Stablecoins to Checkout, Seoul Goes On-Chain

Welcome to our Crypto news in 10, a daily podcast bringing you the latest news about crypto in under 10 minutes.

Quick heads up on today’s lineup... the UK’s top markets regulator just put stablecoin payments at the front of its 2026 agenda, with a sandbox push to match. Venture giant a16z crypto is planting a flag in Seoul with its first Asia office. Markets are wobbly again — bitcoin briefly broke below ninety thousand dollars as investors digested a hawkish-sounding rate cut and fresh AI angst. In U.S. court, Do Kwon faces sentencing tied to the TerraUSD and Luna implosion. And one more treasury move in a tough tape — Tom Lee’s BitMine reportedly added another nine-figure chunk of ether. Let’s dive in.

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First, the UK says stablecoin payments are next. The Financial Conduct Authority laid out priorities for 2026 that include enabling UK-issued stablecoins for everyday payments, and widening its regulatory sandbox so issuers can test products in market. The agency framed it as part of a broader pro-growth agenda — opening the door to earlier, supervised experimentation while final rules are set next year.

Under the hood, the Bank of England is running a parallel consultation for systemic sterling stablecoins. Draft proposals include allowing up to sixty percent of backing assets in short-term UK government debt, temporary per-wallet holding limits — think twenty thousand pounds for individuals, and ten million for businesses — and potential central bank liquidity backstops in stress events. The Bank of England and the FCA plan a joint approach in 2026, so firms can transition between regimes as they scale. If you build or use stablecoins in the UK... clarity is coming, and it’s payments first.

Industry press adds more color. The FCA’s sandbox for local issuers is open now, with an application window into January, and officials say the aim is balance — encouraging innovation while tightening conduct, custody, and staking rules under the wider crypto framework. That points to a 2026 where sterling stablecoins move from pilots to real checkout flows.

Next up, a16z crypto is heading to Seoul. Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto arm announced its first Asia office, tapping Sungmo Park — formerly Asia-Pacific lead at Monad and previously with Polygon — to drive go-to-market across the region. The firm says Asia’s on-chain user density made Seoul a natural hub, highlighting booming retail usage in South Korea, Japan, Singapore, and India. Expect the a16z operating support playbook — distribution, partnerships, community building — to show up more visibly across Asian ecosystems.

Local trade press echoed the move, noting the Seoul office is designed to give portfolio teams direct help navigating partnerships and launch plans country by country. For founders building for Asian users — or U.S. teams trying to grow eastward — this is a clear signal that top-tier venture is redeploying resources on the ground.

Markets... and it’s a choppy session. Bitcoin slipped under ninety thousand dollars — down roughly two to three percent on the day — with ether off around three to four percent. Risk assets recoiled from two things at once: a Federal Reserve that cut rates but signaled a cautious path ahead, and fresh doubts about whether giant AI capex is translating into near-term profits after Oracle’s outlook disappointed. Thin liquidity plus elevated positioning is not a great mix, so crypto gave back Wednesday’s pop pretty quickly.

Barron’s framed it as a hawkish cut — cheaper money helps, but the dot plot implies fewer cuts than markets had hoped, clipping the wings on that run toward six figures. Analysts also pointed to the AI wobble bleeding into broader risk sentiment. If big cloud spends aren’t producing profits fast enough, investors get defensive... and crypto, as the highest-beta corner, feels it first.

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In court today — one of crypto’s most consequential legal chapters nears a close. Do Kwon, Terraform Labs’ co-founder, faces sentencing in Manhattan federal court over the TerraUSD and Luna collapse that erased around forty billion dollars in value. Prosecutors are seeking twelve years, saying he misled investors by touting an algorithmic peg defense while secretly using a trading firm to prop up the price. His team has asked for no more than five years, citing cooperation and pending proceedings in South Korea. However the judge lands, this outcome will echo across stablecoin risk discussions for years.

Associated Press reports his plea came in August, with forfeiture obligations and a prior civil settlement that included a lifetime U.S. crypto industry ban — underscoring how aggressively authorities moved after Terra’s failure reverberated through markets. The case has become a touchstone for disclosures around stabilization mechanisms, treasury management, and the line between decentralized claims and real-world control.

And while prices are wobbly, corporate treasuries are still making moves. On-chain sleuths say BitMine — Tom Lee’s ether-focused treasury company — added roughly one hundred twelve million dollars in ETH this week. It’s another step in an accumulation strategy that has turned the firm into one of the largest corporate holders of ether, even as broader markets churn.

For context, CoinDesk has tracked BitMine’s purchases through the fall, including weekly adds of roughly eighty to one hundred ten thousand ether at times — lifting disclosed holdings into the multi-million token range and edging toward about three percent of supply. Supporters say this buy-the-dip, hold-through-cycles playbook is creating a new class of crypto treasuries beyond bitcoin-only strategies. Skeptics warn that layering size into thin markets can amplify drawdowns when sentiment turns. Both can be true... execution and time horizon matter.

That’s the wrap. The UK is pushing stablecoins from pilots toward payments, a16z is putting boots on the ground in Seoul, bitcoin reminded us that macro still rules, Do Kwon’s sentencing puts a legal bookend on a painful chapter, and ETH accumulation by BitMine shows some treasuries are leaning into weakness. We’ll be back tomorrow with what moves next... until then, stay hedged, stay curious, and stay informed.

Thanks for listening and see you tommorow!