Taiwan's legislature has passed the Virtual Asset Service Act, establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework for virtual asset service providers (VASPs) and stablecoin issuers. Under the new rules, crypto platforms must obtain a license from the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) and meet strict cybersecurity, asset segregation, and internal control standards. Platforms with existing anti-money laundering registration must apply for a license within 12 months and gain FSC approval within 21 months. Unauthorized operations could lead to up to seven years in prison and a NT$100 million fine, while fraud or market manipulation carries three to ten years and fines between NT$10 million and NT$200 million.

Binance has officially entered the Philippines, co-founder He Yi announced, after the country's Securities and Exchange Commission approved BlockShoals Technologies to test financial services under its regulatory sandbox. BlockShoals will operate as a crypto asset intermediary, allowing Philippine users to access select products via global partners, starting with Binance. In the initial 90-day phase, BlockShoals will integrate with local virtual asset service providers, then begin onboarding users with appropriate safeguards. This marks a significant step in Binance's Asian expansion, leveraging a compliant gateway into a market of over 110 million people.

Japanese public company Metaplanet disclosed it purchased an additional 2,823 bitcoin, bringing its total holdings to 43,000 BTC. The firm continues its aggressive accumulation strategy, mirroring the playbook of MicroStrategy, as it positions itself as Asia's leading corporate bitcoin treasury. Metaplanet's stock has surged this year alongside its growing crypto reserves, attracting attention from global investors seeking indirect bitcoin exposure through a regulated Japanese entity.

On-chain investigator ZachXBT warned that crypto exchange AscendEX has gone silent on social media for nine days, with user withdrawals still unprocessed while deposits remain functional. A major victim reported no response from AscendEX co-founder George Cao, leading ZachXBT to recommend affected users file reports with local law enforcement and regulators. The situation echoes earlier concerns from late June about potential liquidity issues at the exchange, which serves a significant Asian user base.

Japan's SBI Crypto will close its bitcoin mining pool on July 31, according to OCEAN co-founder Mark Artymko. The move marks the end of a longstanding service that contributed hash power to the Bitcoin network. SBI Crypto miners are being invited to migrate to the OCEAN pool. The shutdown reflects ongoing consolidation and margin pressures in the mining sector, particularly for smaller or less efficient operators.

South Korea's exchange operator KRX amended its listing rules to close a loophole that allowed technology-special-exception listed companies to switch their main business to virtual asset treasury management. Under the new regulation, companies that change their primary business purpose within five years of going public via the special exception process will face substantive delisting review. The change targets firms that initially listed with tech credentials but later transformed into crypto investment vehicles, a practice that has drawn criticism for circumventing traditional listing standards.

South Korean listed company K Wave Media has sold its remaining 88 bitcoin to pay off about $6 million in debt, according to BitcoinTreasuries.NET. The sale reduces its bitcoin holdings to zero, highlighting the financial pressures facing some Asian firms that invested in crypto during the bull market and are now forced to liquidate in a downturn. K Wave Media joins a list of small-cap companies that have exited crypto positions to meet obligations.

Alibaba's financial affiliate Ant Group launched a public beta for 'Abao', an AI-driven version of Alipay. The chatbot assistant, described as an AI-powered payment and lifestyle tool, is available on iOS and Android through the Alipay app. Initially released in invite-only mode in mid-June, Abao represents China's push to integrate large language models into dominant super-apps. The move could accelerate AI adoption among Alipay's hundreds of millions of users, though it also raises questions about data privacy and centralized control.

CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost noted that Binance's monthly average retail bitcoin inflow has dropped to just 329 BTC per day, the lowest in the exchange's history. This compares to 2,690 BTC in the 2021 cycle peak and 3,700 in 2018. The decline suggests retail participation is waning, possibly due to a shift toward ETFs, alternative assets, or long-term holding strategies. The data implies that potential sell pressure from retail traders is far lower than in prior cycles, supporting a narrative of an increasingly institutionalized market structure.

Layer-1 blockchain Sei released its Giga whitepaper V2, outlining upgrades aimed at achieving finality under 250 milliseconds, pre-execution privacy, protocol-level MEV resistance, and throughput exceeding 200,000 transactions per second. The ambitious technical roadmap could position Sei as a high-performance chain suited for latency-sensitive applications like derivatives trading. Sei has gained traction among Asian developers and traders, and the network's focus on speed and reliability may attract further DeFi activity in the region.