The ruling party in South Korea has begun pushing for a two-year delay in the implementation of the cryptocurrency capital gains tax as part of its election promise for the upcoming April elections. Local media, "Pioneer Business Daily," reported that the party believes that taxation of cryptocurrencies is only possible after establishing this basic framework. A representative of the party also emphasized that the tax base has not yet been determined. The official explained that, unlike stock exchanges, no entity is authorized to supervise cryptocurrency transactions. The party believes that it will take two years to establish such a system. The ruling party official also said that taxes should protect the country's property and life, and pointed out that some aspects of the government have "ignored" the cryptocurrency market so far. It is reported that the implementation of this tax has been delayed several times. The initial plan was to implement the tax in 2022. However, lawmakers reached an agreement to delay the implementation of the tax until 2023, citing flaws in the information collection process carried out by the National Tax Service (NTS). In July 2022, government officials announced another two-year delay in the implementation of a 20% cryptocurrency capital gains tax. This time, lawmakers mentioned the stagnant market conditions in the cryptocurrency field and the need for time to prepare investor protection measures.

US Congressman Tom Emmer stated in a post that today, I asked the Treasury Secretary of FinCEN and OFAC about The Wall Street Journal's report on Hamas' digital asset fundraising activities. Deputy Secretary of State Nelson publicly confirmed that The Wall Street Journal's data is inaccurate, and cryptocurrency is not even a popular tool for Hamas terrorists.

Data shows that the total market value of cryptocurrencies has exceeded $2 trillion, currently at $2,000,121,502,290, with a 24-hour increase of 1.6% and a 24-hour trading volume of $90,043,167,767.

South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges Upbit and Bithumb have announced that members of the Digital Asset Exchange Association (DAXA) in South Korea have extended the warning period for Somesing (SSX) until February 27th. It is reported that in order to protect investors, DAXA member companies can take measures such as urging caution in investment, designating warning/caution items, and terminating trading support.

Scopescan monitoring showed that a certain whale address continued to increase its holdings of OP. 5 hours ago, the address bought 32,200 OP, worth $1.2 million.

A prosecutor claimed at the beginning of the trial of a Russian-Swedish man that his cryptocurrency mixing service was a key link in transferring tens of millions of dollars from dark web markets known for selling illegal drugs. Prosecutor Christopher Brown stated in his opening statement at the Washington Federal Court that Roman Sterlingov operated Bitcoin Fog, an "online money laundering service" that mixed tokens from different owners to make transactions difficult to trace. Brown added that Sterlingov took measures to ensure that his role in launching the mixer was "always hidden".

The Blockchain Association and 80 former national security and military professionals wrote another letter to congressional leaders, this time calling for lawmakers to reject a bill aimed at bringing cryptocurrency companies into anti-money laundering policies. In a letter to four members of the House of Representatives and two senators, signatories said that the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act (DAAMLA) "jeopardizes our country's strategic advantage, threatens tens of thousands of American jobs, and has little impact on the illegal actors it targets." The signatories added that the bill, if passed, could push digital asset companies overseas, potentially increasing the liquidity of unregulated offshore exchanges. Tuesday's letter is the latest in a series of communications between the Blockchain Association, members of Congress, and former government officials.

Forbes has released its annual list of 50 innovative fintech companies, with only three cryptocurrency companies making the cut: Chainalysis, Fireblocks, and Gauntlet. It is reported that the criteria for Forbes' innovative fintech company selection is that the company must be privately owned and headquartered in the United States.

The Block's research analyst Rebecca Stevens posted on X platform that data shows that despite a slowdown in cryptocurrency exchange trading volume in recent times, the monthly total trading volume in January still exceeded that of December 2023, reaching $1.15 trillion. It is worth noting that although exchange trading volume has been declining since the launch of spot ETFs, it is still relatively high compared to last year, at around $27 billion per day.

Thailand has extended the VAT exemption period for cryptocurrency trading in order to develop a digital asset center. The exemption applies to brokers and traders regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and exempts 7% VAT.