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Theo báo cáo của WSJ, một báo cáo điều tra nội bộ của Binance chưa được công bố trước đây cho thấy, nhà tài chính Iran Babak Zanjani đã thông qua các công ty liên kết, công ty vỏ bọc và nhiều tài khoản giao dịch, sử dụng Binance để chuyển tiền, thiết lập các kênh tài chính để tránh lệnh trừng phạt của phương Tây cho Lực lượng Vệ binh Cách mạng Hồi giáo Iran (IRGC). Mạng lưới liên quan bao gồm 21 tài khoản giao dịch cá nhân và doanh nghiệp, tổng giá trị giao dịch khoảng 850 triệu USD, trong đó ít nhất 67 triệu USD đã chảy từ hai tài khoản vào ví liên quan đến IRGC.Báo cáo cho thấy, thương nhân Tajikistan Sukhrob Oimakhmadov, được Binance liệt kê là "khách hàng có giá trị cao", đã nhận hơn 10 triệu USD qua tài khoản, nguồn gốc bao gồm ví kỹ thuật số sau này được Bộ Quốc phòng Israel xác định thuộc về IRGC. Tài khoản của nền tảng tiền điện tử Zedcex liên kết với Zanjani có tổng giá trị giao dịch gần 830 triệu USD, trong đó khoảng 56 triệu USD đã được rút về ví liên quan. Mạng lưới liên quan cũng bao gồm công ty thanh toán Thổ Nhĩ Kỳ ZedPay, cũng như các mã thông báo tiền điện tử USDZ được sử dụng cho giao dịch.Binance cho biết đã xác định các hoạt động liên quan và đã thực hiện các biện pháp, tất cả các tài khoản có liên quan đến vi phạm lệnh trừng phạt đã bị hạn chế giao dịch và đang được thanh lý dần. Công ty cũng nhấn mạnh, tổng giá trị giao dịch của tài khoản không bằng với số tiền thực tế chảy vào IRGC, và thừa nhận đã có vấn đề về quy trình trong việc phê duyệt và thực thi nội bộ trong quá khứ. Bộ Tài chính Hoa Kỳ trước đó đã áp đặt lệnh trừng phạt đối với Zanjani và các doanh nghiệp, cá nhân liên quan.

Người đồng sáng lập và CEO của Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, đã đăng bài viết cho biết, Wall Street Journal đang viết bài báo cáo, đổ lỗi cho việc dự luật CLARITY không được thông qua cho Coinbase và bản thân ông. Ông cho biết, tờ báo đã nhiều lần có thái độ thù địch đối với CLARITY trong các bài báo liên quan và lặp lại quan điểm của các nhóm vận động hành lang ngân hàng.Armstrong cho biết, vào tháng 1 năm nay, ông đã phản đối một dự thảo sắp được trình lên ủy ban bỏ phiếu, vì nó có những vấn đề nghiêm trọng về DeFi, token hóa, quyền hạn của CFTC và phần thưởng stablecoin, có thể gây hại cho ngành công nghiệp tiền điện tử, và sự ủng hộ phân tán, khó thông qua. Sau đó, nhiều bên đã sửa đổi dự thảo, khoảng bốn tháng sau, phiên bản được trình lên ủy ban đã khắc phục bốn vấn đề nêu trên. Ông cho biết dự thảo cuối cùng được trình lên Thượng viện là rất tốt, và ông đã mạnh mẽ ủng hộ, sẽ tiếp tục thúc đẩy các quy tắc rõ ràng để đối xử công bằng với tiền điện tử.

