1. HKMA’s Eddie Yue: CMU to Launch 24/7 On-chain Real-time Settlement by Year-Endlink
According to Zhitong Finance, on September 23, Eddie Yue, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), stated in his speech at the Treasury Markets Summit that Hong Kong boasts mature equity, foreign exchange and bond markets, while digital finance is growing rapidly. The Central Moneymarkets Unit (CMU) will launch new services by the end of this year to deliver on-chain 24-hour real-time settlement, supporting the digital Hong Kong dollar and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). It will also explore the acceptance of tokenised deposits and regulated stablecoins for settlement on the platform.
2. PBC Reiterates Virtual Currency Rules, Bans Related Businesses and RMB-pegged Stablecoinslink
The People’s Bank of China reiterated in its financial education campaign on September 22 that virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tether are not legal tender and cannot circulate as currency. Conducting virtual currency-related businesses within China constitutes illegal financial activities and is strictly prohibited. Without approval from relevant authorities, domestic entities and overseas entities under their control shall not issue virtual currencies abroad. No domestic or overseas entity or individual may issue RMB-pegged stablecoins outside China. The central bank warns the public against participating in virtual currency issuance, trading, investment and mining activities, to beware of high-return investment scams, and refrain from leasing bank cards or payment accounts or engaging in virtual currency-related activities.
3. Russian Finance Ministry: 20M Crypto Users, Total Investments at 3.7 Trillion Rubleslink
Ivan Chebeskov, Deputy Minister of Finance of Russia, stated that Russia currently has approximately 20 million cryptocurrency users, with residents’ total related investments reaching 3.7 trillion rubles (about 44 billion US dollars), including directly held cryptocurrencies and some financial products linked to them. The daily trading volume of cryptocurrencies in Russia stands at around 50 billion rubles (approximately 595 million US dollars). Chebeskov noted that a considerable portion of the market remains outside the regulatory framework. With the implementation of comprehensive regulatory legislation, the government expects to gain a more accurate grasp of market size, transaction structure and market dynamics in the future. He also mentioned that Russian tax residents will be required to report cryptocurrency transactions outside the regulatory system to the Federal Tax Service. In the event that assets such as USDT and USDC are frozen due to actions by foreign issuers, investors shall bear relevant losses if Russian custodians are not at fault.
4. US Prosecutors Probe Binance for Iran Sanctions Violationslink
Federal prosecutors in the United States are investigating
Federal prosecutors in the United States are investigating whether Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, violated US sanctions against Iran by failing to block certain platform transactions. The investigation is being handled by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Law enforcement authorities are focusing on examining whether Binance knowingly allowed such transactions. Binance pleaded guilty in 2023 to charges including anti-money laundering violations, unlicensed money transmission and sanctions breaches, and paid a fine of approximately 4.3 billion US dollars.
Binance stated in its official response: “We maintain a zero-tolerance policy for sanctions violations. We will fully cooperate with law enforcement and remain committed to identifying and blocking bad actors.”
5. South Korean Insiders Call for Liquidity Safeguards in KRW Stablecoin Regulationlink
South Korean industry insiders call for future regulation of KRW-pegged stablecoins to cover not only issuers, minimum capital requirements and reserve assets, but also safeguard mechanisms for initial circulation, issuance-redemption processes and secondary-market liquidity. Several stablecoins have experienced substantial price deviations after being listed on South Korean exchanges recently. JPYC, the Japanese yen stablecoin, surged as high as 37.6 won after its listing on Upbit, while its reference price stood at roughly 8.8 won, over four times the benchmark. PYUSD once jumped from 1,379 won to 1,760 won, and EURC previously hit 7,860 won on Bithumb, an increase of more than 400% from the previous day’s closing price. Industry participants argue that reserve assets can guarantee redemption but cannot prevent short-term secondary-market price distortions on their own. They recommend exploring measures such as designated market makers (MM) or liquidity providers (LP), mandatory disclosure of price deviations, and market order restrictions.
