Tampered Ledger reported in Singapore a month before news broke: Asia Express

Singapore police say at least two cases involving tampered Ledger hardware wallets have been reported since Sept. 10, with combined losses of about 3.5 million Singapore dollars ($2.7 million). It places the first local report almost a month before the wider incident became public.

It’s not clear from the October 28 consumer alert if the September 10 case was reported to police at the time, or was made retrospectively. If the report was timely, it raises questions as to whether Ledger was informed, or if the Singapore Police Force was in a position to issue a public warning earlier. However, the October 28 advisory suggested the police investigation was still in the preliminary stages.

Ledger issued a public alert about tampered Ledgers being found in the CryptoBilis supply chain on October 9. Almost $100 million was drained from wallets containing spyware components.

On Oct. 13, Ledger said it has asked retailers in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Hong Kong to suspend sales of Ledger devices as investigations are ongoing.

Singapore police issue tampered Ledgers warning three weeks after the story broke. Source: Singapore Police

Malaysia, Thailand join Singapore’s cross-border stablecoin push

Bank Negara Malaysia and the Bank of Thailand joined Singapore’s BLOOM initiative on Friday as policymaker members.

BLOOM, short for Borderless, Liquid, Open, Online, Multi-currency, is a public-private initiative that intends to help financial institutions use stablecoins and tokenized deposits for cross-border payments. It was launched by the Monetary Authority of Singapore in October last year and counts Airwallex, Mastercard, Ripple, Visa and the World Bank Group as members.

DBS survey finds lots of corporate interest in tokenized money

A survey by Singapore bank DBS found that almost 90% of 422 global businesses surveyed are either adopting, or are interested in adopting, tokenized cash to accelerate payments.

SOUTH KOREA

Groundhog Day as Korean lawmakers consider fourth delay of crypto tax

Government officials in South Korea are reportedly weighing another delay of the country’s cryptocurrency tax policy, currently scheduled to be implemented in January 2027. 

According to a Monday report from South Korean news outlet Newsis, the crypto income tax could be pushed to 2029 in part because it’s the earliest that officials will be able to share information on taxes related to digital asset exchanges with the US.

The policy, which would impose a 22% tax on crypto gains for investors earning more than 2.5 million Korean won ($1,883) annually.

Bithumb and two other firms report data breaches

Bithumb said its in-house mobile system was hacked and personal information leaked. Brokerage Daishin Securities reported roughly 38,000 customer records exposed and asset manager Mirae Asset Global Investments confirmed a hacking incident.

South Korea to regulate stablecoins as payment means, and require monthly balance reporting for cross border transfers

The South Korean government and the Bank of Korea intend to draft amendments to the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act within this year to regulate stablecoins used as payment instruments. The central bank will also require crypto transfer service providers to send monthly reports from December 2 — but extending back to mid 2024 — about who exactly has been sending money out of the country.

NORTH KOREA

Chainalysis traces North Korean crypto cash-outs through Garantex

Blockchain analytics company Chainalysis mapped a long-running network of Russian intermediaries that helped North Korean IT workers cash out millions of dollars in cryptocurrency.

The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 10 individuals and one entity on Wednesday for supporting North Korean government-run IT worker schemes that it said funded the country’s weapons programs, according to a press release.

Those sanctioned included Russian nationals Ilya Aleksandrovich Boykov and Vitold Viktorovich Obertas. 

HONG KONG

Hong Kong names Nasdaq-listed Solana Company a strategic enterprise

Hong Kong has named Nasdaq-listed Solana Company (HSDT) a strategic enterprise under a government program aimed at attracting businesses that support the city’s economic development.

Solana Company said Thursday that it was among the seventh batch of businesses selected by Hong Kong’s Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES) and the only blockchain infrastructure company onboarded by the office in 2026.

Hong Kong’s government confirmed the addition of 18 enterprises to the program last week, bringing its total to 142.

China uses Hong Kong as a launchpad for the Digital Yuan

The South China Morning Post reported that Beijing wants Hong Kong to help seed international use of the digital yuan.

RedotPay plans a US IPO

Hong Kong crypto payments firm RedotPay plans to launch an IPO in the US before the end of the year, and has launched a pre-IPO funding round valuing the company at $4 billion.

CHINA

China targets 2030 for its national blockchain network buildout

China has set a 2030 target for largely completing a national blockchain network under a five-year digital development plan published Friday.

The new plan also calls for stronger blockchain technical standards and greater use of the technology in data circulation and trading.

Mainland China bans cryptocurrency-related business activities, but promotes blockchain technology as a national priority. Critics say that blockchain-not-crypto has never worked before.

THAILAND

Supreme Court recognizes Bitcoin as legal property

Thailand’s Supreme Court has ruled that Bitcoin qualifies as property under criminal law, setting a precedent that may influence how Thai courts treat other cryptocurrencies. The case involved upholding a 10-year prison sentence in a robbery case involving about $50,000 in Bitcoin.

Thailand launches crypto wallet for tourists

Thailand has launched the terribly named WORPT digital wallet so that tourists can convert USDT or USDC into Thai baht in order to spend via PromptPay QR codes. The scheme is part of the Tourist DigiPay sandbox.