Tether is charged with freezing "pig killing plate" cryptocurrency, 6600 students receive crypto-l

Thailand

Thai businessmen have sued Tether for freezing US$42 million in the "Pig Pork" case.

Two Thai businessmen have sued stablecoin publisher Tether in New York District Court, accusing it of illegally freezing US$42.4 million in Tether USDt (USDT). The incident occurred in October 2025 and was related to a broader "pig killing plate" fraud case. The plaintiff alleges that Tether froze the funds without a court warrant after receiving an informal request from the U.S. Homeland Security Investigation. It was not until February 2026 that the Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina issued a seizure order against the funds, requiring the tokens to be destroyed and reissued into government wallets. Although the plaintiff did not deny participating in the investment scam, the case tested the stablecoin issuer's freezing authority.

Thailand's Chenakami currency travel rules include self-managed wallet inspections

Thailand is strengthening supervision of cryptocurrency transfers, including transactions involving self-managed wallets, to align with global anti-money laundering standards. The Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand (SEC) has issued new travel rules requiring digital asset operators to collect information on parties involved in cryptocurrency transfers. The rule will take effect on February 27, 2027.

Thailand's SEC proposes to allow retail investors to trade regulated overseas crypto derivatives

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand (SEC) has proposed allowing intermediaries to provide retail investors with trading services for some overseas digital asset derivatives. According to the proposal, compliant products need to be similar to crypto derivatives traded in Thailand, including their underlying assets, maturity, leverage and settlement methods. In addition, the product must be traded on an exchange that uses central counterparty clearing and is supervised by a member of a specific international regulatory or exchange organization. The consultation period is open until September 30.

Asia

Pencil Finance completes a US$1 million online lending cycle for 6600 students in Southeast Asia

Pencil Finance has completed a US$1 million online student loan round to provide funding to 6600 students in Southeast Asia who are underserved by traditional financial institutions. The students came from 118 schools and universities, of which approximately 1050 received direct funding. Pencil said the loan is designed for students who are ignored by traditional financial institutions, with 50% of the borrowers being women and 93% coming from low-income families. Pencil Finance said this is the first fully on-chain student loan cycle, with all transactions recorded transparently on the blockchain.

Asian Crypto Hosting Cooperation: Ripple and Coincheck reach an agreement

Ripple has partnered with digital asset infrastructure company SettleMint to provide hosting, publishing and management solutions for financial institutions that cover the entire life cycle of tokenized assets. Digital asset service provider Coincheck Group has also partnered with wallet infrastructure provider DFNS to jointly develop digital asset wallet technology and custody services in Japan.

Singapore

Singapore considers recognizing some overseas issued stablecoins

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is reconsidering previous restrictions on cross-jurisdictional issuance of stablecoins, proposing to provide a path for some jointly issued tokens to comply with its regulatory framework. According to a proposal, stablecoins jointly issued by Singapore publishers and foreign publishers can be included in this framework supervision if the relevant risks are fully mitigated and labeled as "MAS Regulated stablecoins." MAS is also considering recognizing a small number of foreign-issued stablecoins that are regulated under a comparable overseas framework, citing their potential use in cross-border wholesale transactions.

Australia

Australia warns unlicensed crypto companies: a maximum fine of 10% of annual turnover

Australia cryptocurrency companies relying on temporary regulatory exemptions must apply for financial services licenses before September 30, otherwise they may face fines of up to 10% of annual turnover. The Australia Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said companies that require Australia financial services licences must apply for or amend existing licences before the deadline. So far, ASIC has received more than 45 license applications related to digital assets.

United Arab Emirates

Standard Chartered Bank launches spot bitcoin and Ethereum transactions in United Arab Emirates

London-based multinational bank Standard Chartered Bank has launched spot bitcoin and Ethereum transactions for institutional clients in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Standard Chartered said the move made it the first global bank to provide institutional digital asset trading in the region and the first Global Systematically Important Bank (G-SIB) to provide similar services.

Japan

Japan Remixpoint sells all altcoins

Remixpoint, one of Japan's largest corporate Bitcoin holders, has sold all of its altcoins and currently holds only about 1506 bitcoins (approximately US$115 million), thereby focusing its cryptocurrency strategy on Bitcoin. According to company disclosures, Remixpoint sold its holdings of Ethereum, Solana, XRP and Dogecoin for a total of 878.8 million yen (approximately US$5.5 million), with a profit of 117.8 million yen (approximately US$736,000). The company gained gains from sales of Ethereum, Solana and XRP, but lost 3.26 million yen (about $20,000) on its Dogecoin position.

Japanese regulators seek exemption from tax reporting for stablecoins

Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) has submitted a request to exempt trusted stablecoins from mandatory tax reporting obligations starting from fiscal year 2027.

Metaplanet transfers 4800 bitcoins worth US$377 million to Coinbase

The Japanese Bitcoin treasury company has transferred 10,270 bitcoins to Coinbase Prime this week, sparking market speculation about its sale of positions.

Japan's Financial Services Agency warns Hong Kong company IZAKAYA to provide services without registration

The Financial Services Agency of Japan has issued a formal warning to Hong Kong-based Izakaya Limited, accusing its cryptocurrency exchange services of being unregistered.

SBI Holdings acquires 20% stake in Indonesia's Ajaib Group

Japan's SBI Holdings will spend US$270 million to acquire a 20% stake in Indonesian online broker Ajaib Group, aiming to expand its crypto business into the region and promote SBI's yen stablecin JPYSC.

Hong Kong

Hashkey becomes the first Asian crypto service provider to join the DTCC Working Group

Hashkey has joined the American Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) Digital Asset Advisory Services Industry Working Group, becoming its first Asian digital asset service provider. Hashkey joins more than 100 financial institutions around the world, including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange. DTCC holds US$114 trillion in liquid assets, including stocks and exchange-traded funds. The working group aims to connect traditional finance with decentralized finance (DeFi) infrastructure, and DTCC plans to launch access to tokenized securities in October.

The atmosphere at Bitcoin Asia Conference is depressed

According to the South China Morning Post, the atmosphere at the Bitcoin Asia Conference in Hong Kong was depressed. Although Binance founder Zhao Changpeng delivered an inspiring speech declaring that Bitcoin "will definitely become more important than gold," the negative sentiment brought by the bear market is still evident. Brandon Green, CEO of conference organizer BTC, said in his opening speech: "Psychologically, I think this is one of the most difficult bear markets we have ever experienced, because this time it's not just Bitcoin prices that have been hit, the self-esteem of Bitcoin believers has also been hit."

OSL Group reports revenue growth of 65.8%

Hong Kong digital assets company OSL Group announced first-half financial results, with revenue rising 65.8% year-on-year.

Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission warns that Star Bridge Capital is not licensed

Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has placed Star Bridge Capital Group on its warning list after the company experienced an abnormal forced liquidation that caused traders to lose millions of dollars.

South Korea

Future assets announce cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and tokenization plans: Layout around Digital X

According to the Korea Times, South Korean financial group Mirae Asset plans to build a 150 trillion won (approximately US$109 billion) digital asset business around the cryptocurrency exchange Digital X (formerly known as Korbit). According to the report, Digital X will focus on the issuance of cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, real-world assets and securities tokens, and plans to tokenize real resource assets such as gold, silver and electricity. This expansion plan follows Future Asset Consulting's acquisition of 97.15% of Kbit's shares in July for a cumulative sum of 141.4 billion won. The exchange was subsequently renamed Digital X, marking the first time a subsidiary of Korea Financial Group has gained control of a domestic crypto exchange.