Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission confirmed that the RMB counter under Stock Connect will be implemented before July 1 next year, allowing mainland investors to buy and sell Hong Kong stocks directly in renminbi. Meanwhile, HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue announced that CMU OmniClear, jointly owned by the HKMA and HKEX, is building a digital asset platform targeting CBDC settlement support by year-end. The platform will also explore interoperability with tokenized deposits and compliant stablecoins, positioning Hong Kong as a key hub for institutional tokenization across Asia.

Chinese AI firm DeepSeek has surpassed $1 billion in annualized revenue, more than doubling from under $500 million just months ago, CEO Liang Wenfeng told investors at a recent meeting. The company raised API prices by 2.3 to 4.5 times last month without losing customers, Liang said. DeepSeek plans to complete a second funding round by end-October, targeting 50 billion yuan (about $7.5 billion) at a 500 billion yuan valuation, underscoring the intense capital race in China's AI sector.

The People's Bank of China's monetary policy committee, at its Q3 meeting on September 19, called for leveraging both incremental and existing policies to boost their combined effect. The central bank emphasized maintaining ample liquidity and aligning social financing and money supply growth with economic growth and price targets. It also pledged to refine the monetary policy operational framework, signaling Beijing's continued focus on supporting the economy amid persistent deflationary pressures.

Bitcoin spot market activity has surged, with 24-hour trading volume across exchanges rising 121% from August lows, according to Glassnode's latest weekly report. Gate posted the largest share increase among major platforms, reflecting stronger retail and institutional participation in Asian markets. The volume expansion accompanied rising BTC prices, a departure from four prior episodes where volume spikes coincided with price declines. Bitcoin now trades above the realized market average of $77,000 and the long-term holder supply zone of $84,000-$85,000.

South Korea's KB Securities signed a memorandum of understanding with Securitize and Optimism to launch tokenized financial products on OP Mainnet targeting Korean institutional investors. Initial offerings will include a tokenized money market fund and a fund based on KB Asset Management's flagship strategy. As Korea's tokenized securities regulatory framework evolves, the three parties plan to explore tokenized equities, ADRs, corporate bonds, and Korean government bonds — marking KB Securities' first public move into tokenization.

A Doubao public relations executive dismissed reports of layoffs at ByteDance's AI assistant unit, describing the changes as an organizational adjustment rather than workforce reduction. The general Session team, comprising fewer than 50 people, saw 11 staff members reassigned to transaction and work-related teams, with three departing. The executive emphasized that many employees continue working on conversational experience, including optimizing transaction dialogue, pushing back against social media claims that Doubao was being marginalized.

Tencent will stop new user registrations for QClaw, its local AI assistant, effective immediately, with full shutdown scheduled for December 24, according to local media reports. The company cited business adjustments and will support user data migration with point-based incentives. QClaw, launched in March as part of Tencent's "lobster" product matrix, was built on OpenClaw and offered one-click installation on Windows and Mac with WeChat integration for remote control.

Decentralized content blockchain Contentos announced it will wind down its video creator platform COSTV and SocialFi product Channel VIP. The shutdown process begins December 1, with complete closure on December 14. Users must convert COSTV wallets to self-custody before December 1. The Contentos mainnet, COS Swap, and COS mainnet wallet will continue operating normally, reflecting the ongoing consolidation pressure across Web3 content and social platforms in Asia.

YZi Labs-backed on-chain trading terminal Genius has drawn community criticism after adjusting its Season 2 points program. The project had originally committed to unlocking 70 million GENIUS tokens on October 25 to incentivize trading and points accumulation. However, daily points were cut from 1.5 million to 50,000, and CoinMarketCap data shows the unlock pushed to February 2028. Some participants are demanding the original unlock timeline or refunds of Season 2 trading fees, highlighting growing tensions between projects and communities over token incentive changes.

Nasdaq-listed Chinese chip designer Nano Labs warned that the X account of its founder, Jack Kong, was compromised and used to publish false project information. The company stated it has not issued or endorsed any related token project and urged users not to click associated links or transfer funds to any contract addresses. The incident adds to a growing wave of social media account takeovers targeting crypto and tech executives in Asia.