ChainCatcher tin tức, theo báo cáo của "Wall Street Journal", thị trường Mỹ trong những năm gần đây thường xuyên xuất hiện bong bóng xung quanh các ngành và chủ đề cụ thể, nhưng những bong bóng cục bộ này thường không kéo theo sự sụt giảm của toàn bộ thị trường chứng khoán.Bong bóng chip lưu trữ trong đợt này đã nhanh chóng mở rộng và vỡ trong khoảng 4 tháng, đi kèm với sự biến động mạnh và một quỹ đầu cơ rơi vào khủng hoảng, nhưng chỉ số S&P 500 vẫn cách đỉnh lịch sử chỉ 1,6%, chỉ số S&P 500 theo trọng số đều tuần trước còn lập kỷ lục mới. Sự điều chỉnh của các cổ phiếu liên quan đến AI hiện cũng gần như đã bị sự tăng trưởng của các lĩnh vực khác hoàn toàn bù đắp.Trong hơn mười năm qua, thị trường Mỹ đã trải qua các bong bóng như in 3D, cổ phiếu ý tưởng Trung Quốc, sản phẩm biến động thấp, SPAC, năng lượng sạch, cần sa, không gian, tài sản tiền điện tử và cổ phiếu ý tưởng AI. Strategy đã giảm 83% so với mức cao nhất, cổ phiếu truyền thông của Trump giảm 89%, SK Hynix đã giảm 55% trước khi phục hồi vào thứ Sáu tuần trước.Tiền tệ nới lỏng, nhu cầu đầu cơ và kỳ vọng vào công nghệ mới đã cùng nhau thúc đẩy những bong bóng này, trong những năm gần đây, nợ ký quỹ và ETF đòn bẩy đã làm gia tăng thêm sự biến động.Những bong bóng cục bộ này không gây ra cú sốc nghiêm trọng cho nền kinh tế, chủ yếu là vì phần lớn không được tài trợ bằng nợ lớn. Sau khi bong bóng vỡ, tổn thất chủ yếu do các nhà đầu tư gánh chịu, hệ thống ngân hàng không bị ảnh hưởng rõ rệt.Nhà chiến lược vĩ mô Russell Napier cho biết, hệ thống ngân hàng vẫn khỏe mạnh, vì vậy thị trường luôn có nhiều tín dụng hơn để tạo ra bong bóng tiếp theo.Tuy nhiên, đầu tư vào AI đang khiến thị trường bước vào khu vực nguy hiểm hơn. Chi tiêu cho trung tâm dữ liệu trong 4 năm tới dự kiến có thể đạt 7 nghìn tỷ đô la, nếu sự gia tăng năng suất do AI mang lại không đủ để hỗ trợ quy mô đầu tư như vậy, việc phân bổ vốn sai có thể gây tổn hại nghiêm trọng cho nền kinh tế.Khi việc xây dựng AI ngày càng phụ thuộc vào tài trợ nợ, một khi đầu tư AI rộng rãi cuối cùng được chứng minh là bong bóng, sự vỡ của nó có thể ảnh hưởng đến hệ thống tài chính, lúc đó toàn bộ thị trường sẽ khó có thể đứng ngoài cuộc.

The Wall Street Journal published an article pointing out that although the GENIUS Act and the CLARITY Act are promoting the compliance of stablecoins, the essence of stablecoins still belongs to "private currency," which may pose structural risks to the financial system.The article notes that stablecoins aim to combine the stability of the US dollar with the efficiency of blockchain payments, but because they operate on fragmented, privatized infrastructure, they do not possess the unity of the traditional US dollar system. Although USDT and USDC are pegged to the dollar, their prices may still deviate from 1 dollar.In addition, there is an incentive for stablecoin issuers to enhance returns by allocating high-risk, low-liquidity assets. If the value of these related assets declines, it could trigger de-pegging and concentrated redemption risks. The article cites Chainalysis data stating that stablecoins account for 84% of illegal activities in cryptocurrency, mainly involving sanctions evasion and money laundering, while real economic payment scenarios account for less than 1%.The Wall Street Journal believes that stablecoins are replaying the path of private currency experiments from the "Free Banking Era" in 19th century America, and in the future, they may need to accept stricter regulation like banks and integrate more deeply into the central bank system.

The WSJ reported that Binance is accused of processing approximately $850 million in transactions related to financial networks associated with Iranian sanctions over two years, ultimately flowing to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Iran. In response, Binance CEO Richard Teng posted on the X platform denying the related reports, stating that the reports are "completely inaccurate," emphasizing that Binance does not allow sanctioned entities to trade, and indicating that the suspicious activities occurred before the involved entities were sanctioned by the U.S.The report mentioned that the key figure is Iranian businessman Babak Zanjani, whose related companies and associated accounts are alleged to have operated through the same device, forming a secret payment network on the Binance platform. The report also stated that Binance's internal compliance system had identified abnormal access from Tehran by the end of 2024, triggering multiple risk control alerts, but the related accounts were not closed in a timely manner. The WSJ further pointed out that the Central Bank of Iran and related entities also conducted fund flows through Binance between 2024 and 2025, including approximately $107 million and other cross-border cryptocurrency transactions.Binance reiterated that its compliance system is "industry-leading" and emphasized that it has continued to strengthen its risk control mechanisms after pleading guilty and paying a $4.3 billion settlement in 2023. Additionally, Binance has filed a defamation lawsuit against the WSJ regarding the related reports and denied that the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating it on this matter.

