Metaplanet equity backlash, SE Asia crypto funding doubles: Asia Express
Shareholders of Bitcoin treasury company Metaplanet are seething over equity allocations for insiders, while new figures cement Singapore’s role as the top…
SGX's bitcoin and ether perpetual futures are now open to U.S. institutions
The Singapore Exchange says U.S. institutions can now trade its bitcoin and ether perpetual futures, a milestone that bridges U.S. trading desks with Asian…
Southeast Asia’s crypto funding rebounds to $680 million as investors focus on mature firms
Blockchain investment in Southeast Asia in 2026 has been led by crypto financial services, though funding remains heavily concentrated in Singapore and a…
FinCEN ties $13B in crypto scams to non-US operations
The agency reported that “transnational criminal organizations” based in compounds in Southeast Asia were largely behind digital asset scams targeting US…
Tether sued over frozen ‘pig butcher’ coins, 6,600 students get crypto loans: Asia Express
Thai businessmen sue Tether over $42M frozen USDT tied to pig butchering scam, Aussie crypto firms face big fines unless they meet licensing deadline.…
Bitget in talks with Wall Street giants including BlackRock to fuel Asian distribution
Gracy Chen highlighted the world's largest asset manager as one example of such a firm seeking to expand distribution of their tokenized ETFs in the region.…
Pencil Finance completes $1M onchain lending cycle for 6.6K students in Southeast Asia
Pencil Finance said that its firstofakind loan offered financing to 6,600 students in Southeast Asia who were underserved by traditional lenders.…
Hashkey joins DTCC working group as first Asian crypto service provider
Hashkey joined the DTCC’s working group on tokenization innovation as the first Asian crypto service provider to join with over 100 financial institutions,…
Asia sees digital asset custody infrastructure deals from Ripple, Coincheck
Ripple was among the latest blockchain companies to sign a strategic partnership to build more custody and tokenized asset management solutions for Asian…
SBI buys 20% stake in Indonesia's Ajaib for $270 million to expand yen stablecoin in Southeast Asia
The Japanese financial giant is acquiring a 20% stake in the Indonesian online brokerage to build a crossborder, blockchainbased settlement network.…
Visa doubles down on South Korea with Upbit operator Dunamu on stablecoin payments
Following a deal with Shinhan Financial, the global payments giant is widening its footprint in Asia’s major crypto hub through South Korea's largest exchange.…
Second straight rate hike for Asia’s number-three economy as Nvidia-led AI expansion continues
The Bank of Korea tightened monetary policy by 25 basis points to 3% Thursday while simultaneously raising growth forecasts. Asia’s thirdlargest economy is…