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Pakistan is developing special electricity tariffs to attract cryptocurrency mining operations as part of a strategy to use the country’s surplus power generation capacity. According to a report by Dawn , the Power Division is consulting with various stakeholders to create attractive electricity rates for these industries without introducing subsidies. The initiative plans to use excess power production while reducing capacity payments. This approach could appeal to cryptocurrency miners, who generally spend 60-70% of their earnings on electricity costs. Pakistan’s current surplus electricity situation offers potential competitive advantages. Power Minister Awais Leghari recently met with Bilal Bin Saqib, chief executive of the newly formed Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC), to discuss opportunities for global crypto miners to leverage Pakistan’s excess electricity. This was followed by the PCC’s inaugural meeting chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and attended by key financial regulators. During the meeting, Saqib presented a vision for “leveraging Pakistan’s surplus electricity for Bitcoin ( BTC ) mining, potentially turning the country’s liabilities into assets.” The council discussed Pakistan’s untapped potential in the cryptocurrency space. They also identified regulatory clarity as a key requirement for unlocking the sector’s full potential. The council agreed to learn from global best practices while ensuring business and revenue models are adapted to local conditions. They also discussed the development of regulatory frameworks, legislation, and licensing regimes for consumer protection, blockchain mining, and a national blockchain policy. Pakistan’s approach to cryptocurrency mining comes as various countries have taken different approaches to the energy-intensive industry. China, once the global hub for Bitcoin mining, banned the practice in 2021, citing environmental concerns and power shortages. Kazakhstan initially welcomed crypto mining but later imposed higher electricity tariffs and taxes due to energy shortages. El Salvador, the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, provides miners with low-cost geothermal energy from volcanoes.

South Korean financial authorities are escalating their efforts to regulate the domestic cryptocurrency market by targeting overseas virtual asset exchanges that operate without proper registration. According to a local report, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), under the Financial Services Commission, is preparing sanctions, including potential site access blocking, against several prominent international exchanges that have been servicing Korean users illegally. This move underscores South Korea’s commitment to enforcing the Specific Financial Information Act (Special Financial Information Act), which mandates that all virtual asset service providers (VASPs) operating within the country must register with the FIU. This legislation aims to protect Korean investors and prevent illicit financial activities within the digital asset space. The FIU is reported to have identified several exchanges, including Bitmex, Kucoin, Coinw, Bitunix, and KCEX, as targets for these sanctions. These platforms have reportedly been operating Korean-language websites, actively marketing to Korean investors, and providing customer support in Korean, all without the required registration. “These exchanges are clearly targeting Korean users, offering localized services without complying with our regulations. This poses a significant risk to our investors and undermines the integrity of our financial system,” stated an unnamed FIU official. In 2022, the FIU took similar action, requesting the Korea Communications Standards Commission to block access to 16 unregistered overseas exchanges. This initiative, coupled with cooperation from domestic card companies to restrict credit card transactions with these exchanges, led to the withdrawal of several platforms from the Korean market. 免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。

The Open House Group, a leading real estate company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, has announced that it now accepts XRP, Solana, and Dogecoin for payments. Open House, which added cryptocurrency payments to its accepted payment options in January this year, said it is expanding the offering to include three more crypto tokens. As well as XRP ( XRP ), Open House customers can now use Solana ( SOL ) and Dogecoin ( DOGE ) to handle real estate payments with the firm. With crypto adoption on the rise across the world amid regulatory clarity, Open House says demand for crypto transactions is huge. Given its integrated approach across the real estate space, the publicly-listed company sees crypto as a pillar of future growth. XRP, SOL and DOGE now join Bitcoin ( BTC ) and Ethereum ( ETH ) as accepted payment options for services and goods covering Open House Group’s suite of products — from property acquisition to design, construction and sales to management. “This expansion ensures our global clients with greater flexibility in their investment process, subject to compliance with their country’s regulations,” Open House wrote. Open House ranks among top real estate firms in Japan, and boasts over ¥1 trillion, about $6.7 billion, in annual sales. While it only began accepting BTC and ETH in January 2025, it has championed crypto and blockchain integration for a few years now. The company started to explore the potential application of crypto and blockchain technology in business in 2022. Open House’s involvement within the industry includes its sponsorship of a research initiative on Bitcoin’s Lightning Network. Notably, Yokiko Nishimura, who heads the firm’s crypto initiative, has helped bring crypto solutions to local financial institutions and crypto exchanges since 2015. Earlier this year, Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba weighed in on the issue of crypto adoption, noting that digital assets and web3 are important to the country’s development and innovation. A positive approach to crypto has seen the Japanese Cabinet approve the Payment Services Act, which is set to provide regulatory guidelines for stablecoins and crypto brokerages in Japan.