Binance CEO Richard Teng responded on the X platform to reports from The Wall Street Journal, stating that there are "fundamental errors" regarding the facts and Binance's commitment to compliance frameworks in the reports. Richard Teng noted that the relevant transactions mentioned by The Wall Street Journal occurred before the individuals involved were sanctioned, and Binance has not allowed any sanctioned individuals to trade on the platform.He also stated that Binance had proactively investigated the relevant issues before being contacted by The Wall Street Journal and had provided the other party with relevant facts, but this information was not published. Additionally, Richard Teng emphasized that Binance has a "zero tolerance" policy for illegal activities and has established an industry-leading compliance system, and will continue to cooperate with U.S. and global law enforcement agencies to combat financial crime.Previously, it was reported that funds associated with the Iranian regime had transferred over $850 million through Binance in the past two years.

According to the Wall Street Journal, GameStop will offer $56 billion to acquire eBay.It is reported that GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen stated that GameStop currently holds about 5% of eBay's shares and has proposed to acquire eBay with a combination of cash and stock at $125 per share, which is about a 20% premium over eBay's closing price last Friday.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the New York Stock Exchange is collaborating with Securitize to develop a tokenized securities platform.

According to the Wall Street Journal, U.S. officials stated that the Trump administration plans to announce as early as this week that multiple countries have agreed to form a coalition to provide escort for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. However, discussions are still ongoing about whether these actions should be initiated before or after the end of hostile actions by Iran.The White House declined to comment. Given the associated risks, many countries have remained noncommittal about participating in such escort missions until the hostile actions have concluded.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the prediction market platforms Kalshi and Polymarket are in talks with potential investors for a new round of financing, with target valuations of around $20 billion. Sources indicate that the valuations of both companies were about half of this level at the end of last year.As competition in the prediction market intensifies, both sides are accelerating their efforts to capture user growth, thereby driving negotiations for the new round of financing.

The development team behind Worldcoin, Tools for Humanity (TFH), is collaborating with Gap, Visa, and Tinder to promote the implementation of its "World ID" human verification product.Reports indicate that some Gap stores in San Francisco have deployed "Orb" devices to collect facial and iris information from users to generate World ID. Meanwhile, TFH plans to launch a payment card related to Visa, allowing users with World ID to spend digital assets. The dating app Tinder is also testing this identity system in Japan to verify that users are real individuals and that their age information is accurate.TFH states that the Orb device will convert facial and iris images into anonymous digital identifiers and store them on the user's device, with the company itself not retaining the original biometric data. Its business model aims to generate revenue by charging applications for verification service fees.

