Shareholders of Bitcoin treasury company Metaplanet are seething over equity allocations for insiders, while new figures cement Singapore’s role as the top Asian crypto hub. JAPAN Japanese Bitcoin treasury company Metaplanet’s executive stock pool continues to draw shareholder backlash over stock dilution concerns. Multiple shareholders objected across social media to Metaplanet’s 10th Series executive option pool, which was designed as 20% of fully diluted shares and automatically expanded as the company issued new shares to fund its Bitcoin (BTC) accumulation. Read more
Ripple was among the latest blockchain companies to sign a strategic partnership to build more custody and tokenized asset management solutions for Asian institutional participants. Blockchain enterprise solutions provider Ripple has partnered with digital asset infrastructure company SettleMint to offer financial institutions solutions for custody, issuance and management of tokenized assets across their full lifecycle. The strategic partnership will integrate Ripple’s institutional digital asset custody infrastructure, Ripple Custody, and SettleMint’s Digital Asset Lifecycle Platform (DALP) to offer institutions a less complex way to secure digital assets, Ripple announced on Tuesday. A day earlier, digital asset service provider Coincheck Group partnered with wallet infrastructure provider DFNS to build digital asset wallet technology and custody services in Japan. Read more
Bitcoin saw fresh downside pressure as US stocks tracked sideways into the end of the month, diverging from the relief bounce seen in Asia. Bitcoin (BTC) fell to its lowest levels in over two weeks on Friday as US stocks saw pressure into the monthly close. Key points: Data from TradingView showed BTC/USD falling 3.5% to reach $62,369 on Bitstamp, a level last seen on July 14. Read more
Bitcoin price downside returned to send BTC to one-week lows thanks to renewed concerns over global oil supplies focused on the Strait of Hormuz blockade. Bitcoin (BTC) headed to weekly lows after Tuesday’s Wall Street open as oil-supply woes panicked global markets. Key points: Read more
The Web3 company will provide capital, advisory support and business development to help Avalanche projects scale, with a focus on real-world assets and digital identity. Animoca Brands has made a strategic investment in Ava Labs and entered a partnership to support projects building on the Avalanche blockchain, focusing on capital deployment, advisory support and expansion in Asia and the Middle East. According to Thursday’s announcement by the Hong Kong-based Web3 company, the collaboration will target sectors including real-world assets, digital identity and entertainment, with Animoca providing business development support and access to regional networks to help Avalanche-based projects scale and reach institutional users. Projects pursued under the partnership may also tap into the broader ecosystem of portfolio companies, Animoca said. Read more
Companies that pivot to Bitcoin treasuries face crackdown in Asia, China doubles down on crypto ban. Asia Express 2025 in review. With the end of the year in sight, Asia Express looks back at some of the most significant developments for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in the region in 2025. The rise of Bitcoin treasury firms was a major development in Asia in 2024, after Japan-based Metaplanet adopted the blueprint popularized by Michael Saylor’s Strategy. In 2025, the model gained a formal label with the firms now known as digital asset treasury companies, or DATs. But for many DATs, the embrace of Bitcoin was really just a last-ditch attempt to revive moribund share prices. Several had little to do with crypto prior to their pivots, and DAT announcements often triggered short-lived stock rallies before prices normalized. Read more
Malaysia’s RMJDT shows how Asia is pulling stablecoins into regulated finance, linking tokenized assets with local-currency onchain settlement. RMJDT is a ringgit stablecoin pitched for payments and cross-border trade. Its treasury and validator setup is designed to make onchain settlement function like reliable infrastructure. Across Asia, stablecoins are being brought under licensing and reserve and redemption rules. Read more
Sygnum’s APAC HNWI Report 2025 found that 87% of Asia’s high-net-worth individuals are already exposed to crypto, with an average allocation of approximately 17%. More than half of wealthy Asian investors in a recent survey say they plan to increase their portfolio exposure to cryptocurrency over the next few years. Sygnum’s APAC HNWI Report 2025 found that 6 in 10 of the surveyed Asian high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) are prepared to increase their crypto allocations based on a strong two- to five-year outlook. It polled 270 HNWIs with more than $1 million in investable assets and professional investors with over ten years of experience across ten APAC countries, mainly in Singapore, but including Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand. Read more