Thailand’s central bank governor announced that banks will be permitted to issue a Thai baht stablecoin this year, marking a significant step toward integrating digital currencies into the country’s financial system. The move aims to modernize payment infrastructure and enhance financial inclusion, with the central bank expected to release detailed guidelines soon. This positions Thailand among the first Southeast Asian nations to officially embrace bank-issued stablecoins, potentially setting a precedent for regional adoption.

Mu Changchun, head of the People’s Bank of China’s digital currency institute, disclosed at the 2026 Summer Davos Forum that the multi-central bank digital currency bridge (mBridge) has accumulated nearly 500 billion yuan in transactions since entering live operations in June 2024. The platform, co-built by central banks including the PBOC, is evolving into a new financial market infrastructure for cross-border payments, operating under multilateral governance. Mu emphasized that mBridge ultimately aims to reshape global payment systems amid the rapid growth of stablecoins and cryptocurrencies.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore announced the creation of the Future Finance Institute (FFI), focusing on large-scale application of artificial intelligence and asset tokenization in finance. The FFI will consolidate existing MAS projects like the AI risk toolkit and Project Guardian, providing a knowledge hub, innovation sandbox, and implementation toolkits to help firms move from proofs-of-concept to deployment. Strategic details are expected later in 2026, reinforcing Singapore’s role as a hub for regulated digital asset innovation.

South Korea’s “New Start Fund” for small business debt adjustment has begun including cryptocurrency holdings in its assessment of applicants’ repayment capacity, aiming to prevent asset concealment. Applicants must now submit proof of crypto balances from five major Korean won exchanges, enabling more accurate determination of debt relief ratios. This regulatory tightening reflects growing scrutiny of digital assets in consumer finance.

South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI index tumbled over 8%, triggering a market circuit breaker, as chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fell around 9% each. Foreign investors sold off approximately 2.5 trillion won ($1.6 billion) of KOSPI shares, reversing a prior rally sparked by Micron’s upbeat outlook. The sudden downturn highlights Korea’s sensitivity to global AI sentiment shifts, exacerbated by concerns over Apple’s component pricing and potential delays in OpenAI’s IPO.

On-chain sleuth ZachXBT issued a community alert after multiple users reported withdrawal delays lasting days or weeks at Singapore-based exchange AscendEX (formerly Bitmax). Analysis of known hot wallets showed insufficient reserves of major assets like ETH, USDT, and SOL, indicating possible liquidity issues. The exchange, founded by George Cao and Ariel Ling, previously suffered a $78 million hack by the Lazarus Group in 2021.

South Korean exchange Bithumb announced the listing of the ARX token on its won market, with trading set to open at 18:00 local time, as the platform continues to expand its token offerings despite a challenging market environment.

Blockchain AI data project Poseidon, part of the DATA (formerly Story) ecosystem, has integrated with Korean fintech super-app Toss, reaching its 30 million user base for web3 data contributions. Users can earn rewards for providing voice, image, and behavioral data through a seamless in-app experience, with all data provenance tracked on-chain. The collaboration marks a large-scale real-world use case for decentralized AI data marketplaces.

Gate exchange introduced Gate Wealth, a private banking-grade service for ultra-high-net-worth individuals and institutions, combining digital assets, fiat, and real-world assets (RWA) into a unified allocation framework. The offering covers crypto liquidity management, structured products, global equities, ETFs, commodities, and primary market opportunities, signaling Gate’s ambition to bridge web3 and traditional finance.