According to a report by The Wall Street Journal citing informed sources, the Federal Reserve is secretly initiating a legal challenge in response to two subpoenas issued by U.S. prosecutor Jeanine Pirro in the criminal investigation against Powell.Pirro, a longtime ally of President Trump, launched the investigation to examine whether Powell made false statements to Congress last summer regarding the Federal Reserve building renovation project. This action prompted Powell to respond publicly in an unprecedented manner, stating in a video statement on January 11 that the investigation is a guise for Trump's ongoing pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates and undermine the central bank's independence.In the secret proceedings, the Federal Reserve is requesting the judge to quash the subpoenas to reduce or eliminate its obligation to respond. The specific legal arguments have not been disclosed. In high-profile investigations, it is not uncommon for recipients of subpoenas to challenge prosecutors on the grounds that the requests are overly broad or involve information protected by legal privilege.Due to the confidentiality rules applicable to criminal investigations before grand juries, this legal battle is quietly ongoing and not open to the public.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Tether's role as the world's leading stablecoin has been influenced by Maduro, as Tether serves as an important tool for the Venezuelan state oil company (Petróleos de Venezuela, abbreviated as PdVSA) to evade sanctions, being used as a currency for oil trade settlements and providing an economic lifeline for Venezuelans suffering from the plummeting value of their national currency, the bolívar.A spokesperson for Tether responded that the company complies with all applicable U.S. and international sanctions regulations and works closely with U.S. authorities, including the Office of Foreign Assets Control, and regularly assists law enforcement in freezing addresses related to illegal activities or sanctions violations upon legitimate requests.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Wall Street Journal, American Bitcoin, a Bitcoin mining and reserve company supported by President Trump's two eldest sons, will go public this Wednesday. American Bitcoin will officially list on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange after completing its merger with Gryphon Digital Mining.Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, along with mining company Hut 8, will collectively own 98% of the shares of the new entity post-merger, which will retain the name American Bitcoin and trade under the ticker symbol ABTC.Recently, American Bitcoin has also been seeking acquisition targets in Asia to build a Bitcoin asset reserve and has begun discussions with investors regarding potential acquisitions. The company is currently planning to acquire a publicly listed company in Japan and may simultaneously expand into the Hong Kong market. According to insiders, the company intends to emulate the MicroStrategy model by building a cryptocurrency reserve platform through the acquisition of publicly listed companies.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Wall Street Journal, U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Furlong will leave the government less than five months after being confirmed by the Senate.Furlong was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Treasury Department and briefly served as acting commissioner during a turbulent period in the IRS leadership. He is also the second Senate-confirmed official from the Treasury Department to leave this month, following the earlier departure of former IRS Commissioner Billy Long.During his tenure, Furlong was involved in formulating the tax policies related to the tax and spending legislation signed by Trump.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Wall Street Journal, Ripple is seeking a national bank charter, along with other cryptocurrency companies, to integrate with the traditional financial system.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Wall Street Journal, the upcoming "GENIUS Act" to be passed by the U.S. Congress will incorporate stablecoins into the mainstream financial system, a piece of legislation that has sparked strong interest from startups, banks, and even giants like Walmart.However, under the "GENIUS Act," stablecoin issuers are required to hold reserves in safe assets such as cash and short-term U.S. Treasury bonds, and large issuers must also publish audited annual financial reports. This poses a severe challenge to Tether, which holds a 66% share of the stablecoin market (with a circulation of $156 billion) ------ the company's USDT is currently partially backed by Bitcoin and gold, and it has long refused to fully disclose financial details. Former federal prosecutor Scott Armstrong, who has handled crypto cases, pointed out: "This could lead to Tether being unable to continue operating in the U.S."Tether representatives did not respond to requests for comment. CEO Paolo Ardoino has stated that they may issue localized stablecoins to maintain their U.S. business. The bill sets a transition period for compliance: the Senate version allows a 3-year grace period, while the House's accompanying bill under review requires compliance within 18 months, ultimately needing to be signed into law by President Trump, who supports the bill.

ChainCatcher news, according to the WSJ report, sources revealed that the Trump team is considering issuing an executive order to prohibit banks from closing or denying accounts based on customers' political positions or industries. This measure aims to address Republican criticisms of large banks for implementing discriminatory practices in sectors such as energy and firearms.The report states that several banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, and Bank of America, recently met with Republican state officials to respond to the related allegations. The order may grant federal regulators the authority to penalize the banks involved.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Wall Street Journal, officials say that Israel continues to strike at Iran's military infrastructure but is seeking to end the war with Iran as soon as possible. Meanwhile, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Grossi stated that the U.S. attack on Iran's Fordow uranium enrichment facility is expected to cause "very significant damage."One of the Iranian targets struck by Israel is a prison that holds political prisoners and regime opponents. Tehran's response to the U.S. attack on its nuclear facilities has revealed almost no clues. The clerical leaders of the Iranian regime face a dangerous choice: retaliating against the U.S. could lead to an escalation of war with two militarily stronger adversaries, or returning to nuclear negotiations, during which they may have to make concessions on nuclear enrichment and ballistic missile arsenals—two pillars of national sovereignty.Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, in what appears to be his first comments since the U.S. attack, did not mention the U.S. on the X platform but focused on Israel. He stated that Israel has made a "serious mistake" and is "now being punished."Today, the overall sentiment in the cryptocurrency market has slightly improved compared to yesterday, with the fear and greed index at 47 (up from 42 yesterday), indicating a return to "neutral" sentiment in the crypto market. Bitcoin dipped to $98,200 this morning but has since rebounded to $101,359, with the 24-hour decline narrowing to 1.21%.