PA Daily News | YZi Labs leads $52 million funding round for RoboForce; Argentina blocks prediction market platform Polymarket

Today's top news highlights:

South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service, Customs Service, and credit card companies have joined forces to crack down on cryptocurrency "currency exchange" and illegal overseas cash withdrawals.

An Argentine court has ordered a complete shutdown of the prediction market platform Polymarket.

Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) plans to increase the maximum penalty for unlicensed cryptocurrency sales to 10 years.

Binance: Katana (KAT) tokens will begin circulating on March 18th at 19:00.

Binance lists EWJUSDT perpetual contracts related to Japanese stock indices.

YZi Labs announced that it led a $52 million funding round for Silicon Valley AI robotics company RoboForce.

Singapore-based stablecoin payment infrastructure company Dtcpay completes $10 million Series A funding round.

Cango's financial report: 4,451 bitcoins were sold in February this year, and total revenue for the entire year of 2025 will reach $688 million.

Regulation & Macro

South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service, Customs Service, and credit card companies have joined forces to crack down on cryptocurrency "currency exchange" and illegal overseas cash withdrawals.

On the same day, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), the Korea Customs Service, the Credit Finance Association, and nine credit card companies in South Korea signed a "Public-Private Partnership Agreement to Block Transnational Criminal Funds." This plan aims to cut off the funding chains for telephone scams and virtual asset crimes at their source by analyzing overseas credit card usage details and immigration records. Previously, due to information gaps between agencies, the Korea Customs Service, while possessing immigration data, could not monitor abnormal overseas spending in real time, while credit card companies, although having payment data, lacked information on cardholders' customs clearance activities. Under the new mechanism, the Korea Customs Service will provide credit card companies with information on high-risk transactions, while the FSS will develop guidelines authorizing credit card companies to take effective measures such as directly suspending transactions upon detecting anomalies.

Lee Chan-jin, head of the Financial Supervisory Service of South Korea, stated that this move signifies the establishment of a routine monitoring system in South Korea to prevent the outflow of criminal proceeds overseas at their source. The system will focus on precisely targeting "currency exchange" activities involving the use of overseas credit cards to withdraw cash from ATMs abroad and laundering money through cryptocurrencies.

The Central Bank of Russia plans to allow digital financial assets to circulate on open networks such as Ethereum in order to attract foreign investment.

According to Izvestia, the Central Bank of Russia has submitted a proposal to the government to allow digital financial assets to circulate on open blockchain networks such as Ethereum, aiming to attract foreign investment under sanctions. The central bank governor stated that this move is crucial for attracting overseas investment and facilitating cross-border settlements. If approved, the proposal would enable Russian companies to issue digital financial assets on foreign platforms, potentially allowing these assets to be listed on major cryptocurrency exchanges and DeFi protocols, thus restoring international liquidity for Russian companies. The central bank plans to submit a draft amendment in the summer of 2026.

The Israeli military assesses that it has successfully assassinated the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.

Israeli media reported on the 17th that the Israeli military assesses it has successfully assassinated Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council. Iran has not yet commented on this.

An Argentine court has ordered a complete shutdown of the prediction market platform Polymarket.

Argentine judicial authorities have ordered an immediate and complete shutdown of the prediction market platform Polymarket, with the ban applying throughout Argentina. They have also instructed Google and Apple to remove the platform's mobile app from their Android and iOS app stores. The ruling stems from a complaint by the Buenos Aires lottery authorities, who accused Polymarket of operating an unauthorized online gambling system under the guise of a "prediction market."

Prosecutors pointed out that the platform operated without a license in Argentina, accepted cryptocurrency and credit card payments, did not require identity or age verification, and allowed accounts to be created in minutes, significantly increasing user risk, including minors participating in gambling. Argentina became the second Latin American country, after Colombia, to impose a comprehensive ban on the platform. Despite the ruling, Argentine users could still access the service as of 13:05 local time on Monday.

Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) plans to increase the maximum penalty for unlicensed cryptocurrency sales to 10 years.

According to the Nikkei, Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) plans to significantly increase penalties for unregistered cryptocurrency businesses. The maximum imprisonment sentence for unregistered sale of crypto assets will be increased from three years to up to ten years, and the maximum fine will be raised from 3 million yen to 10 million yen. The regulator also intends to transfer cryptocurrency regulation from the Payment Services Act to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act through revisions to strengthen oversight of cryptocurrency trading platforms and emphasize investor protection.

Project Updates

Binance is about to launch an AI product and is now holding a naming contest.

Binance has announced the upcoming launch of an AI product, which is currently unnamed. Binance has launched a naming contest, inviting users to submit creative names that fit Binance's style and their reasons. The top 10 entries will each receive a 50 USDT reward. The contest runs from March 17th to 21st.

Binance: Katana (KAT) tokens will begin circulating on March 18th at 19:00.

Binance Wallet announced on its X platform that the Katana (KAT) token will be available for trading on March 18, 2026 at 19:00 (UTC+8). Users who have claimed Prime Sale Keys can check their balance and start trading KAT tokens on Binance Alpha immediately after the token's listing.

