Scammer among victims of Ledger supply chain attack

Hardware wallet maker Ledger was forced to suspend its reseller network across Southeast Asia this week after thieves stole more than $103.4 million from 530 addresses using tampered devices inserted into the supply chain. According to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, one of the "victims" was a scammer — a small measure of poetic justice.

Chainalysis reported that the scammer lost 60 Bitcoin, worth about $4.8 million, from three newly purchased Ledgers containing spyware that records seed phrases. The thieves drained the funds from all three devices into the same wallet. Because a seed phrase can restore a wallet on any compatible device, whoever records it effectively holds the keys to the funds — which is what makes tampering before a device ever reaches its buyer so dangerous.

The irony runs deeper: the scammer had operated a "task scam" in which people were paid to fake sales and reviews of real items. Depending on how much those participants knew, they in turn may not have been entirely honest either. "Then a 'negative balance' appeared, and they were told to add their own money in order to get paid," Chainalysis reported. It is possible, then, that a scammer of scammers has just been scammed — in crypto, it is sometimes turtles all the way down.

Despite reports of tampered Ledgers showing up in Europe, where electronics retailer MediaMarkt suspended sales, Ledger insists that all confirmed thefts to date have occurred in Asia. The company has asked resellers in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Hong Kong to remove Ledgers from sale.

Trezor, too, has decided to close some of the more far-flung resellers in its network from Jan. 1, saying it cannot guarantee the same level of vigilance it applies to resellers closer to home. There have been no reports of tampered Trezors. The retreat from distant markets signals that hardware wallet makers are re-examining how far a distribution network can stretch before oversight breaks down — precisely the failure mode the Ledger thefts exposed.

Amid the worst hardware wallet scandal since the Coldcard seed phrase debacle at the end of July, Ledger decided it was the ideal moment to launch its latest device. Called Atom, the $849 device combines a crypto wallet with Android apps, which are kept separated from sensitive wallet operations. Ledger says the device includes protections that would block the implants used in the Asian thefts and claims it can detect tampering even when switched off. The company has also published a first look at the device.

South Korea

South Korea moves to block 27 overseas crypto exchanges

South Korean authorities have approved measures to block domestic access to 27 websites operated by unregistered crypto exchanges and other virtual asset service providers, including KuCoin, MEXC, Phemex and Bitrue.

The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) said in a statement, according to a translation: "With this decision, blocking measures against illegal virtual asset operators will also apply to internet websites, following apps such as those on Apple and Google."

The list also includes CoinW, BTCC, BitMart, BingX, DigiFinex and others. The move extends the regulators' enforcement approach from app stores to the open web, tightening the screws on platforms that serve Korean users without local registration.

South Korea plans cybersecurity overhaul after attacks hit banks and crypto firms

South Korea will tighten cybersecurity requirements for financial institutions after an investigation into earlier security incidents involving 16 companies, including crypto exchanges, uncovered significant deficiencies.

The Financial Services Commission said it would pursue improved threat monitoring, more frequent security assessments and stronger accountability for executives after an industry-wide review found cybersecurity deficiencies at 130 of 555 financial companies. With banks and crypto firms reviewed side by side, the overhaul frames exchange security as a systemwide concern rather than a niche one.

South Korean bank launches Bitcoin-backed business loans

Jeonbuk Bank has reportedly begun offering Bitcoin-backed to corporate customers, with a third-party custodian holding the cryptocurrency used as collateral — an arrangement that lets businesses raise working capital against their holdings without selling them.

Thailand

Thailand's Bitcoin and Ether ETFs begin trading

Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission has finalized rules, effective Friday, allowing crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to list on the country's main stock exchange. The rollout kicks off with Bitcoin and Ether ETFs, and the products must list exclusively on the Stock Exchange of Thailand — a domestic debut that puts Thailand alongside Hong Kong, where crypto funds already trade on the local exchange.

Products linked to foreign crypto ETFs will not be permitted initially, and Thai brokers are barred from facilitating investments in overseas crypto ETFs for anyone except institutions and ultra-high-net-worth individuals.

James Butterfill, head of research at digital asset investment firm CoinShares, nevertheless told Cointelegraph not to get too excited. "I would expect modest inflows initially, with tens of millions of US dollars across the first products a more realistic starting expectation than billions," he said.

Australia

Australia seeks feedback on crypto platform rules ahead of 2027 rollout

Australia's securities regulator opened consultation Thursday on proposed capital, custody and trading requirements for crypto platforms as it prepares to implement legislation passed in April that expands oversight of the industry. The consultation will help define the standards platforms must meet to serve Australian customers once the regime comes into force.

The proposals include three alternative capital models, restrictions on platforms trading for their own account and quarterly reporting of wallets holding customer assets. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) also proposes allowing offshore custody while seeking feedback on safeguards should an overseas parent or related company fail. In addition, ASIC proposed extending the rules for contracts for difference (CFDs) to crypto. CFDs let traders bet on price movements without owning the underlying asset.

China

Chinese fraud victims lose key court battle over 61,000 Bitcoin

Chinese fraud victims seeking to recover 61,000 Bitcoin seized by the British government have lost a key legal battle after London's High Court ruled that Chinese law, rather than English law, should govern claims to the assets.

"The relevant damage occurred in China. The Applicants parted with their money in China," Justice Mark Turner wrote. "The contractual relationships thereby induced were entered into in China."

The dispute stems from an investment fraud scheme orchestrated by Zhimin Qian between 2014 and 2017, with British authorities seizing the assets during a money-laundering investigation. The ruling decides which legal framework governs the claims, but not who ultimately controls the coins: the claimants will appeal the ruling in British courts, leaving the ultimate fate of the 61,000 Bitcoin unresolved.

The Philippines

Coins.ph says its Philippine central bank license remains intact

Coins.ph said it is still licensed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the country's central bank, despite reports that it could face license revocation over alleged transactions involving restricted offshore gambling operators.

Coins.ph is one of the largest crypto exchanges in the Philippines, and the reported license risk follows restrictions imposed by the central bank on some incoming transfers involving DCPay Philippines, which operates Coins.ph's peso e-wallet.

"Coins.ph firmly denies any claim that it knowingly serves offshore gaming or gambling operators," the company said. "Our users' funds are safe; we continue to operate as a BSP-licensed institution," it added.

Hong Kong

Binance may add Asian stocks to its platform

Binance co-CEO Richard Teng said during Token2049 that the exchange may add Hong Kong, Korean, Taiwanese and Brazilian equities to its platform — a possible move toward blurring the line between crypto trading venues and traditional equity markets, though the phrasing kept the plan exploratory.

Second Solana ETF lists in Hong Kong

Pando Finance's Solana ETF has launched on Hong Kong's HKEX under the ticker 2831.hk. It is the second such fund and carries a 0.6% fee, undercutting the first fund from ChinaAMC, which charges 0.99% annually — an early sign of fee competition among the territory's crypto fund issuers.

Singapore

Singapore crypto scam losses fall by 43%

A crackdown by the Singapore Police in partnership with local crypto exchanges helped contribute to a 43% fall in reported losses from crypto scams year over year — a data point suggesting coordinated enforcement and industry cooperation can move the numbers.

Revolut to open new Singapore office

Revolut has announced it will open a new Singapore office, invest S$350 million (US$273 million) over the next five years and expand its local workforce from 170 to 300.