Taiwan Cracks Down on Short Selling After AI Selloff Sends Index Into Bear Market
Taiwan's benchmark weighted index plunged as much as 9% intraday on Friday, capping its worst weekly rout since 2001, as an accelerating AI stock selloff pushed the market into bear territory. In response, the Financial Supervisory Commission said it will restrict short selling from November 9, capping same-day borrowed-share sell orders at 3% of a stock's average daily volume over the prior 30 sessions. Taiwan's finance ministry separately said it stands ready to deploy a stabilization fund of NT$500 billion (approximately $15 billion). BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes weighed in on X, quipping that the "AI rescue" has begun.
Hong Kong SFC Moves to Restrict Misleading Virtual Asset Titles
The Securities and Futures Commission published consultation conclusions proposing amendments to the Securities and Futures Ordinance and the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance. The changes would bar unauthorized firms from using specific titles that could mislead the public into believing their businesses are regulated by the SFC or affiliated with exchanges, clearing houses, and virtual asset trading platforms. Terms such as "crypto" and "exchange" are among those covered by the proposed restrictions. The move reflects Hong Kong's broader push to tighten the perimeter around its regulated virtual asset regime.
India's Enforcement Directorate Raids CoinDCX and Delta Exchange
India's Enforcement Directorate conducted searches at three premises linked to CoinDCX and Delta Exchange in Bengaluru on November 4–5 under the Foreign Exchange Management Act. The agency alleges the two platforms facilitated large-scale unauthorized cross-border financial transactions involving crypto token derivatives and real-world asset tokens, with activity reaching into the trillions of rupees. CoinDCX said it cooperated fully with the routine inquiry and stressed that trading, deposits, and withdrawals on its platform continue to operate normally.
Binance Draws $15 Billion Sanctions-Evasion Designation from FinCEN
The US Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network ordered a cutoff of MEXC Global from the American financial system under the Combating Russian Money Laundering Act, with the directive taking effect 30 days after Federal Register publication. Treasury alleged that MEXC facilitated at least $160 billion in transactions tied to sanctions evasion and cybercrime between May 2021 and May 2026, including roughly $22 million linked to Iran's central bank and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force. MEXC responded that operations remain normal, user assets are safe, and it plans constructive engagement with FinCEN and other global regulators while launching an independent review of its AML and sanctions controls.
China's Central Bank Extends Gold Buying Streak to 24 Months
The People's Bank of China added another 830,000 troy ounces (approximately 25.82 tonnes) to its gold reserves in October, bringing the total to 78.3 million ounces (approximately 2,435 tonnes). The central bank has now increased its gold holdings for 24 consecutive months, signaling sustained demand for the metal as a reserve asset. For Asian crypto investors, the continued accumulation underscores the region's broader shift toward alternative stores of value amid persistent currency and geopolitical uncertainty.
Musk and CZ Rebut Fabricated Claim About Binance Market Dominance
Elon Musk personally responded to Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao to deny ever posting criticism of Binance's roughly 80% share in crypto markets. The episode began when a community user circulated a purported statement attributed to Musk, prompting CZ to call the content false and share screenshots showing no such post existed. Musk confirmed the information was fabricated. The incident highlights how easily disinformation can ripple through the Asian crypto community and the willingness of high-profile figures to correct it directly.
Taiwan Police Uncover $7 Million Embezzlement Laundered via Crypto
Investigators in Taiwan allege that the abbot of Donglin Temple in Yilan and his son, who had also become a monk, misappropriated donations and laundered the proceeds through virtual currencies and precious metals. During a search, officers dug up more than a dozen iron boxes buried beneath a gravel patch outside a meditation room containing gold and silver worth over NT$330 million (approximately $7 million). Temple funds were allegedly diverted into private accounts before being washed through crypto and bullion purchases. The case remains under investigation.
Bitdeer Meets Malaysia's Prime Minister as It Eyes AI Infrastructure Push
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim met with Bitdeer founder and CEO Jihan Wu and his delegation to discuss the company's continued investment in the country, according to Malaysian media reports. Bitdeer said it is now studying longer-term investment proposals aimed at developing artificial intelligence infrastructure in Malaysia. The meeting underscores Southeast Asia's rising importance as a destination for compute and digital-asset mining operations.