Coinbase is reportedly in advanced discussions to acquire Deribit, a leading crypto derivatives exchange specializing in Bitcoin and Ether options, according to Bloomberg. The companies have informed regulators in Dubai— where Deribit is licensed — about the ongoing negotiations, though no final agreement has been confirmed. Deribit is the dominant player in the crypto options market and was valued between $4 billion and $5 billion earlier this year. The platform saw nearly $1.2 trillion in trading volume in 2024, nearly doubling its activity from the previous year. Coinbase, primarily known for its spot trading business, would significantly strengthen its foothold in the derivatives space with this acquisition, aligning with its broader expansion strategy. The potential acquisition follows earlier reports that Kraken had also explored a bid for Deribit. Coinbase has been increasingly focused on growing its derivatives offerings, having already launched derivatives trading for U.S. retail users and obtained a license to offer crypto futures. With the derivatives market now accounting for a major share of crypto trading volumes, securing a platform like Deribit could give Coinbase a strong competitive advantage in the sector. While the negotiations have reached an advanced stage, Bloomberg reported that it remains unclear if the two firms will finalize a deal.

The Ethereum ETFs pave the way for wider institutional adoption, but remain incomplete. For Robbie Mitchnick from BlackRock, their main drawback lies in the absence of staking, a pillar of yield on Ethereum. This lack could limit their competitiveness against direct investment strategies, which calls into question their ability to meet the expectations of professional investors. The Ethereum ETF from BlackRock quickly established itself as a major player in the market, with 7 billion dollars in assets under management since its launch. This enthusiasm illustrates the appeal of institutions for a product that facilitates access to Ethereum while eliminating the custody and security constraints associated with crypto. In just a few months, Ethereum ETFs recorded 2.5 billion dollars in net inflows, confirming the growing interest of professional investors in this asset class. However, this positive momentum masks signs of fatigue. For the past 11 days, Ethereum ETFs have recorded 358 million dollars in net outflows, a trend that coincides with a more uncertain market climate and Ethereum’s underperformance compared to Bitcoin. Robbie Mitchnick mentions a key factor at the Digital Asset Summit 2025 from March 18 to 20, 2025, in New York City: the absence of yield via staking. “A staking yield is an essential component of return on investment in this space,” he stated . Currently, the Ethereum ETFs do not allow investors to benefit from these passive incomes, which could hinder their competitiveness against available alternatives in the market. Institutional investors see several limitations in the current structure of Ethereum ETFs: Thus, the future of Ethereum ETFs will depend on their ability to evolve towards a more competitive structure and remain compliant with current regulations. Integrating staking into an Ethereum ETF is not just a simple administrative decision. As Mitchnick pointed out, several regulatory and technical obstacles make this option complex to implement. “It’s not as simple as a green light from regulation,” he explained. He emphasized that the issue involved “structural and compliance challenges” to resolve before being able to integrate this functionality. Staking, introduced in December 2020 with Ethereum’s transition to Proof-of-Stake, represents a colossal market, with 85 billion dollars in deposits, or 25% of the circulating supply. The yield generated by this activity ranges from 2% to 7% per year, a major financial asset for crypto investors. However, this strategy also carries specific risks, notably slashing, a penalty applied to validators who do not comply with network rules. This uncertainty could deter some institutional investors, who are reluctant to expose themselves to a model where their funds could be penalized in case of mismanagement of validator nodes. Joseph Lubin, co-founder of Ethereum, highlights that: The answer could lie in a narrative tailored to institutional investors. Rather than focusing discussions on technology and the complexity of the network, he advocates for an approach centered on concrete use cases, such as asset tokenization, decentralized identities, and decentralized finance. While waiting for advancements on staking, Ethereum ETFs will thus have to rely on these narratives to attract investors and justify their relevance compared to other more profitable financial vehicles. If BlackRock and other market players wish to enhance the attractiveness of Ethereum ETFs , they will have to find a way to integrate staking without compromising the security and compliance of the product. The question is even more strategic as institutional investors seek yield placements, and the lack of staking could limit the long-term interest in crypto ETFs.