CHINA
Treasury proposes blocks on US investments in AI and semiconductors in some foreign countries
The US Treasury has proposed new rules that would block investment in artificial intelligence projects (sorry, ‘Super Intelligence’ projects) and certain high risk semiconductors in some foreign countries.
The blocks have been mainly aimed at geopolitical rival China, but will now also encompass other adversaries including Russia, Iran, North Korea and Cuba. The rules would implement the COINS Act from December 2025 and expand the Outbound Investment Security Program that went into effect in January 2025.
They rules build on previous restrictions on selling high powered AI chips to China. The US is backing up its threats too, having announced the first $200,000 penalty this month to Amidi, LLC. Treasury for failing to report an investment by its Chinese subsidiary into embodied AI and robotics company Shanghai Qiongche Intelligent Technology (AKA Noematrix.)
US bans DeepSeek from civilian agency IT systems
The US Department of Homeland Security has ordered the removal of DeepSeek products from federal civilian agency IT systems.
The order, filed on Monday, also covers DeepSeek affiliates and third-party products and services developed using DeepSeek implementations while prohibiting affected agencies from making new purchases.
DHS warned that use of DeepSeek by government employees and contractors could expose sensitive information to China, potentially revealing details about US citizens and federal programs.
Solana’s Liu says Shanghai event postponed over registration surge
The Solana Accelerate event in Shanghai was postponed after pre-registration exceeded the event cap set by local authorities, according to Lily Liu, president of the Solana Foundation.
Event registration quadrupled overnight following publicity for the event, Liu wrote in a Friday X post, adding that organizers decided to postpone the event to “comply with local requirements.”
Earlier on Friday, X users claimed that the event was “abruptly suspended” as law enforcement officers were stationed at the venue.
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao posted he was impressed the Solana Foundation had been allowed to open a Shanghai office, noting than BNB Chain had been unable to do so.
JAPAN
Japan-Korea tourist spending becomes a test case for yen stablecoins
South Korea’s Shinhan Card has signed an agreement with Japan’s SBI VC Trade and SBI XDC Network APAC to test yen stablecoin payments for travelers and cross-border trade settlement.
Under the pact signed Tuesday, the companies will test stablecoin card payments, wallet-to-wallet payments and cross-border trade settlement. They will also assess anti-money-laundering and fraud-detection controls.
Shinhan Card is one of South Korea’s biggest credit card companies. SBI is a Japanese financial heavyweight that runs banks, brokerages, insurers and crypto exchanges.
Metaplanet to take 93.7% stake in Super League through 2,100 BTC deal
Shareholders of Super League, a Nasdaq-listed gaming and digital media company, approved a deal that would give Japanese Bitcoin treasury firm Metaplanet a 93.7% ownership stake, paving the way for its expansion into US capital markets through a publicly traded Bitcoin treasury company.
Metaplanet has also announced a planned repurchase of about $160 million of its own shares.
KOREA
South Korean finance officials met with crypto exchanges amid calls for tax delay
Finance officials reportedly met major crypto exchanges this week, days after a lawmaker introduced legislation that could push the start date of a new crypto tax back two years.
The meeting was a consultation on crypto taxation, with representatives from Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, DigitalX and Gopax, along with executives of the Digital Asset Exchange Alliance, known as DAXA.
South Korean regulators have delayed the crypto tax three times, with the latest delay pushing the start date to 2027 amid political disagreement and industry pushback.
Seoul at night. Source: Pexels, gijecho
Injective, BDACS plan Korean won stablecoin settlement for tokenized assets
Blockchain network Injective has entered into a memorandum of understanding with South Korean digital asset custodian BDACS to bring a won-backed stablecoin to its tokenized asset markets, potentially allowing institutions to settle transactions without relying on US dollar stablecoins.
Kakao plans KRW stablecoin payments ecosystem
Kakao, KakaoBank and KakaoPay have formed a new stablecoin task force to build the infrastructure required for won stablecoin issuance, custody and payments. The aim is to start with shopping and gifting.
MALAYSIA
Malaysia central bank launches DLT platform for tokenized bonds
Malaysia’s central bank has launched a distributed ledger-based platform for issuing and holding tokenized bonds, connecting digital securities records with a payment system designed to operate around the clock.
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) said that its…
cointelegraph.com