain Lens (@OnchainLens), the Royal Government of Bhutan transferred 319.7 BTC (worth approximately $22.67 million) to two wallets: one is a new wallet, suspected to be an exchange wallet; the other is an old wallet, which had previously conducted fund transfer sales through OKX or Galaxy Digital.

According to on-chain analyst Onchain Lens (@OnchainLens), the Royal Government of Bhutan transferred 319.7 BTC (worth approximately $22.67 million) to two wallets: one is a new wallet, suspected to be an exchange wallet; the other is an old wallet, which previously conducted fund transfer and sale operations through OKX or Galaxy Digital.

According to CoinDesk, Paul Atkins, the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), announced the termination of "enforcement-style regulation" and stated that the seven cases related to cryptocurrency registration initiated by the previous administration were a "misallocation of resources" that did not provide direct benefits to investors.

According to Xinhua News Agency, the Office of the Central Anti-Corruption Coordination Group for International Fugitive Pursuit and Cross-Border Corruption Governance held a meeting to launch the "Sky Net 2026" operation. In this operation, the National Supervisory Commission will lead a special action for recovering losses from overseas pursuit of duty-related crimes, the Ministry of Public Security will carry out the "Fox Hunt" special operation, the People's Bank of China, in conjunction with the Ministry of Public Security, will conduct a special action to prevent and combat the use of offshore companies and underground banks to transfer stolen funds abroad, and the Central Organization Department, together with the Ministry of Public Security and the National Immigration Administration, will manage the positions of "naked officials" and address issues related to public officials violating regulations when traveling abroad.