Thailand Introduces 0% Capital Gains Tax on Crypto

Crypto investors in Thailand will be exempt from capital gains taxes on sales conducted through platforms licensed by the country's Securities and Exchange Commission for a five-year period spanning Jan. 1, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2029. The initiative is designed to strengthen Thailand's position as a regional cryptocurrency hub, building on an already growing community of crypto-focused digital nomads. The country previously waived a 7% value-added tax on crypto gains in early 2024.

The policy arrives as neighboring financial centers including Hong Kong and Singapore have been building out their own digital asset licensing regimes, intensifying competition for crypto-related capital and talent across the region.

However, trades executed on unlicensed or overseas exchanges will remain subject to standard personal income tax rates of up to 38%. The new exemption brings the tax treatment of cryptocurrencies in line with capital gains on traditional securities.

Bitcoin Red Team Founder Turns to Chinese AI Models

Rob Hamilton, founder of the Bitcoin Red Team, has been compelled to rely on open-source Chinese AI models after being restricted by OpenAI from analyzing codebases. Open-source models such as DeepSeek's R1 and Alibaba's Qwen series have become increasingly capable alternatives in code analysis tasks, narrowing gaps with proprietary Western tools. The situation underscores a broader concern that advanced AI tools are not sufficiently accessible to cybersecurity defenders working to protect critical infrastructure.

"It absolutely guts me as a patriotic American to have to do this, but I will be going back to using Chinese open source models to conduct my research to protect Bitcoin infrastructure," Hamilton said.

"Black hats will not hit these issues. The white hats will. We've hit a local minima in policy," he continued. "Intelligence is unrestricted for those who don't follow rules, and those who engage in harm reduction are left on the sidelines."

The Bitcoin Policy Institute, together with an alliance of blockchain firms, subsequently called on "frontier AI labs to establish a clear, trusted pathway for qualified open-source and digital asset defenders to access their strongest capabilities." Source: Rob Hamilton

China News in Brief

— A man in Shenzhen was convicted of attempted extortion after stealing confidential research and development data from his employer and posing as an overseas hacker to demand a ransom payable in Bitcoin.

APAC Region Sees 68% Jump in Onchain Transactions Year-on-Year

A joint report by Hashed Open Research and SCBX found that onchain transaction volume across the Asia-Pacific region surged 68% year-on-year, rising from $1.4 trillion to $2.36 trillion — the fastest growth rate of any region globally, driven primarily by Southeast Asian nations. The report also found that consumers in the region leapfrogged directly from cash to mobile payments, bypassing cards and traditional banking. Digital payments now represent 60% of all payments in the region.

CLARITY Act Delay Gives Asian Financial Hubs an Opening

The US Senate's postponement of a vote on crypto market structure legislation to mid-September could provide Hong Kong and Singapore with additional time to consolidate their positions as digital asset hubs, according to Vincent Chok, founder and CEO of First Digital, the company behind the FDUSD stablecoin.

The CLARITY Act, which aims to establish a clearer division of regulatory authority between the SEC and CFTC over digital assets, is part of a broader legislative push in Washington that has advanced in fits and starts.

Chok said jurisdictions with clearer regulatory frameworks could gain an edge in attracting capital and talent while US regulatory uncertainty dampens institutional adoption.

"For Asia, this delay gives regional financial hubs like Hong Kong and Singapore additional time to demonstrate that clear regulation can coexist with innovation," Chok said.

US Court Backs Bybit's Bid to Trace Funds from $1.5B North Korea Hack

A US federal judge has supported crypto exchange Bybit's effort to trace assets stolen in the $1.5 billion North Korea-linked hack of February 2025, one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts on record. According to newly disclosed court records, Bybit filed the lawsuit under seal on June 18 against North Korea, its Reconnaissance General Bureau, the Lazarus Group, and 20 unidentified defendants. The Lazarus Group has been linked by the FBI and UN investigators to a years-long campaign of crypto theft estimated in the billions of dollars. The court granted Bybit's request for expedited discovery on June 19.

The discovery authority provides Bybit with a practical avenue to identify alleged intermediaries and recover the small portion of stolen assets that remains traceable, rather than relying solely on a judgment against North Korea.

Bybit informed the court that 90.2% of the stolen assets had become untraceable after being laundered through mixers, cross-chain bridges, and over-the-counter dealers. The remaining 9.8% was traced to identifiable wallets, including 5.3% of the total — approximately $75.5 million — that had been frozen or recovered. Bybit is seeking the return of the stolen assets along with roughly $1.5 billion in damages.