TSMC Weighs Entering Advanced Memory Chips at Nvidia's Request
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is considering expanding into advanced memory chip manufacturing, according to The Information. The world's largest chipmaker has begun mapping out plans to produce 3D DRAM, responding to a request from key customer Nvidia. The technology vertically stacks memory cells to boost capacity, and TSMC's potential entry would challenge incumbents Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology, which are all developing next-generation 3D DRAM as well.
Solana Company Plans Hong Kong Expansion to Capture Tokenization Demand
Nasdaq-listed Solana Company, a SOL treasury firm, plans to expand its Hong Kong team from fewer than 10 to as many as 30 staff as it positions for increasing tokenization demand in the city, according to the South China Morning Post. Chairman and CEO Joseph Chee said major financial institutions in Hong Kong are only beginning to consider or launch tokenization projects and that progress still lags the US. Solana Company expects to form a view on the Hong Kong market within about six months and may build its own team if no large tokenization service provider emerges.
IMF Chief Warns Central Banks Over Slowing AI-Driven Growth
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said central banks must factor in a possible slowdown in AI-driven growth when assessing their fight against inflation. Speaking in Washington, she noted that concerns about overreliance on AI investment and stretched asset valuations are already rippling through global markets, creating volatility that will complicate monetary policy. For Asian markets, the warning carries particular weight given the region's heavy exposure to semiconductor and AI infrastructure supply chains, with Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan among the most sensitive to shifts in the AI trade.
DeepSeek Suffers Partial Web and API Outage
Chinese AI firm DeepSeek experienced another partial outage of its web and API services, with the chat interface briefly displaying a "server busy, please retry later" message. Affected services included the Chat Service, DeepSeek V4 Pro API, and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash API. The company said it implemented a fix and was monitoring the results. The disruption highlights the infrastructure strain facing high-demand AI platforms as usage continues to scale across the region.
Binance Withdrawal Restoration Timeline, Local Platforms Flagged in UID Mistake
Binance co-founder Yi He addressed a user report of "UID collision" leading to a loss of funds, clarifying that every Binance user has a single unique UID and no collision occurred. The user mistakenly transferred funds from Binance's main platform to Binance Thailand by entering a UID directly and failed to carefully verify the second confirmation prompt. Yi He said she and four staff members tracked the case and helped freeze the funds, while noting that Binance Turkey, Thailand, and US are independent platforms that do not share account systems. Separately, Binance said it is working to reopen withdrawals for HYPE, INJ, APT, PLASMA, NEAR, and LTC by the end of next week as part of its phased restoration following the recent security incident.
Bitdeer Keeps Bitcoin Holdings at Zero After Selling Weekly Output
Bitdeer disclosed in its weekly update that it produced 258.6 BTC through November 6 and sold the entire amount, leaving its Bitcoin holdings at zero, excluding customer deposits. The Singapore-headquartered mining and digital infrastructure company has maintained a policy of not holding mined Bitcoin on its balance sheet, in contrast to peers that accumulate output as a treasury asset. The approach reflects the firm's focus on cash-flow generation as it pivots toward AI and high-performance computing infrastructure.
North Korean Hackers Trained from Age 11, Reward System Detailed
North Korea has operated a hacker cultivation system for more than a decade, selecting roughly 150 to 200 students aged 11 or 12 annually for computer science training, with the strongest candidates eventually funneled into military cyber units, according to Reuters. Defectors said hackers can receive up to 30% of stolen proceeds in US dollars, with top operatives also rewarded with Pyongyang housing and substantial foreign currency. South Korea's National Intelligence Service estimated in 2024 that North Korea has about 8,400 cyber warfare personnel. The report underscores the systemic threat posed to Asian crypto exchanges, which have been prime targets of Pyongyang-linked groups.
Binance Hack Stolen Funds Nearly Double Bitcoin Conversion in a Day
Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic said funds tied to the Binance security breach have seen about 1,650 BTC (approximately $124 million) moved into new Bitcoin addresses as of November 6, nearly double the prior day's total. The increase came largely from converting XRP to Bitcoin through THORChain, with around 42 million XRP (approximately $50 million) of the 233 million XRP moved into six new addresses on November 2 already transferred out. The rapid conversion activity suggests the attackers are aggressively cycling assets through cross-chain routes to obscure their trail.
SEAL: North Korea's TraderTraitor Hid Inside Binance for Eight Weeks
Security Alliance said disclosed details of the October 29 Binance theft, which involved roughly $6.4 billion, match the shell-company and multi-round interview attack pattern favored by the North Korean-linked group TraderTraitor. SEAL said the group previously infiltrated other platforms and that it lurked inside Binance for approximately eight weeks, longer than the three-to-six-week periods observed at prior targets. The findings highlight the increasing sophistication of North Korean social-engineering operations against Asian crypto firms.
