Thailand’s 0% crypto tax. Bitcoin Red Team forced to use Chinese AI: Asia Express

THAILAND

Thailand introduces 0% capital gains tax on crypto

For the next few years crypto investors in Thailand won’t have to pay any capital gains taxes on sales made via platforms licensed by Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission. The exemption is for five years and covers the period of January 1 2025, through to December 31 2029.

The scheme aims to boost Thailand’s attractiveness as a regional crypto hub, and it’s already home to a growing community of crypto digital nomads

However trades on unlicensed or overseas exchanges will still face standard personal tax rates as high as 38%. The exemption aligns the tax treatment of crypto with capital gains from traditional securities in the country.

Thailand previously waved 7% value added tax on crypto gains in early 2024.

CHINA

Bitcoin Red Team founder turns to Chinese AI

Bitcoin Red Team founder Rob Hamilton has been forced to rely on open-source Chinese AI models after finding himself restricted from analyzing codebases by OpenAI, highlighting a growing concern that the most capable AI tools aren’t being made available to defenders. 

“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,” he said. 

“Black hats will not hit these issues. The white hats will. We’ve hit a local minima in policy,” said Hamilton. “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 and an alliance of blockchain firms subsequently issued a call to “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 Shenzen was convicted of attempted extortion after he stole confidential R&D data from his company and then posed as an overseas hacker to demand a ransom paid in Bitcoin.

ASIA PACIFIC

APAC region sees big jump in onchain transactions year-on-year

A new report from Hashed Open Research and SCBX found that on-chain transaction volume across the Asia-Pacific region grew by 68% year-on-year, from $1.4 trillion to $2.36 trillion. It was the fastest growth of any region globally, driven mainly by countries in South East Asia.

The report found that consumers in the region had skipped straight from cash, over cards and bank transactions, and went directly to mobile payments. Digital payments now account for 60% of all payments in the region.

CLARITY Act delay gives Asian financial hubs an opening: First Digital CEO

The US Senate’s delay of a vote on crypto market structure legislation to mid-September could give Hong Kong and Singapore more time to strengthen their positions as digital asset hubs, according to First Digital founder and CEO Vincent Chok.

Chok, whose company issues the FDUSD stablecoin, said the delay could give jurisdictions with clearer regulatory frameworks an advantage in attracting capital and talent as US uncertainty weighs on 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.” 

NORTH KOREA

US court backs Bybit’s bid to trace funds from $1.5B North Korea hack

A US federal judge backed crypto exchange Bybit’s effort to trace assets stolen in the infamous $1.5 billion North Korea-linked hack in February 2025. 

According to newly revealed 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 court granted Bybit’s request for expedited discovery on June 19.

The discovery authority gives Bybit a practical route to identify alleged intermediaries and pursue a small portion of stolen assets that remains traceable, rather than relying solely on a judgment against North Korea. 

Unfortunately, Bybit told the court that 90.2% of the stolen assets had become untraceable after passing through mixers, cross-chain bridges and over-the-counter dealers. The remaining 9.8% had been traced to identifiable wallets, including 5.3% of the total, about $75.5 million, that had been frozen or recovered.

Bybit is seeking the return of the stolen assets and approximately $1.5 billion in damages.

SOUTH KOREA NEWS IN BRIEF

— Dunamu, which operates Upbit, has been selected by the National Police Agency to custody seized crypto assets for the next year after it obtained the highest technical evaluation score of 94.14 points.

JAPAN

Japan FSA asks crypto exchanges to impose withdrawal delays to fight scams

Japan’s financial regulator has asked crypto exchanges to introduce withdrawal delays and other safeguards as authorities respond to increasingly sophisticated scams involving digital assets. 

The Financial Services Agency (FSA) said it had jointly requested the measures with the National Police Agency amid growing losses among crypto exchange users and cases where funds obtained through fraudulent schemes are being transferred to exchange accounts.

The request calls on exchanges to restrict crypto withdrawals for a specified period after customers deposit fiat currency or purchase digital assets. Platforms were also asked to require users to pre-register crypto withdrawal addresses and impose a waiting period before newly added addresses can be used.

JAPAN NEWS IN BRIEF

— Tokyo Stock Exchange plans to introduce a re‑examination regime for companies that undergo a major business pivot. The TSE didn’t name digital asset treasuries but logic suggests they may well fall within the scope of the new rules.

TAIWAN

Taiwan plans Travel Rule for domestic crypto transfers from October

Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission will require crypto platforms to transmit customer information on all domestic platform-to-platform transfers starting in October. 

The rules would apply regardless of value, but transfers exceeding 30,000 New Taiwan dollars (about $930) would 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 VASPs would also be required to compare beneficiary information supplied by the originating platform with their own records. 

The FSC plans to extend the framework to transfers between domestic and overseas VASPs by the end of 2027.

SINGAPORE

Bitdeer increased Bitcoin mining output by nearly fivefold in Q2

Singapore headquartered Bitcoin miner Bitdeer mined 2,694 Bitcoin during the second quarter of 2026, up nearly fivefold from 565 BTC a year earlier. 

The miner closed the quarter with 150 BTC held on its balance sheet, down 90% from 1,502 BTC a year earlier, according to the company’s Q2 report published Monday.

Bitdeer liquidated its entire 943 BTC treasury in February, citing liquidity decisions rather than a shift away from its core Bitcoin mining business. 

SINGAPORE NEWS IN BRIEF

—UBS is sharpening its focus on wealthy Singapore residents. Over the past 25 years the number of Singapore residents who have between $5 million to $10 million compounded at an annual growth rate of 8 percent. In total there are 27,000 residents with between $5 million and $100 million.

HONG KONG

Binance sues RedotPay over alleged $473 million user losses: Report

Binance-affiliated companies have sued the founders of Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency payments company RedotPay, alleging it diverted more than 470,000 users from Binance Card in breach of their commercial agreement.

The plaintiffs seek nearly $473 million in damages, alleging the conduct contributed to RedotPay’s valuation as the company considers a potential initial public offering.

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

HONG KONG NEWS IN BRIEF

— Hong Kong police have arrested a 67-year-old woman accused of posing as a prospective tenant to scam property owners out of $510,000. She offered to pay rent in advance, then gave them a mobile phone with a genuine crypto app on it. However, the app had malware giving control over the wallet to the scammers, allowing them to steal funds once it had been funded.

VIETNAM NEWS IN BRIEF

— The Vietnam RWA Summit heard about how the country is developing groundwork for tokenizing RWAs from the securities regulator and Vietnam Blockchain Association.

— Vietnam’s central bank governor presented a draft law to the National Assembly to make crypto asset services reporting entities under the country’s anti money laundering regulations. It also highlights suspicious transaction indicators specifically tailored to crypto asset activities.