6. Kazakhstan Promotes Crypto Miners Using Associated Oilfield Gas for Powerlink
Kazakhstan is pushing crypto miners to generate electricity
Kazakhstan is pushing crypto miners to generate electricity using associated gas surplus from oilfields to power mining sites, aiming to reduce gas flaring, ease grid strain and attract miners back. Miners will bear the cost of relevant infrastructure investment, while oilfields can gain revenue by selling gas that would otherwise be flared and remove constraints on crude oil output growth caused by associated gas disposal issues. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy states that associated gas is currently flared at roughly 40 to 60 oilfields. The Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Digital Development and Artificial Intelligence are jointly formulating the relevant legal framework.
7. Kazakhstan Regulated Crypto Trading Volume Hits $10.58 Billionlink
Gizzat Baitursynov, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Digital Development and Artificial Intelligence of Kazakhstan, stated at a government meeting on September 15 that the trading volume of the country’s regulated crypto market rose from 320 million US dollars in 2023 to 10.58 billion US dollars in 2025, approximately 33 times that of two years ago. The user base expanded from 53,000 to 215,000 over the same period. Since 2022, Kazakhstan has launched pilots together with the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) and financial regulators, gradually building a licensing and operational framework for crypto exchanges. The head of Solana Superteam KZ said that over the past year, more than 8,000 people received training related to the Solana ecosystem, and over 2,000 obtained certificates. Kazakhstan ranked among the world’s top ten in the number of applications for the Solana Global Hackathon. In addition, 57 local startups received total grants of 121 million tenge (approximately 262,000 US dollars).
8. UAE and Singapore Emerge as Stablecoin Cross-border Payment Testbedslink
According to The National, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore are emerging as key testbeds for stablecoin cross-border payments and corporate treasury applications. Visa’s Head of Digital Currencies for Asia Pacific stated that stablecoins are more likely to develop alongside the banking system rather than replace it. SB Seker, Binance’s Asia Pacific Head, said the Asia-Pacific digital asset market grew roughly 69%–70% year-on-year, with rising merchant adoption of stablecoin payments. Singapore already hosts use cases including XSGD and tokenised deposits, while the UAE is advancing cross-border payments via DDSC and the digital dirham. Nevertheless, industry practitioners point out that compliance, foreign exchange conversion, liquidity and local fiat on-ramps remain major obstacles to further development of the Middle East–Asia stablecoin payment corridor.
9. Cambodia Unveils Major №8 Cyber Scam Compound; On-chain Data Links to Prince Grouplink
Cambodian authorities have publicly revealed for the first
Cambodian authorities have publicly revealed for the first time the interior of the large-scale online scam compound known as Compound 8 (also called Meun Chey Commercial City or Legend Park) located in Prey Veng Province. Built in 2023 and covering approximately 120 hectares, it ranks among Cambodia’s largest scam hubs and could hold up to 20,000 labourers trafficked and forced to conduct cross-border telecom and online fraud. Equipped with complete offices, accommodation, supermarkets and network server rooms, it functioned as a closed “city within a city”. Blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic’s investigation found that Legend Innovation, the operator of the compound, bears direct overlaps and links with the US and UK-sanctioned Prince Group in corporate phone registrations, executive activities and business records. In addition, Huione Pay maintained an offline physical service outlet within the compound for a long time, providing crypto-fiat deposit, withdrawal and exchange services for compound residents and illicit underground businesses.
10. South Korea’s Hana Bank Issues $100M Digital Bonds
South Korea’s second-largest bank Hana Bank issued $100 million worth of foreign-currency digital bonds the first time a Korean financial institution has directly used Euroclear’s blockchain infrastructure for bond issuance. Bond allocation and payments were completed on the issuance date, cutting the traditional 3–5 business-day settlement cycle to T+0. Standard Chartered acted as the sole lead underwriter
