Thailand will exempt cryptocurrency trading from capital gains tax for five years, from January 2025 to December 2029, according to the Ministry of Finance. The exemption applies only to trades executed through licensed exchanges, brokers, or dealers supervised by the Thai SEC, part of a strategy to attract investors and build a robust digital currency ecosystem. The government expects the move to indirectly generate about $1 billion in annual tax revenue by stimulating market activity and attracting foreign investment. Other crypto income, such as mining and staking, remains taxable.

A framework drafted by the Korea Digital Convergence Industry Association outlines core elements for STO secondary regulation, including pooling of similar underlying assets, setting annual over-the-counter trading limits for retail investors, and defining access requirements for unlisted security trading platforms. The draft also includes a phased roadmap for tokenizing traditional securities. Key debates focus on whether to allow asset substitution within pools, raising retail limits (currently about 10 million won for music revenue securities and 20 million won for real estate fractional investments), and the scope of broker-dealer business permissions.

Moscow Exchange is preparing a standalone digital depositary for crypto assets, expected to launch by late 2026 or early 2027. The infrastructure will operate independently from existing platforms and not be part of the national settlement depository. Each broker client will receive an anonymous account, essentially a wallet for recording crypto holdings. The central bank requires minimum capital of 50 million rubles for depositories, scaling up for those dealing with foreign systems, and the exchange envisions multiple liquidity hubs forming in Russia's legal crypto market.

Japan's Financial Services Agency and National Police Agency jointly issued 11 specific requirements to the Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association, including mandatory pre-registration of withdrawal addresses, enhanced transaction monitoring, strict identity verification at account opening, and a cooling-off period for withdrawals after fiat deposits or crypto purchases. The move responds to rising social media investment fraud and romance scams where crypto accounts are used to transfer illicit funds. Exchanges are also advised to set withdrawal limits based on customer risk profiles and transaction purpose, and to freeze accounts on suspicion, with phased implementation allowed for system upgrades.

The People's Bank of China Shanghai Head Office, in a mid-year work meeting, reiterated its commitment to "continuously preventing and dealing with virtual currency trading and speculation risks." The statement was part of broader financial stability efforts, including strengthening monitoring of systemically important institutions, combating illegal financial activities, and regulating online marketing of financial products. No new specific measures were announced, but the language signals Beijing's ongoing hardline stance against crypto trading.

The Hong Kong Federation of Insurers responded to market rumors that mainland China plans a 20% personal income tax on offshore insurance policy gains by stating that no formal policy document or implementation rules have been issued by relevant authorities. The federation emphasized that demand for protection, wealth inheritance, and asset allocation remains strong, and that Hong Kong's insurance market retains its appeal due to flexible product design, multicurrency options, and professional services.

Alibaba is considering charging large commercial users of its next open-source Qwen model a percentage of revenue, similar to Moonshot AI's Kimi K3 model, which requires entities selling the model as a service with annual revenue over $20 million to enter a commercial agreement with up to 30% revenue share. The move signals a shift in how Chinese AI firms monetize open-source models, moving beyond the traditional free-and-open paradigm while still offering open weights for developers.

Unitree Technology Chairman Wang Xingxing said at an online roadshow that after listing on the STAR Market with shares priced at 150.80 yuan, the company will continue to invest in core technologies like embodied AI models and reinforcement learning, and explore new product forms including humanoid robots, quadruped robots, and mechs. Wang's personal stake is valued at about 20.35 billion yuan based on the IPO pricing.

SK Hynix announced plans to invest 38.4 billion dollars in expanding its chip business in South Korea, including 13.47 billion dollars at the Cheongju M17 plant by 2031 and 24.9 billion dollars for the second phase of the Yongin complex, which will produce HBM and next-generation DRAM. The investment underscores the critical role of high-bandwidth memory in AI and the semiconductor industry's strategic importance in Asia.

Dow Protocol, which builds a PayFi RWA structure for e-commerce working capital, closed a $10.5 million seed round led by MH Ventures, Mapleblock, Animoca Brands, Arcane Group, HSKChain, Essentia Partners, and Quartet Group. The protocol uses merchant receivables and credit risk data to advance funds within seconds, with repayment and risk systems natively integrated into e-commerce platforms, automatically deducting from merchant balances.