MetaPlanet transferred 4,986 BTC to a new wallet, worth $368 million.

According to Onchain Lens, after a three-month hiatus, MetaPlanet transferred 4,986 BTC (worth $368.3 million) to a new wallet, possibly just a reorganization of its funds.

PANews has launched its official Skills toolset, enabling features such as personalized daily report generation, hot topic monitoring, and automatic column publishing.

Coinbase: The x402 protocol has received several updates and now supports all ERC-20 tokens.

Coinbase's developer platform announced on the X platform several key updates to the x402 protocol: It now supports all ERC-20 tokens, allowing developers to accept on-chain payments for any ERC-20 token, including USDC, EURC, and even Memecoin, via EIP-3009 and Permit2; a new Sign-in-with-X feature allows buyers to access purchased content via wallet login, and sellers can offer payment-free access to returning customers, supporting EVM and Solana wallets; and the x402 MCP package is now available, enabling developers to monetize any MCP tool and directly integrate it into AI workflows. These updates aim to make x402 the most flexible and open internet-native standard.

The 15th Five-Year Plan outlines the implementation of a national blockchain network construction project and active participation in international governance in areas such as digital currency.

The full text of the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China has been released. It outlines the following: Building a modern infrastructure system, constructing new infrastructure with a moderately advanced pace, implementing the national blockchain network construction project, strengthening core digital economy industries, developing next-generation communication technologies, cloud computing, blockchain, and other industries, and creating internationally competitive digital industry clusters. It also calls for active participation in international governance in areas such as artificial intelligence, digital currency, and cross-border data flows, reaching greater consensus on data security, privacy protection, and cross-border law enforcement cooperation, and strengthening international judicial coordination and mutual recognition of rules. Finally, it emphasizes the steady development of the digital yuan and accelerating the construction of Shanghai as an international financial center.

The Cysic Foundation's official X account, @cysic_fdn, has been hacked. Please do not interact with suspicious posts.

Cysic issued a warning on its X platform stating that the official Cysic Foundation X account, @cysic_fdn, was compromised due to unauthorized delegated operations. The team is currently revoking access and protecting the account, advising users to ignore any suspicious posts in the meantime.

The Cosmos ecosystem project Neutron will transition to a long-term maintenance model, with many services being gradually shut down.

Neutron, a Cosmos ecosystem project, has announced its transition to a long-term maintenance mode. Due to unfavorable market conditions over the past few months rendering its original strategy ineffective, and after failing to find alternative paths such as new product development, blockchain acquisitions, and a new leadership, Neutron has decided to prioritize the interests of its users and builders by transitioning the network to a long-term maintenance state. The DEX and Supervault will be suspended and enter a withdrawal-only mode no later than April 17th. dNTRN holders can redeem their NTRN through the Drop website or the Neutron application starting March 23rd. wstETH holders must bridge back to Ethereum by June 30th; the redemption mechanism for NTRN holders will be announced separately. Hadron Labs will be responsible for network maintenance until June 30, 2026, after which a manual withdrawal guide will be released. Governance will transition from a custom system to the standard Cosmos staking model, inflation will be dynamically adjusted, and the validator set will be reduced.

The key timeline is as follows:

• March 16: Supervault deposits have been disabled, and the BTCFi event has ended;

• March 23: dNTRN redemption opens (via Drop website or Neutron app).

• March 27: Deadline for price inquiry regarding the right to maintain rights;

• April: Proposed NTRN redemption mechanism (details pending); DEX and Supervault suspended operations and entered withdrawal-only mode.

• April 30: Fireblocks ended support for Neutron;

• Early May: Network upgrade, introducing new governance, staking, and token economic models;

• June 30: Hadron Labs maintenance is complete; the withdrawal portal is no longer supported; a manual withdrawal guide has been released.

• July to September: DAO commissions were gradually withdrawn and destroyed.

Binance lists EWJUSDT perpetual contracts related to Japanese stock indices.

Binance Futures will launch the EWJUSDT USDⓈ base index perpetual contract on March 19, 2026 at 21:30 (UTC+8), based on the iShares MSCI Japan ETF (code: EWJ). It will offer up to 10x leverage, support 24/7 trading and multi-asset mode, and allow the use of assets such as BTC as margin.

Binance launched Centrifuge (CFG) and applied seed tags.

Investment and financing news

Singapore-based stablecoin payment infrastructure company Dtcpay completes $10 million Series A funding round.

According to Tech in Asia, Singapore-based stablecoin payment infrastructure company Dtcpay announced the completion of a $10 million Series A funding round, led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India.

The company has obtained a license to operate an electronic money institution in Luxembourg to expand its regulated payment services in the European Economic Area. Dtcpay builds stablecoin payment infrastructure for businesses and consumers and has partnered with Visa to launch cards that connect digital and traditional finance. Its platform supports real-time settlement between stablecoins and fiat currencies.

YZi Labs announced that it led a $52 million funding round for Silicon Valley AI robotics company RoboForce.

