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…
cointelegraph.com