The bill would require the central bank to buy 2,000 Bitcoin annually over five years and hold the assets for at least two decades. The Congress of the Philippines is weighing a proposal that could see the country’s central bank establish a strategic reserve of 10,000 Bitcoin, positioning the country among the first in Southeast Asia to adopt Bitcoin as a strategic asset. A House of Representatives bill filed by Camarines Sur Representative Migz Villafuerte in June made headlines on Thursday, as it aims to mandate the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the country’s central bank, to purchase 2,000 Bitcoin (BTC) annually over a five-year period. The bill, called the “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Act,” aims to mandate the BSP to buy 10,000 Bitcoin worth $1.1 billion at current market prices. The bill states that the asset would be locked in a trust for at least 20 years. This would mean that the coins could not be sold, swapped or disposed of, except for when retiring government debt. Read more
China’s split renminbi system suggests a rumored yuan stablecoin won’t mark a crypto shift. The cryptocurrency industry is abuzz with speculation after recent reports suggested China may soften its stance on a yuan-backed stablecoin, but law experts caution against overinterpreting the news. Reuters reported Wednesday that Beijing is considering approving a stablecoin pegged to the renminbi as part of a roadmap to boost the currency’s internationalization. It was the second report this month, following a similar Financial Times story on Aug. 5. Despite the news, Chinese officials have yet to confirm whether it’s considering a stablecoin push. Even if Chinese authorities move ahead, analysts stress that such a stablecoin would almost certainly circulate offshore, not in the mainland. Read more
Apple patched a zero-click vulnerability that allowed sophisticated attackers to compromise devices and could have led to cryptocurrency theft; it urged immediate updates. Apple is urging users to immediately update their devices to patch a zero-click vulnerability that allowed attackers to compromise iPhones, iPads and Macs, a flaw posing heightened risks for cryptocurrency holders. In a Thursday advisory, Apple said the image processing vulnerability allowed sophisticated actors to compromise Apple devices. The vulnerability disclosure page notes that it was fixed as part of the macOS Sonoma 14.7.8, macOS Ventura 13.7.8, iPadOS 17.7.10, macOS Sequoia 15.6.1, iOS 18.6.2 and iPadOS 18.6.2 updates. “Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals,” the company said. Read more
In 2025, Dubai is showing how crypto can work for real-world housing, letting residents legally pay rent with Bitcoin through regulated channels. Dubai’s clear rules now let tenants rent apartments with Bitcoin through approved channels. Risks like volatility and landlord limits are managed with AED locks and licensed platforms. Fast payments and low fees make Bitcoin real estate in Dubai increasingly appealing. Read more
Andrew Tate is back on the memecoin bandwagon but hasn’t nailed the trading game as his wallet approaches losses of $700,000 on Hyperliquid. Former kickboxing champion and controversial influencer Andrew Tate is among the latest celebrities to dive into Kanye West’s newly launched YZY token, but his bets are already deep in the red. A wallet address linked to Tate opened a 3x leveraged short position on the recently launched, West-linked YZY token at $0.85 and was sitting on a $16,000 loss on the position. Tate “doesn’t seem to be good at perps trading,” as his cumulative losses are nearing $700,000 on this single Hyperliquid account, wrote blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain in a Friday X post. “So far, he's made 80 trades on #Hyperliquid — only 29 were profitable (win rate: 36.25%) — with total losses of $699K.” Read more
SBI partners with Circle, Ripple and Startale to launch stablecoin ventures and a tokenized asset trading platform in Japan. Japanese financial conglomerate SBI inked new blockchain partnerships with USDC issuer Circle, XRP developer Ripple and the Web3 company Startale. SBI Group announced the three separate partnerships on Friday, including stablecoin-related collaborations with US companies Circle and Ripple, and a new tokenization project with Singapore-based Startale. In cooperation with Startale, SBI plans to build an onchain trading platform for tokenized stocks and real-world assets (RWAs) to enable 24/7 trading. Read more
Taiwanese prosecutors reportedly indicted 14 people accused of orchestrating the country’s biggest money laundering case involving cryptocurrency. Update, Aug. 22, 12:54 pm UTC: This article has been updated to include CoinW exchange’s response to the indictment. Taiwanese prosecutors reportedly indicted 14 people in what they say is the country’s biggest-ever cryptocurrency money laundering case, involving more than 1,500 victims and over $70 million in illicit funds. The Shilin District Prosecutor’s office indicted the 14 on charges related to fraud, money laundering and organized crime, requesting the confiscation of 1.275 billion New Taiwan dollars ($39.8 million), which was allegedly obtained from victims through fraud, according to a Friday report from local media outlet UDN. Read more