🌸Asia is Getting Creative #79
XRP tracker fund | Animoca interested in the U.K. | Amber & Antalpha on NASDAQ | Bithumb eyeing IPO | Bybit offering U.S. stocks | Bitcoin Hotel in Japan
Welcome back to World Ledger. I’m Coco and I want to share some recent developments from Asia that have caught my attention.
Asia continues to embrace U.S. products, while some companies are actively expanding westward, seeking new deals or capital.
After years of slow progress in Bitcoin and crypto adoption, Japan is picking up momentum, with a surge of new activities emerging from the country.
Meanwhile, governments in Hong Kong, Dubai, and Thailand are stepping up, either through regulations or innovative blockchain applications.
Competition among centralized crypto exchanges is intensifying, and as a result, I expect to see more IPOs and M&A. To stay competitive, these exchanges are rolling out new and creative products to attract and retain customers, even introducing access to traditional financial products such as FX, gold and stocks.
We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run. - Roy Amara
✅ An XRP tracker fund has been launched in Asia by HashKey Capital, with Ripple as an anchor investor. Read more on Finance Magnets
✍️ Animoca Brands has partnered with Coinbase and two UK venture funds to launch a Web3 + AI accelerator in the U.K. Read more on CCN
📒 CZ states in a tweet that he is not a fixer for World Liberty Financial or Zach Witkoff in their foreign travels.
Two Asian companies, both headquartered in Singapore, went public on the Nasdaq in March and May, respectively: Amber and Antalpha.
🔸 Amber Group’s digital wealth management arm, Amber DWM, went public via a reverse merger with an already listed company, Click Interactive Asia Group. Amber DWM was valued at $360 million, just 12% of the group’s private valuation of $3B. Amber Group’s investors include Temasek, Pantera, and Paradigm Capital. Although the valuation marks a significant drop from its last capital raise, the listing provides a liquidity event for early investors. Read more on Coindesk
🔸 As the primary lending partner of Bitmain, Antalpha provides financing services to Bitcoin miners. Different from Amber, the company pursued a traditional IPO approach. Of the $49–$57 million in proceeds it expects to raise, a portion will be allocated to "investment in Bitcoin and gold (in digital form) as part of its treasury management." Read more from Antalpha’s press release
⛩ Metaplanet is planning to open a Bitcoin-themed hotel in Japan. So far, it has accumulated 7,800 BTC. In the first quarter of 2025, its Bitcoin strategy contributed 88% of total revenue. Read more on TradingView
🇭🇰 Hong Kong’s Legislative Council has passed the Stablecoin Bill for fiat-referenced stablecoins. The legislation will take effect at the end of this year. It requires all issuers to apply for a license from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and maintain a minimum capital of HK$25 million. Three candidates are already participating in a sandbox program launched and managed by the HKMA. Read more on Ledger Insights
🇦🇪 Dubai has introduced a Sponsored VASP (Virtual Asset Service Provider) regime to reduce the compliance burden for smaller companies, provided they can secure a licensed VASP as their sponsor. Read more on Unlock Media
🇹🇭 Thailand’s government is issuing a 5 billion baht (US$150 million) digital bond, allowing retail investors to participate with as little as 100 baht (US$2.72) and offering yields higher than traditional bank deposits. The bond is tokenized and sold through G-tokens. This marks the government’s second experiment with digital bonds. The first took place five years ago. Meanwhile, Thailand’s SEC is developing a blockchain-based bond trading system to streamline the issuance and settlement of bonds. Read more on Ledger Insights
🇰🇷 South Korea’s crypto exchange Bithumb has been gaining market share from the dominant player, Upbit, and plans to go public in South Korea later this year. The country ranks second globally in crypto trading volume, trailing only the U.S., with approximately one-third of the population holding crypto assets. Korean traders show a strong preference for altcoins. Read more on Bloomberg
📈 Crypto exchange Bybit, co-founded by Ben Yuchen Zhou in 2018 and headquartered in Dubai, UAE, has announced that it now offers stock trading to its users. Customers can use the stablecoin USDT to purchase stocks such as Apple, Tesla, Meta, Nvidia, and Amazon. There is no clear indication whether Bybit holds a broker/dealer license to offer U.S. stocks to its crypto customers. In addition to crypto, Bybit also offers FX and Gold products. Read more on Bybit website
Thank you for reading. Until next time,
Coco
I am Coco Kee, author and host of World Ledger with Coco Kee newsletter and podcast, a rebrand from BlockchainAsia, the Co-founder of Kee Global Advisors, and a dog lover with a Goldendoodle Lucy.
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