Keplr Wallet Reports Unauthorized Transactions on Social Login Accounts
Keplr Wallet said it received reports of unauthorized transactions from some accounts created via Google or Apple social login and has escalated the issue to the Web3Auth team for a joint investigation. Web3Auth acknowledged a security issue and has suspended its embedded wallet service, adding that preliminary findings show no MetaMask users affected. Keplr's initial assessment indicates accounts created with seed phrases or hardware wallets remain unaffected.
Taiwan Temple Abbot Launders Embezzled Donations via Crypto
Investigators searching Donglin Temple in Yilan, Taiwan, uncovered more than a dozen iron boxes buried beneath a gravel area outside a meditation room, holding gold and silver worth over NT$330 million (approximately $7 million). Authorities allege that the temple's abbot and his son, who had also become a monk, diverted donations to private accounts and laundered the funds through virtual currencies, gold, and silver purchases. The case remains under investigation.
USDC Circulation Falls by 800 Million as Redemptions Outpace Issuance
Circle issued approximately 12.7 billion USDC and redeemed about 13.5 billion during the seven days through November 5, resulting in a net circulation decline of roughly 800 million tokens. Total USDC in circulation stood at 69.2 billion, with reserves of about 70.5 billion, including 36.6 billion in overnight reverse repurchase agreements and 23.3 billion in Treasury bills maturing within three months. The weekly decline offers a window into stablecoin demand dynamics across major trading venues used heavily by Asian market participants.
Binance Co-founder Yi He Clarifies UID System After User Loss
Yi He addressed user claims that a "UID collision" led to an asset loss, clarifying that every Binance user holds a single unique UID and that no collision exists. In the reported case, the user mistakenly entered a UID when transferring funds from Binance's main platform to Binance Thailand and failed to carefully review the second confirmation prompt. Yi He said she and four staff members tracked the matter and helped freeze the funds, while noting that local fiat platforms in Turkey, Thailand, and the US operate independently and do not share account systems. Users should carefully verify addresses and UIDs when transferring funds, she said.
Chinese Premier Calls for Stable Capital Market Mechanisms
China's State Council executive meeting, chaired by Premier Li Qiang, called for improving the mechanism for stabilizing capital markets and enhancing the intrinsic stability of the stock market. The meeting also emphasized using fiscal and financial policy coordination to boost domestic demand, resolving risks in local government debt and small and medium-sized financial institutions, and strengthening cross-year policy alignment. While the statement did not mention crypto directly, the broader stability push comes as Asian risk assets face pressure from the AI-driven equity selloff.
Chinese AI Assistant Doubao Work Removes Five-Hour Usage Cap
ByteDance's Doubao Work, an AI productivity product, removed its five-hour short-cycle usage limit for individual users starting November 6, according to Time Finance. Users can now arrange their usage time freely within weekly quotas, with other rules and package terms unchanged. The change reflects intensifying competition in China's AI assistant market as providers seek to capture user loyalty through more flexible access. Doubao Work is ByteDance's AI offering for research, content creation, data processing, and application building.
OpenAI's $11 Billion First Tranche Lands, Valuation Set at $1.25 Trillion
OpenAI completed the first $11 billion tranche of its latest financing round at a $1.25 trillion valuation, with funds arriving on Friday, Bloomberg reported. Investors in the first tranche included Coatue Management and T. Rowe Price, alongside SoftBank Group, Sequoia Capital, Founders Fund, and Andreessen Horowitz. The round could expand to about $20 billion. SoftBank's participation underscores the continued appetite of major Asian investors for AI exposure even as AI-linked equities face heightened volatility.
Taiwan Mulls Advanced Memory Chip Entry at Nvidia's Request
TSMC is considering an expansion into advanced memory chip manufacturing, potentially challenging the dominance of Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology, according to The Information. The company recently began formulating plans to produce 3D DRAM, which stacks memory cells vertically to achieve higher density, after receiving a request from its largest customer, Nvidia. The three incumbents are also developing 3D DRAM technology. If TSMC follows through, the move would deepen its already central role in the AI hardware supply chain.
