'Phantom Bitcoin' checks, Drift hack linked to North Korea: Asia Categorical

All the things that occurred in crypto information in Asia over the previous seven days: Asia Categorical.

On this version:

1. Bitcoin assume tank recommends Taiwan maintain BTC
2. Drift hyperlinks $285M exploit to suspected North Korean operatives
3. Huione Group chief extradited to China
4. Hong Kong misses March goal for stablecoin licenses 
5. South Korean brokerage seeks stake in crypto alternate Coinone
6. Bithumb’s fats thumb prompts five-minute reconciliation mandate
7. Japan’s inventory alternate retains Bitcoin treasuries out of key index
8. China pushes blockchain to hyperlink tax knowledge and lending programs

Bithumb’s fats thumb prompts five-minute reconciliation mandate

South Korea’s Monetary Companies Fee would require crypto exchanges to reconcile inner ledgers with pockets balances each 5 minutes.

Inspections following a payout error at Bithumb discovered that almost all platforms relied on slower checks and lacked kill switches to halt transactions within the occasion of discrepancies.

Bithumb unintentionally distributed 620,000 phantom Bitcoin in February it didn’t have, after an worker mistakenly chosen Bitcoin as an alternative of Korean Gained.

Authorities will mandate automated shutdown triggers, stricter controls on high-risk guide payouts and month-to-month exterior audits.

The measures, backed by business group DAXA, can be finalized in April, with system upgrades focused for Might.

Bitcoin assume tank recommends Taiwan maintain BTC

Taiwan may use Bitcoin as a hedge towards geopolitical turmoil and the danger of conflict, based on the Bitcoin Coverage Institute.

Bitcoin can be the one asset that will stay unfrozen or accessible for switch within the occasion of a hypothetical blockade or invasion by China. 

“Uniquely for Taiwan, Bitcoin offers geopolitical resilience: in a PRC blockade or invasion, gold is stranded or seized and USD reserves face potential restrictions, however Bitcoin stays absolutely accessible with out bodily transport,” Jacob Langenkamp of the institute wrote in a report.

Drift hyperlinks $285M exploit to suspected North Korean operatives

Drift Protocol stated it had “medium-high confidence” that the latest exploit it suffered was carried out by North Korean hackers.

Drift traced the assault again to October 2025, when malicious actors posing as a quant buying and selling agency approached Drift contributors at a convention.

Drift Protocol misplaced $285 million in consumer property on April 1. Safety firm TRM Labs referred to as it the most important DeFi hack of 2026 and the second-largest exploit in Solana’s historical past. 

Safety researcher Taylor Monahan stated North Korean IT employees have infiltrated the DeFi area for a minimum of seven years.

Cambodian authorities have extradited Li Xiong, the chief of Huione Group, to China, the place he’ll face cash laundering prices. 

Huione Group has allegedly serviced rip-off facilities in Cambodia by promoting stolen private knowledge, expertise and cash laundering companies. Many of those facilities run “pig butchering” schemes, the place trafficked victims are compelled to defraud targets by posing as romantic or pleasant contacts to steal funds and crypto.

In keeping with Elliptic, {the marketplace} dealt with over $89 billion in cryptoassets as of January 2025.

Hong Kong misses March goal for stablecoin licenses 

The Hong Kong Financial Authority (HKMA) is not on time in awarding its new stablecoin licenses after lacking its March goal.

An HKMA spokesperson informed Cointelegraph that it’s “actively taking ahead the licensing matter and can announce additional particulars sooner or later.”

In Hong Kong’s new stablecoin regulation, issuers should absolutely again tokens with high-quality liquid reserves, redemptions should be processed in a single enterprise day and issuers should even have a bodily workplace within the metropolis. There are additionally Know Your Buyer and transaction monitoring guidelines.

South Korean brokerage agency seeks stake in crypto alternate

Korea Funding & Securities (KIS) is reportedly contemplating a stake in cryptocurrency alternate Coinone.

The Korea Herald reported that KIS started talks with regulators and politicians concerning the stake this month, however no last settlement has been reached.

This follows potential modifications to South Korean legislation that will cap shareholders’ stakes in home crypto exchanges at 20%. Companies would have three years to regulate their stakes.

Many native big-name buyers exceed these limits. Music Chi-hyung holds 25% of the Upbit’s operator Dunamu; Bithumb Holdings owns 73% Bithumb; Coinone chairman Cha Myung-hoon controls over 50% of his alternate; Mirae Asset Consulting will personal over 90% of Korbit following an acquisition, and Binance owns 67% of GOPAX.

Japan’s inventory alternate retains Bitcoin treasuries out of key index

Tokyo Inventory Alternate (TSE) operator Japan Alternate Group stated Friday that it’s going to chorus from including firms whose main property are crypto to the Tokyo Inventory Worth Index (TOPIX).

The Tokyo Inventory Alternate is split into three segments. The Prime Market is the highest tier, consisting of large-cap, established firms with larger governance and liquidity requirements.

TOPIX tracks firms listed on the Prime Market on a free-float-adjusted foundation. Exclusion from the index would imply that Bitcoin treasury corporations resembling Metaplanet wouldn’t be included in considered one of Japan’s fundamental benchmarks for large-cap equities.

“Metaplanet was based on a easy conviction: Japanese buyers deserve entry to Bitcoin by way of a clear, publicly listed firm on the Tokyo Inventory Alternate,” stated Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich. “However we’re constructing way over a treasury.”

China pushes blockchain to hyperlink tax knowledge and lending programs

China’s tax and monetary regulators are pushing banks to lean on blockchain and privacy-preserving instruments to revamp how tax knowledge is utilized in lending, to unlock extra credit score for small companies.

In a joint discover, the State Administration of Taxation and the Nationwide Monetary Regulatory Administration referred to as for standardized knowledge pipelines between tax authorities, lenders and corporations to shut persistent info gaps.

The directive ties into Beijing’s longer-term push to digitize knowledge infrastructure, constructing on a 2025 Nationwide Improvement and Reform Fee roadmap that units a nationwide blockchain rollout goal by 2029.

Subscribe

Probably the most partaking reads in blockchain. Delivered as soon as a
week.

Yohan Yun

Yohan (Hyoseop) Yun is a Cointelegraph employees author and multimedia journalist who has been overlaying blockchain-related subjects since 2017. His background consists of roles as an project editor and producer at Forkast, in addition to reporting positions targeted on expertise and coverage for Forbes and Bloomberg BNA. He holds a level in Journalism and owns Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana in quantities exceeding Cointelegraph’s disclosure threshold of $1,000.