Crypto Industry Weekly: Naver Acquires Upbit, Texas Launches Bitcoin Reserve, Layer-1 Innovation

Source: CryptoValleyJournal Original Title: Weekly review calendar week 48 – 2025 Original Link: https://cryptovalleyjournal.com/hot-topics/news/weekly-review-calendar-week-48-2025/

Weekly Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Review

A roundup of the most significant local and international events in blockchain and cryptocurrencies this week.

South Korean IT Giant Acquires Leading Crypto Exchange

Naver, South Korea’s leading internet conglomerate, will acquire crypto exchange Upbit by purchasing its parent company Dunamu Inc. in an all-stock transaction valued at USD 10.3 billion. The strategic importance for the tech giant lies in Upbit’s dominant market position, holding over 80 percent market share in South Korea – one of the world’s leading crypto trading hubs with around 18 million active users, more than a third of the total population. Upon completion, Dunamu will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Naver Financial, with Naver retaining 46.5 percent of voting rights. According to the company, the deal is expected to support future growth initiatives based on digital assets. It aims to transform Naver Financial from a payment service into a licensed money issuer and accelerate plans for a won-based stablecoin.

Texas Launches First State Strategic Bitcoin Reserve

The U.S. state of Texas has invested USD 5 million into the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, making it the first American state to allocate real capital to Bitcoin. The investment follows the Texas Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Investment Act passed in summer 2025, and aims to position Bitcoin as a strategic asset comparable to gold reserves – a hedge against inflation and economic instability. The ETF position serves as a temporary solution until permanent custody infrastructure with qualified providers becomes operational, requiring on-chain verifiability, multi-signature security models, and regular audit protocols. Observers expect the move to send a signal to other states and increase institutional confidence in digital assets as legitimate state-held reserves. A total of USD 10 million has been approved for the reserve program, with USD 5 million deployed in this initial phase.

Major Lawsuit Filed Against Leading Exchange Over Compliance Allegations

Over 300 victims and family members of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack have filed a lawsuit in a U.S. federal court against a major exchange, its co-founder, and other executives. The plaintiffs accuse the exchange of enabling terrorist financing through inadequate anti-terror controls and weak identity verification processes – allegedly facilitating over USD 1 billion for Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and Iran’s IRGC, including around USD 50 million after the attack. The legal basis is the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, which allows civil liability for supporting terrorism. The plaintiffs claim the exchange enabled anonymous transfers through “omnibus wallets” and lack of proper KYC, allowing funds to flow without detection or reporting. The exchange had already settled U.S. criminal charges over money laundering and sanctions violations in 2023 with a significant fine. The plaintiffs now allege that despite prior commitments, the exchange’s internal compliance structures have not undergone meaningful reform.

New Layer-1 Blockchain Launches with Advanced Technical Architecture

The Layer-1 blockchain project Monad went live this week with its mainnet and MON token. Its technical innovation lies in full EVM bytecode compatibility combined with pipelining and parallel transaction execution instead of sequential processing – designed to enable thousands of transactions per second with roughly one-second block times. Unlike “EVM-compatible” alternatives that require code modifications, Ethereum smart contracts can run on Monad without changes – placing it in direct competition with high-throughput networks like Solana and Avalanche. The architecture is optimized for moderate hardware to maintain decentralization and aims for single-slot finality. At launch, however, the network recorded under USD 100 million in total value locked and relatively low DEX volume. Market sentiment suggests that the Layer-1 space is nearing saturation.

Premium Domain as Strategic Asset

In the market where trust is decisive, premium domains serve as instant credibility anchors. Sales like ETH.com for USD 2 million or Voice.com for USD 30 million highlight the high value of such digital assets. Such premium names benefit from strong signaling power and serve as powerful brand assets in fintech and Web3 sectors.