Taiwan's biggest virtual currency dealer, Bixiang Technology, was found guilty of colluding with fraud syndicates to launder 2.3 billion New Taiwan dollars ($71 million) through 45 branches selling USDT. The scheme defrauded over 1,500 victims. The ringleader, Shi Qiren, with ties to the Tiandao gang, received a 22-year prison sentence and forfeiture of 43.73 million TWD in criminal proceeds. The court convicted him on 485 counts of aggravated fraud and money laundering, while the company failed to complete anti-money laundering registration.
Bitcoin drops below $63,000 as Asia markets slide
Bitcoin fell below $63,000 on OKX, trading at $62,985.70 with a daily decline of 2.66%. The broader crypto market saw widespread losses, with the DeFi sector dropping over 5%. Hyperliquid's HYPE tumbled 10.28%, while Ethereum slipped below $1,900. The sell-off mirrored weakness in Asian equities, where China's A-share market plunged, with the Shanghai Composite falling 3.05% and tech-heavy indexes sinking over 7%, leading to nearly 200 stocks hitting limit down amid turnover of 2.65 trillion yuan.
South Korea to include crypto assets in telecom fraud compensation scheme
South Korea's Financial Services Commission unveiled a draft amendment to include cryptocurrency assets transferred from telecom fraud into victim compensation. Under the new rules effective October 1, if frozen assets are crypto, victims will receive the same type and amount; if different, assets will be paid in the frozen form with valuation at market price. The move aims to strengthen protection as fraudsters increasingly convert stolen funds into digital assets.
Ondo Finance partners with Japan's SBI to tokenize stocks and use JPYSC stablecoin for settlement
Tokenization platform Ondo Finance forged a strategic partnership with Japanese financial giant SBI Group. The collaboration will bring Japanese equities on-chain, distribute Ondo's tokenized products within SBI's ecosystem, and utilize JPYSC stablecoin for settlement and collateral. The deal marks a significant step in merging traditional Japanese equities with blockchain rails.
China releases AI cooperation action plan, pledges open-source community and cross-border data flows
China's National Development and Reform Commission issued an AI cooperation development action plan, promoting cross-border data flows, building trusted data spaces, and jointly constructing high-quality multilingual corpora. The plan also calls for intelligent computing infrastructure connectivity, providing inclusive services to developing nations, and fostering an international AI open-source community. This comes as President Xi Jinping addressed the World AI Conference in Shanghai, announcing the establishment of the World AI Cooperation Organization as a milestone for global AI governance.
China's Moonshot AI launches Kimi K3, the world's largest open-source model with 2.8 trillion parameters
Beijing-based Moonshot AI unveiled Kimi K3, a 2.8 trillion parameter open-source model, the largest globally. It natively supports visual understanding and a 1 million token context window, optimized for complex tasks like software engineering and deep research. Evaluations suggest its comprehensive intelligence approaches top closed-source models, marking a significant leap for China's AI capabilities.
Russian Duma committee rejects easing crypto restrictions, keeps retail purchase limit at 30,000 rubles
Russia's State Duma Financial Markets Committee recommended rejecting amendments to relax cryptocurrency restrictions. The annual purchase limit for non-qualified investors remains at 30,000 rubles (approximately $340) through a single intermediary, with proposals to raise it to 60,000 rubles denied. The committee also vetoed expanding tradable cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum, non-custodial wallet use, and removing mandatory consent from digital depositaries. The final bill retains authorities' power to inspect and freeze transactions, with passage delayed to September 1.
Chinese memory chip giant Montage Technology raided by Korean prosecutors over antitrust probe
South Korean prosecutors conducted a search and seizure at Montage Technology's Seoul office as part of an antitrust investigation into potential violations. The Shanghai-listed company (688008.SH) confirmed full cooperation and stated no allegations have been made against it, its directors, or employees. Operations remain normal. Montage warned the investigation is in early stages, but currently no evidence of material impact on finances.
Russia proposes banning non-qualified investors from buying foreign stablecoins
Russia's latest crypto regulation bill introduces a ban on non-qualified investors purchasing foreign stablecoins, classifying them as "non-deliverable foreign digital instruments." Only qualified investors can access such assets, while non-qualified ones are limited to a central bank-vetted list. The central bank maintains a cautious stance, citing the risk of wallet freezes by issuers. The move tightens control over the crypto market for ordinary citizens.
China's Zhipu AI hits $1 billion ARR, growing 15-fold in six months
Zhipu AI, a leading Chinese AI startup, reached an annual recurring revenue of $1 billion as of July 2026, a dramatic increase fueled by AI coding and video generation models. The company's rapid growth mirrors global trends, where Anthropic's Claude Code also reached $1 billion ARR within half a year. Zhipu's Hong Kong-listed stock (02513.HK) reflects the surging demand for enterprise AI solutions in China.