According to official news, YZi Labs announced that it led a $52 million funding round for RoboForce, a Silicon Valley AI robotics company. RoboForce focuses on physical AI robotic systems, aiming to address labor shortages in industrial sectors with its flagship product, the TITAN robot. The TITAN robot is designed for high-intensity industrial environments such as solar power, data centers, shipping, mining, and manufacturing, boasting millimeter-level precision and a 40kg payload capacity with dual arms. RoboForce has already secured over 11,000 pre-orders and is collaborating extensively with NVIDIA on computing and simulation platforms. Ella Zhang, Managing Partner of YZi Labs, will join RoboForce's board of directors.

Opinions & Analysis

Yi Lihua: Fully invested, expecting a rebound; BTC may rebound to $85,000 to $90,000.

Liquid Capital founder Yi Lihua posted: "Recently, I've been primarily focused on preparing for the new fund and platform, and haven't been actively posting on Twitter. Firstly, it's inappropriate to frequently share short-term market analysis and trading information. Secondly, I'm currently fully invested and expecting a rebound; I'm not anticipating a reversal or shorting. A significant rebound is inevitable after a substantial drop, and a BTC rebound to $85,000 to $90,000 would be reasonable. Finally, there have been some outrageous attempts to gain attention. In my ten years in the crypto industry, I've experienced numerous failed collaborations, investments, and trades, but I've always maintained a hard-working attitude, a positive mindset, and integrity. Self-reliance leads to strength."

10x Research: Bitcoin's recent surge may be driven by a large number of put option liquidations.

Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research, stated that the recent Bitcoin rally was primarily driven by a large number of put option sell orders with strike prices around $55,000 and $60,000. As these options neared expiration and became increasingly unlikely to be exercised, traders closed out these positions, forcing market makers to buy Bitcoin to rebalance their exposure, creating buying pressure that supported the price increase. Thielen pointed out that there has been no significant buying of call options yet, indicating that the rise is mainly driven by hedging rather than active bullish sentiment. Bitcoin briefly broke through $76,000 this morning, marking its first effective breakout of the long-term resistance zone of $73,750-$74,400 since 2024, boosting the overall crypto market.

Important data

South Korean media reports that Bitmax, a Bitcoin treasury company, has secretly transferred all 550 Bitcoins it holds to a centralized exchange (CEX).

According to South Korean media outlet Maeil Business Newspaper, Bitmax, a KOSDAQ-listed company in South Korea, transferred all of its more than 550 Bitcoins to cryptocurrency exchanges such as OKX, Bitget, Binance, and Bybit before implementing a 4-to-1 gratuitous capital reduction. On-chain tracking shows that the transfers began on January 15th in batches of 100 or 50 Bitcoins, and were completed by February 5th. Bitmax confirmed that it had transferred the Bitcoins from its original custodian, Koda, to the aforementioned exchanges, but stated that it still holds all of the Bitcoins and declined to disclose the reason for the transfer. Currently, its official website still displays proof of balance based on Koda custody.

In March of last year, Bitmax announced its Bitcoin Treasury strategy, allowing investors to indirectly gain Bitcoin exposure by purchasing its shares. If it has sold the Bitcoin it transferred, it means the company has liquidated its previously advertised Bitcoin holdings without any prior announcement. Bitmax completed a 4-to-1 gratuitous capital reduction on March 9th to improve its financial structure. Since current regulations do not mandate disclosure, Bitmax is not required to report its Bitcoin sales to the Financial Supervisory Service of Korea.

Cango's financial report: 4,451 bitcoins were sold in February this year, and total revenue for the entire year of 2025 will reach $688 million.

According to official news, Cango, a US-listed Bitcoin mining company, released its Q4 and full-year financial report for 2025. Its total revenue for 2025 reached $688 million, producing 6,594.6 Bitcoins. In Q4, it recorded total revenue of $179 million, producing 1,718.3 Bitcoins, and achieved positive EBITDA for the full year. The net loss attributable to shareholders for 2025 was $622 million, primarily due to non-cash and non-recurring items, including a one-time book loss from the complete divestiture of its China business and a revaluation loss on equity acquisition consideration due to rising share price.

In addition, in February 2026, the company strategically disposed of 4,451 BTC in stock and repaid loans to reduce its debt; completed the $10.5 million capital injection from shareholders; and signed a new round of capital injection agreements with Armada Network Limited and Fortune Peak Limited totaling $65 million.

Bitcoin spot ETFs saw a total net inflow of $202 million yesterday, marking the sixth consecutive day of net inflows.

Ethereum spot ETFs saw a total net inflow of $35.8963 million yesterday, marking the fifth consecutive day of net inflows.

Strategy purchased 22,337 BTC last week for approximately $1.57 billion, bringing its total holdings to over 760,000 BTC.

Strategy purchased 22,337 BTC for approximately $1.57 billion between March 9 and March 15, at an average price of approximately $70,194. As of March 15, 2026, its total Bitcoin holdings will reach 761,068, with a cumulative purchase cost of approximately $57.61 billion and an average price of approximately $75,696.