North Korea drives onchain malware surge, CoinEx shuts: Asia Express

State hackers drive 420% surge in onchain malware, Chainalysis finds

North Korean and Iran linked hackers were responsible for the majority of the 420% increase this year in malware on public blockchains according to a Chainalysis report. 

State-linked hackers accounted for roughly two-thirds of new activity whereby attackers stored malware instructions or infrastructure information on public blockchains.

Chainalysis also identified UNC5342, a North Korea linked group, to previously unattributed activity spanning Tron, Aptos and BNB Smart Chain.

Chainalysis said using public blockchains increases the durability of malware campaigns because the stored information remains accessible after domains, servers or code repositories are taken down. In 2025, North Korean hackers used a similar technique called EtherHiding to place crypto-stealing code in smart contracts.

North Korea using foreign talent to help infiltrate US companies: Report

North Korea (DPRK) is now using remote workers from third countries, including Iran and Lebanon, to pass job interviews, after which the positions are taken over by North Korean operatives. The aim is infiltrate US companies and obtain money to fund its weapons programs, NBC reported.

KOREA

Polymarket users referred to prosecutors in South Korea: Report

South Korean police have referred 18 Polymarket users to prosecutors in an illegal gambling investigation that had identified 26 users in total by analyzing publicly available blockchain data.

The users had collectively wagered about 17.6 billion won (worth $12.7 million) on Polymarket, which does not collect users real names or verify identities.  

Authorities said that Polymarket transactions constitute illegal gambling under South Korea’s Criminal Act because users stake assets on outcomes that cannot be predicted with certainty. 

HONG KONG

Metaplanet cuts Series 10 stock pool by 41%, plans Hong Kong subsidiary

After last week’s controversy over a plan to hand over as much as 20% of its fully diluted shares to executives, Metaplanet has now slashed the Series 10 stock pool.

Metaplanet will reduce the number of potential shares underlying the rights from 319.464 million to 188.19 million, and reset the conversion ratio to the level it was before its September 2025 international share offering.

The change will extinguish more than $220 million in warrant value and increase the company’s Bitcoin per fully diluted share by about 8.8%, according to Metaplanet.

CLARITY act failure is an opportunity for Hong Kong to seize ‘critical strategic window’

The South China Morning Post says crypto industry insiders are urging Hong Kong policymakers to seize the opportunity opened up by the failure of the CLARITY vote in the US.

The delay has given Hong Kong a “critical strategic window” said Allen Ding, director of Bitfire Research. Shawn Yan, founder of Cregis Technology said the city should focus on “building infrastructure that can operate across regulatory boundaries, rather than waiting for any single jurisdiction to define the market for everyone.”

CoinEx to cease operation after 9 years

The Hong Kong founded exchange said falling trading volumes and liquidity during the bear market, along with rising regulatory and compliance costs, was responsible for the decision to shutter the business. Withdrawals remain open until Dec. 22.

INDIA

India launches tokenized bond pilot with $107M issued

India’s securities regulator and central bank have launched a tokenized corporate bond pilot, with three companies issuing a combined 10.25 billion rupees (about $107 million) through the new market infrastructure. 

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said Demat 2.0 allows corporate bonds to be issued and held as digital tokens on a distributed ledger owned by the country’s statutory depositories. The system connects to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) through its Unified Market Interface. 

Parliamentary committee wraps year long crypto review

India’s Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance has completed its hearings on cryptocurrency policy. The government will respond next week before the committee prepares and submits its report.

India’s Enforcement Directorate to beef up crypto investigations

India’s Enforcement Directorate aims to finalize economic crime investigations within 18 months and is beefing up its ability to track crimes involving cryptocurrencies.

VIETNAM

Bitcoin Suisse becomes Bitcoin Vietnam?

Bitcoin Suisse plans to shift up to half of its Swiss jobs to Bratislava and Vietnam.

Founded in Zug in 2013, the company provides crypto trading, custody, staking and lending services. It will establish a new center in Vietnam to look after many of the back office and administrative roles.

Vietnam develops new crypto-asset monitoring mechanisms 

Vietnamese regulators are building a supervisory mechanism covering crypto asset service providers and investor transactions. It draws upon recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

Binance signs MOU to help develop Vietnam finance center

Binance, the world’s largest exchange, has signed an agreement to help develop the Vietnam International Finance Center in Ho Chi Minh City.

SINGAPORE

Singapore Exchange gets nod for US perps

Singapore Exchange has become the first major Asian TradFi exchange to get approval from the Commodities Futures Trading Commission to provide Bitcoin and Ethereum perpetual futures to US institutions.

Singapore’s High Court offers guidance for valuing crypto assets

A recent decision has provided a precedent for valuing crypto assets in claims that departs from the usual breach-date damage assessment principles according to law firm Reed Smith. “The court is unlikely to allow claimants to delay mitigation for years and then seek damages at a higher present-day market price,” it noted.

Six Malaysians jailed for crypto poker robbery

Six Malaysian men were sentenced in Singapore to hefty sentences up to 12 years and 11 months —plus 24 strokes of the cane — over a 2024 armed robbery involving crypto, cash, and luxury items.

THAILAND

Thailand SEC proposes 5 million baht daily stablecoin transfer cap

Thailand’s SEC has proposed new stablecoin regulations that would prohibit users from transferring more than 5 million baht per day, worth around $151,000.

MALAYSIA

Malaysia is one of the more crypto friendly Islamic nations

According to Fitch Ratings Malaysia is one of the most crypto curious Muslim majority nations, with the local Securities Commission declaring Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Stellar sharia-compliant.