Fed's Daly Signals Further Tightening May Be Needed
San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said the central bank will have to tighten monetary policy further, with inflation proving more persistent than she would like and the labor market strong enough to give policymakers room to act. Speaking to CNBC, Daly said she would need more information to determine the size and timing of additional tightening. Her remarks come amid market speculation about the Fed's next move, with implications for liquidity conditions across Asian crypto markets.
Hong Kong's SFC Tightens Naming Rules for Virtual Asset Entities
Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission published consultation conclusions proposing to restrict the use of titles that could lead the public to believe an entity is regulated by the SFC or affiliated with exchanges, clearing houses, and virtual asset trading platforms. The proposed amendments to the Securities and Futures Ordinance and the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance would cover terms including "crypto" and "exchange." The move is part of Hong Kong's effort to prevent unlicensed firms from trading on the credibility of its regulated market.
India's CoinDCX Faces Enforcement Directorate Scrutiny
CoinDCX confirmed that Enforcement Directorate officials visited its Bengaluru office on November 4 for a routine inquiry and said it cooperated fully, providing all necessary information and assistance. The exchange said it is registered with India's Financial Intelligence Unit, complies with the Foreign Exchange Management Act, and maintains customer identification, AML, and reporting obligations. Trading, deposits, and withdrawals continue to function normally, the company added. The visit followed searches of premises linked to CoinDCX and Delta Exchange over allegations of unauthorized cross-border transactions.
MEXC Ordered Cut Off from US Financial System Over Sanctions Evasion
The US Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network prohibited American financial institutions from processing any transfers with MEXC Global, cutting the exchange off from the US financial system. FinCEN alleged that between May 2021 and May 2026, MEXC facilitated at least $160 billion in transactions tied to sanctions evasion and cybercrime, including approximately $22 million linked to Iran's central bank and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, and about $1.5 billion tied to Russian sanctions evasion. The order takes effect 30 days after Federal Register publication.
MEXC Responds to FinCEN Order, Says Operations Normal
MEXC said it is conducting a thorough evaluation of the FinCEN directive and that all operations remain normal with user assets secure. The exchange plans constructive engagement with FinCEN and other relevant regulatory bodies globally and has initiated an independent review of its AML and sanctions controls. MEXC's response follows FinCEN's order cutting the platform off from the US financial system over allegations it facilitated at least $160 billion in sanctions-evasion and cybercrime-related transactions.
Binance to Wind Down France Operations by End of 2026
Binance will close accounts for French users and cease operations in France by December 31, 2026, after failing to secure a MiCA license under the European Union's crypto regulatory framework, according to Cryptoast. Deposit functionality is already unavailable. Starting November 29, accounts still holding assets will incur a monthly management fee of 0.025%, with a minimum charge of 10 USDC. While the closure is a European regulatory matter, Binance's compliance posture in the EU carries implications for the exchange's Asian operations as global regulators coordinate on crypto oversight.
Taiwan Market Rout Echoes Through Asian Crypto Sentiment
Taiwan's benchmark index slid as much as 9% intraday on Friday, entering a bear market and recording its steepest weekly decline since 2001, driven by the accelerating selloff in AI-linked equities. The island's financial regulator responded by restricting short selling from November 9, while the finance ministry said it is prepared to deploy a stabilization fund of NT$500 billion. For Asian crypto traders, the equity rout highlights growing contagion risk as AI and semiconductor valuations wobble, with ripple effects for risk appetite across digital asset markets.
North Korea Hacker Program Details Emerge Amid Exchange Threat
A Reuters investigation detailed North Korea's decade-old system for cultivating hackers, beginning with computer science training for about 150 to 200 students aged 11 to 12 each year. The strongest candidates progress to elite universities and eventually join military cyber units, where successful operatives can reportedly receive up to 30% of stolen proceeds. South Korean intelligence estimated North Korea has about 8,400 cyber warfare personnel. Asian exchanges have repeatedly been targets of such operations, most recently with the massive Binance breach in late October.
TraderTraitor Group Said to Have Hidden in Binance for Eight Weeks
Details of the October 29 Binance theft, estimated at about $6.4 billion, align with the shell-company and multi-round interview tactics of the North Korean-linked group TraderTraitor, according to Security Alliance. The group allegedly maintained a presence inside Binance for roughly eight weeks before the attack, compared with three to six weeks at other institutions it has targeted. SEAL's findings underscore the persistence and sophistication of state-backed threats facing Asian crypto platforms.
