Tether Sued Over Frozen ‘Pig Butcher’ Coins, 6,600 Students Get Crypto Loans: Asia Express

THAILAND

Thai businessmen sue Tether for freezing $42M in $61M pig butchering case

Two Thai businessmen have sued stablecoin issuer Tether in a New York district court, claiming it illegally froze $42.4 million in Tether USDt (USDT) in October, as part of a broader case tied to a pig butchering scheme.

The plaintiffs claimed that Tether illegally froze the $42 million without a warrant in October 2025, following an informal request from US Homeland Security Investigations.

Authorities in the Eastern District of North Carolina only issued a seizure warrant for the funds later in February 2026. The warrant directed the burn and reissuance of the tokens to a government wallet. 

While the plaintiffs didn’t dispute their involvement in the investment scam, the lawsuit tests the freezing authority of stablecoin issuers.

Thailand adopts crypto Travel Rule with self-custodial wallet checks

Thailand is tightening oversight of crypto transfers, including transactions involving self-custodial wallets, as it moves to align with global Anti-Money Laundering (AML) standards.

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued new Travel Rule regulations requiring digital asset operators to collect information about parties involved in crypto transfer.

The rules will take effect on Feb. 27, 2027.

Thailand SEC proposes retail access to regulated overseas crypto derivatives

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed allowing intermediaries to facilitate retail access to certain digital asset derivatives traded overseas. 

Under the proposal, eligible products would need to resemble crypto derivatives traded in Thailand, including their underlying assets, maturity, leverage and settlement methods. 

The products must also trade on an exchange that uses a central counterparty for clearing and is overseen by a regulator belonging to specified international regulatory or exchange groups. 

The consultation remains open until Sept. 30.

ASIA

Pencil Finance completes $1M onchain lending cycle for 6.6K students in Southeast Asia

Pencil Finance has completed a $1 million onchain student loan cycle, offering financing to 6,600 students in Southeast Asia who were underserved by traditional lenders.

Of the 6,600 students across 118 schools and universities in Southeast Asia, about 1,050 received direct funding. Pencil said the loans were designed for students underserved by traditional lenders, with 50% female borrowers and 93% stemming from lower-income households.

Pencil Finance claims this is the first-ever fully onchain lending cycle financing student loans transparently recorded on the blockchain network.

Asia crypto custody deals from Ripple and Coincheck

Ripple has partnered with digital asset infrastructure company SettleMint to offer financial institutions solutions for custody, issuance and management of tokenized assets across their full lifecycle.

Digital asset service provider Coincheck Group has also partnered with wallet infrastructure provider DFNS to build digital asset wallet technology and custody services in Japan.

SINGAPORE

Singapore weighs recognizing some foreign-issued stablecoins

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is reconsidering its earlier restriction on stablecoins issued across multiple jurisdictions, proposing a route for some jointly issued tokens to qualify under its regulatory framework.

Under one proposal, stablecoins jointly issued by a Singapore issuer and a foreign issuer could be regulated under the framework and labeled “MAS-regulated stablecoins,” provided that the associated risks are sufficiently mitigated.

MAS is also considering recognizing a limited number of foreign-issued stablecoins regulated under comparable overseas frameworks, citing their potential use in cross-border wholesale transactions.

AUSTRALIA

Australia warns unlicensed crypto firms of fines up to 10% of annual turnover

Australian crypto companies relying on temporary regulatory relief have until Sept. 30 to apply for a financial services license or risk penalties, including fines reaching 10% of their annual turnover. 

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said businesses requiring an Australian Financial Services license must apply for one or seek changes to an existing license before the deadline. 

ASIC has recorded more than 45 digital asset-related license applications to date. 

UAE

Standard Chartered launches spot Bitcoin and Ether trading in UAE

London-headquartered multinational bank Standard Chartered has launched spot Bitcoin and Ether trading for institutional clients in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The move makes Standard Chartered the first global bank to offer institutional digital asset trading in the region and the first Global Systemically Important Bank (G-SIB) with a similar offering, the bank said.

JAPAN

Japan’s Remixpoint dumps altcoins

Remixpoint, one of Japan’s largest corporate Bitcoin holders, sold all its altcoins, leaving about 1,506 BTC ($115 million) as its only cryptocurrency holding as it concentrates its crypto strategy around Bitcoin.

Remixpoint sold its Ether, Solana, XRP and Dogecoin holdings for a combined 878.8 million yen ($5.5 million), generating a 117.8 million yen ($736,000) gain, according to a Wednesday company disclosure.

The company recorded gains on its ETH, SOL and XRP sales but sold its DOGE holdings at a 3.26 million yen ($20,000) loss.

Japanese regulator seeks stablecoin tax exemption

Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) submitted a request to exempt trust-type stablecoins from mandatory tax filings starting in fiscal year 2027.

Metaplanet moves 4,800 BTC worth $377M to Coinbase

The Japanese Bitcoin treasury company has transferred 10,270 BTC to Coinbase Prime this week, triggering speculation about the company selling its holdings.

Japan’s FSA Warns Hong Kong-Based IZAKA-YA Over Unregistered Services

Japan’s Financial Services Agency issued a formal warning to Hong Kong-based Izakaya Limited, alleging its cryptocurrency exchange services are unregistered.

SBI Holdings Takes 20% Stake in Indonesia’s Ajaib Group

Japan’s SBI Holdings will spend $270 million to acquire a 20% stake in Indonesian online brokerage Ajaib Group. The aim is to expand its crypto business across the region and to promote SBI’s yen stablecoin JPYSC.

HONG KONG

Hashkey joins DTCC working group as first Asian crypto service provider

Hashkey joined the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation’s (DTCC) Digital Assets Advisory Services Industry Working Group as its first Asian digital asset service provider. 

Hashkey joins over 100 other global financial institutions including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange.

DTCC custodies $114 trillion in liquid assets, including stocks and exchange-traded funds. Its working group was formed to connect traditional finance with decentralized finance (DeFi) infrastructure. DTCC plans to launch access to tokenized securities in October.

Bitcoin Asia conference ‘subdued’

The mood at Bitcoin Asia in Hong Kong was subdued according to the South China Morning Post.

Despite a pep talk by Binance founder Changpeng Zhao who declared Bitcoin “will for sure become more important than gold” the bear market hangover was all too evident.

“Psychologically, I think this has been one of the hardest bear markets we’ve had, because this time it wasn’t just the price of bitcoin that took a hit,” said Brandon Green, CEO of conference organiser BTC, during his opening address.

“This time, the Bitcoiners’ ego also took a hit.”

OSL Group Reports 65.8% Revenue Surge

Hong Kong-based digital asset firm OSL Group reported a 65.8% revenue increase in its first-half financial results.

SFC warns Star Bridge Capital is unlicensed

Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission has added Star Bridge Capital Group to its Alert List following forced liquidation anomalies and millions in trader losses.

KOREA

Mirae Asset lays out crypto, stablecoin, tokenization plans for Digital X

South Korean financial group Mirae Asset plans to build a 150 trillion won ($109 billion) digital asset business around Digital X, the crypto exchange formerly known as Korbit, according to The Korea Times.

The report said Digital X will focus on crypto, stablecoins, real-world assets and security token offerings, with plans to tokenize physical assets including gold, silver and electricity.

The expansion plans follow Mirae Asset Consulting’s acquisition of a 97.15% stake in Korbit in July for a cumulative 141.4 billion won. The exchange was subsequently rebranded as Digital X, marking the first time an affiliate of a South Korean financial group acquired control of a domestic crypto exchange.