Approximately 40 Japanese banks, led by GMO Aozora Net Bank, have begun a proof-of-concept for mutual transfers of tokenized deposits on a blockchain. The initiative, supported by the Financial Services Agency's fintech hub, includes Resona Bank, Shoko Chukin Bank, and Yokohama Bank. The goal is to build infrastructure for instant, low-cost settlement available around the clock, with DCP planning commercial launch by 2027.

Japan is preparing to develop a blockchain-based payment infrastructure for real-time settlement of equities and Japanese government bonds. The Financial Services Agency, Ministry of Finance, and Bank of Japan will launch a study group this summer, with a development plan targeted for early 2027. If approved, the system could go live in the early 2030s, potentially extending to international remittances.

South Korea's Shinhan Financial Group has signed a strategic agreement with Visa to collaborate on stablecoins and digital asset initiatives. Shinhan will use Visa's stablecoin platform to test issuance, remittance, and redemption, and jointly design business models suited to Korea's financial environment. The partnership will also explore stablecoin applications in card settlements, AI payments, and B2B/B2C payment expansion.

Korea's largest trading company, POSCO International, has tokenized its trade receivables on the Avalanche blockchain in a real-world asset transaction. Partnering with trade finance platform Olea and asset-backed fintech Intain, POSCO's US subsidiary verified invoices and recorded receivables on an Avalanche-based Layer 1. This follows a similar pilot on Injective last month and marks a significant step in enterprise blockchain adoption.

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek reported revenue of approximately 475 million yuan in the first seven months of the year, nearly ten times its 2025 full-year total. The company is aggressively pursuing a second funding round targeting 50 billion yuan at a valuation of 500 billion yuan. Despite rapid growth, DeepSeek posted a net loss of 715 million yuan during the period.

Chinese AI firm Moonshot AI is negotiating revenue-sharing agreements with Microsoft, Amazon, and Google for its Kimi K3 model, seeking up to 30% of revenue from related services. The talks highlight the growing commercialization of Chinese large language models and their integration into global cloud ecosystems.

Seoul-based Wrtn Technologies has completed a Series C round at a valuation of 1.2 trillion won (approximately $870 million), raising about 100 billion won. The company's North American AI narrative platform OOC has surpassed 10 billion won in monthly revenue since its May launch. Wrtn expects annual revenue to exceed 200 billion won this year, up from 47 billion won last year.

Shanghai-born Zhou Guren has been identified as the largest buyer of Trump family crypto project World Liberty Financial's WLFI token, investing $100 million through UAE-based Aqua 1 Foundation. Chinese court records list Zhou as a defaulting debtor with millions of yuan in unpaid judgments, and UK prosecutors have linked him to a money laundering case. The revelation adds a layer of complexity to WLFI's investor base.

Deribit will settle 81,700 Bitcoin options contracts with a notional value of approximately $6.4 billion on Friday, August 28. The put/call ratio of 0.83 indicates a bullish tilt, with max pain at $68,000 and heavy call open interest at $75,000 and $80,000. Bitcoin's rally from $62,000 to $80,000 over the past week has pushed many calls into the money, setting up potential volatility around the expiry.

CryptoQuant's Bull Score jumped from 30 to 80 within a week, with 8 of 10 indicators bullish, the most optimistic since October 2025. Spot demand is growing at the fastest pace since late December, and simultaneous expansion of spot and futures demand hasn't been seen since early October 2025. The report cautions that Bitcoin must hold above its 365-day moving average of about $83,000 for formal confirmation of a new bull phase.