Stolen Binance Funds Increasingly Converted to Bitcoin
Funds tied to the Binance breach increasingly moved into Bitcoin, with about 1,650 BTC (approximately $124 million) transferred into new addresses, nearly double the previous day's figure, according to Elliptic. The activity was driven largely by converting XRP into Bitcoin through THORChain, with around 42 million XRP (approximately $50 million) moved from six new addresses that received 233 million XRP on November 2. A smaller amount of ETH was also swapped into Bitcoin via THORChain.
Hong Kong Banks on Tokenization with Expanded Solana Company Presence
Solana Company plans to grow its Hong Kong team from under 10 to as many as 30 employees to meet rising tokenization demand, Chairman and CEO Joseph Chee told the South China Morning Post. Chee said major Hong Kong financial institutions are only beginning to explore tokenization projects and remain slower than their US counterparts. The company expects to make a judgment on the Hong Kong market within about six months and could build its own team if no large tokenization service provider emerges. Solana Company was recognized as a key enterprise by Hong Kong's Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises last month.
China's Central Bank Adds Gold for 24th Straight Month
China's gold reserves rose to 78.3 million ounces (approximately 2,435 tonnes) in October after the central bank added 830,000 ounces (approximately 25.82 tonnes) during the month. The People's Bank of China has now increased gold holdings for 24 consecutive months. The persistent accumulation underscores the strategic diversification away from traditional reserve assets and into alternative stores of value, a theme that resonates with the crypto market's hard-asset narrative.
Chinese AI Firm DeepSeek Hit by Partial Service Outage
DeepSeek experienced a partial disruption of its web and API services, with the chat interface displaying a "server busy" message for some users. The outage affected the Chat Service, DeepSeek V4 Pro API, and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash API beginning at 15:11 Beijing time. The company said it implemented a fix and was monitoring the results. DeepSeek remains one of China's most prominent AI models, and the repeated service interruptions highlight the strain on infrastructure as demand surges.
ByteDance's Doubao Work Lifts Five-Hour Usage Restriction
Doubao Work, ByteDance's AI productivity tool, removed its five-hour short-cycle usage cap for individual users, effective November 6, according to Time Finance. Users can now allocate their time freely within weekly quotas, with package terms and other rules unchanged. The update is part of ByteDance's push to make Doubao Work more attractive in China's competitive AI assistant market. The product supports research, content creation, data processing, and application building through natural language commands.
Yi He Warns Users on Separate Binance Local Platform Systems
Binance co-founder Yi He reminded users that Binance Turkey, Binance Thailand, and Binance US are independent platforms that do not share account systems, after a user reported losing funds by mistakenly entering a UID during a transfer from the main platform to Binance Thailand. Yi He emphasized that every Binance user has a unique UID and no collision exists. She said she and four staff members tracked the case and helped freeze the funds, though the receiving user remained inactive and unresponsive. The incident serves as a cautionary tale for cross-platform transfers, where users must carefully verify addresses and UIDs.
OpenAI's $11 Billion Close Highlights Asian Investor Appetite
OpenAI's latest financing round secured its first $11 billion at a $1.25 trillion valuation, with funds arriving Friday, according to Bloomberg. Investors included Coatue Management, T. Rowe Price, SoftBank Group, Sequoia Capital, Founders Fund, and Andreessen Horowitz, with the round potentially expanding to about $20 billion. SoftBank's participation reflects the enduring interest of major Asian capital in frontier AI despite recent market volatility in the sector. The funding underscores the competitive landscape for AI infrastructure, a space closely watched by Asian crypto and Web3 investors.
Fed's Daly Flags Possible Further Rate Hikes
San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said the central bank may need to tighten monetary policy further to address persistent inflation, even as she acknowledged the October jobs report was good news for American workers. Speaking to CNBC, Daly said the strong labor market gives the Fed room to focus on price stability and that further tightening could come if needed. The comments carry weight for Asian crypto markets, where global liquidity conditions are a key driver of risk appetite.
Taiwan's Market Turmoil Spreads Caution Across Asian Crypto
Taiwan's equity market fell as much as 9% intraday on Friday, entering bear territory and marking the steepest weekly loss since 2001, with AI-related stocks at the center of the selloff. The island's financial regulator said it would restrict short selling from November 9, while the finance ministry prepared a stabilization fund of NT$500 billion (around $15 billion). The turmoil reflects broader anxiety about AI valuations that has spilled into Asian markets, with potential knock-on effects for crypto sentiment as investors reassess risk across the region.
