A report by Tiger Research, produced with Chainalysis data, argues that South Korea is losing crypto activity, revenue, and product-building capacity to offshore venues as local investors seek products unavailable at home. By tracking roughly 120,000 wallets linked to Korean users, the study estimates that around KRW 700 trillion, or about $530 billion, flowed from Korean exchanges to overseas platforms between 2021 and 2026. The report says the migration does not stop at centralized exchanges. Korean-linked wallets were also active in decentralized derivatives trading, prediction markets, and crypto card spending, showing that unmet demand has spread across the broader on-chain economy. Tiger Research estimates that Korean users generated about $3.5 billion in fees for overseas exchanges in 2025 and another $900 million in the first half of 2026. The report argues that foreign operators are gaining not only fee income, but also customer relationships, trading data, and operational know-how. It adds that South Korea still has a window to respond, but says any reversal would require both a market structure that can retain capital domestically and clearer rules that reduce friction for funds returning from offshore venues.

Crypto markets on Aug. 10 were driven by a mix of trading data, policy signals, corporate developments and geopolitical headlines. On centralized exchanges, BMT and TUT posted the largest gains among the top 10 tokens by trading volume, while OKX’s 24-hour leaderboard was led by BOME and PEOPLE. On-chain, GMGN’s most watched meme tokens were TODA, REMUS, LOUIE, RISK and PUMPGUY. Away from the tape, Unitree Robotics officially opened subscriptions for its STAR Market IPO, with the market estimating an allotment rate of just 0.02% to 0.03%. In U.S. crypto legislation, Polymarket data showed the probability of the CLARITY Act becoming law by Dec. 31 had dropped to 21%, while Senate procedure points to a first cloture vote on Sept. 15. Industry updates included Bithumb restricting deposits and withdrawals tied to three entities sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, fresh data showing more than 100 crypto projects have shut down or filed for bankruptcy in 2026 so far, and DeFiLlama figures showing Pump.fun’s 30-day protocol revenue moved ahead of Hyperliquid. Separate updates covered Strategy’s lack of Bitcoin purchases since June, a $10.5 million seed round for Dow Protocol, and proposed South Korean tax and VASP rule changes.

Crypto payment cards processed $759 million in spending across nearly 8.8 million transactions in July 2026, according to fresh data shared by a16z crypto on X. The figures were up sharply from roughly $306 million and about 5.2 million transactions a year earlier, pointing to much heavier use of stablecoin-linked cards for everyday purchases rather than large transfers. Based on the monthly total and transaction count, average ticket size came to about $86. The report said cardholders typically spend crypto assets, mostly stablecoins, which are converted into local fiat at checkout, letting merchants treat the payment like a standard card purchase. Several issuers are active in the segment, including RedotPay, EtherFi, KAST, Karta, Plasma One, Tria and Wirex One, with RedotPay described as the largest contributor by spending volume. Paymentscan data also showed a major shift in stablecoin mix. In July 2026, USDC accounted for 58% of crypto card spending and USDT for 26%, while euro stablecoin EURe had held as much as 88% in early 2024. The story also flagged limits in the dataset: some figures are self-reported by issuers and not fully verifiable on-chain, and activity is concentrated among a small number of providers.

Monthly spending on crypto payment cards has reached $759 million, according to fresh data from a16z crypto. The figure marks a jump from the niche-scale volume recorded in earlier periods. These cards let users spend cryptocurrency wherever traditional card networks are accepted; at the point of sale, the stablecoin is converted into local currency, so the transaction looks like an ordinary card payment to the merchant. As of July 31, RedotPay accounted for the vast majority of spending across card programs, while EtherFi, KAST and Karta have been gradually expanding their share since late 2025. a16z crypto also said cardholders don't need a traditional bank account: they can deposit stablecoins with the issuer or hold tokens in self-custody. That, the firm says, broadens access to dollar-denominated accounts for global users and gives stablecoin holders a convenient way to spend.

Spending on crypto payment cards climbed to a record $748.7 million in July, according to onchain analytics tracker Paymentscan, marking the fifth straight month of increases. The figure was up 19.1% from June’s $628.7 million and 144.7% from $306 million a year earlier. Paymentscan, which tracks card transactions across roughly 20 chains, also recorded all-time highs in user activity, with 8.77 million transactions and 158,857 active addresses in July. February was the last month to show a decline, and every month since March has set a fresh record. At the card-provider level, RedotPay handled $395.1 million in July, accounting for more than half of the tracked volume. Ether.fi’s Cash card ranked second with $100.3 million, followed by KAST at $89.6 million. Smaller programs posted the fastest month-over-month growth, including Avalanche Card, Plasma One, and Exa. The sector also set a single-day record of $36.8 million on July 20, when KAST’s daily volume exceeded RedotPay’s for the first time during a points promotion tied to its planned fourth-quarter token generation event. Paymentscan said cumulative deposits into crypto cards crossed $10 billion around July 1.

Crypto card monthly volume reached a record $607 million in March 2026, with stablecoins leading spending and Visa processing 97% of total volume. TRON, BNB Chain, and Solana were the main blockchain networks behind transfers.

Pudgy Penguins teams up with KAST to launch the Visa-backed Pengu Card, live in 170+ countries and 150M+ merchants. Users can spend crypto directly without manual conversion, earning up to 12% cashback and 7-10% APY on idle balances.

Coinfest Asia 2026 will take place August 20-21 at Melasti Beach, Bali, adopting a beach club concept. Confirmed speakers include Nansen CEO, Trust Wallet CEO, and more. Asia now accounts for nearly 60% of global crypto users.