South Korea News in Brief

— Dunamu, operator of the Upbit exchange, has been selected by the National Police Agency to custody seized crypto assets for the coming year after achieving the highest technical evaluation score of 94.14 points.

Japan FSA Asks Crypto Exchanges to Impose Withdrawal Delays

Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) has asked cryptocurrency exchanges to implement withdrawal delays and additional safeguards as authorities confront increasingly sophisticated scams targeting digital asset users. The FSA said it issued the request jointly with the National Police Agency, citing mounting losses among exchange customers and instances where fraudulently obtained funds are being transferred to exchange accounts.

The measures call on exchanges to restrict cryptocurrency withdrawals for a specified period following fiat currency deposits or digital asset purchases. Platforms were also asked to require users to pre-register withdrawal addresses and enforce a waiting period before newly added addresses can be utilized.

Japan News in Brief

— The Tokyo Stock Exchange plans to introduce a re-examination regime for companies undergoing major business pivots. While the TSE did not explicitly name digital asset treasuries, such arrangements may well fall within the scope of the new rules.

Taiwan Plans Travel Rule for Domestic Crypto Transfers from October

Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission will require crypto platforms to transmit customer information for all domestic platform-to-platform transfers beginning in October. The rules align with the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) Travel Rule guidance, which more than 60 jurisdictions have moved to adopt since its 2019 update. Taiwan's framework will apply regardless of transaction value, though transfers exceeding 30,000 New Taiwan dollars (approximately $930) will trigger additional data requirements, including an individual sender's date of birth and residential address, or a corporate sender's official identification number and registered address.

Receiving virtual asset service providers (VASPs) will also be required to verify beneficiary information supplied by the originating platform against their own records. The FSC intends to extend the framework to transfers between domestic and overseas VASPs by the end of 2027.

Bitdeer Increased Bitcoin Mining Output Nearly Fivefold in Q2

Singapore-headquartered Bitcoin mining company Bitdeer mined 2,694 Bitcoin during the second quarter of 2026, a nearly fivefold increase from 565 BTC in the same period a year earlier, according to the company's Q2 report published Monday. Bitdeer, chaired by Bitmain co-founder Jihan Wu, has been expanding its data center and mining infrastructure footprint as it pursues diversification beyond mining into AI computing services.

The miner closed the quarter holding 150 BTC on its balance sheet, down 90% from 1,502 BTC a year earlier. Bitdeer liquidated its entire 943 BTC treasury in February, citing liquidity management decisions rather than any strategic departure from its core Bitcoin mining operations.

Singapore News in Brief

— UBS is intensifying its focus on wealthy Singapore residents. Over the past 25 years, the number of Singapore residents with investable assets between $5 million and $10 million has grown at a compounded annual rate of 8%. In total, 27,000 residents hold between $5 million and $100 million in assets.

Binance-Affiliated Companies Sue RedotPay Founders

Binance-affiliated companies have filed a lawsuit against the founders of Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency payments firm RedotPay, alleging that the company diverted more than 470,000 users from Binance Card in breach of their commercial agreement. The plaintiffs are seeking nearly $473 million in damages, asserting that the alleged conduct contributed to RedotPay's valuation as the company explores a potential initial public offering.

RedotPay stated that it is defending the proceedings and rejected what it characterized as "unfounded allegations" against the company and its co-founders. "RedotPay is strenuously defending the proceedings," a company spokesperson told Cointelegraph, adding that it will respond through the appropriate legal process.

Hong Kong News in Brief

— Hong Kong police arrested a 67-year-old woman accused of posing as a prospective tenant to defraud property owners of $510,000. She reportedly offered to pay rent in advance and provided landlords with a mobile phone containing a legitimate crypto application. However, the app contained malware that granted scammers control over the wallet, enabling them to siphon funds once the wallet was capitalized.

Vietnam News in Brief

— The Vietnam RWA Summit featured discussions on the country's developing groundwork for tokenizing real-world assets, with input from the securities regulator and the Vietnam Blockchain Association.

— Vietnam's central bank governor presented a draft law to the National Assembly that would designate crypto asset services as reporting entities under the country's anti-money laundering regulations. The draft also outlines suspicious transaction indicators specifically tailored to crypto asset activities.