Capital
Asia-Pacific isn’t catching up to the global economy anymore — it’s writing the rules. Track the markets, trade shifts, and investment plays reshaping where Western money goes next.
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Sep- 2026 -1 September
Vietnam’s crypto penalties are live. Its exchanges are not.
The penalty decree took effect September 1, but no exchange has been licensed yet, leaving five applicants waiting for final approval and the entire pilot in a holding pattern.
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Aug- 2026 -30 August
A UAE spy chief now controls a US crypto bank issuing dollar stablecoins
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al Nahyan, the UAE's national security advisor, holds 49 percent of World Liberty Trust Company through his investment vehicle, placing a foreign intelligence official over dollar-backed…
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29 August
SBI pays $270M to make Indonesia Ajaib’s yen stablecoin gateway
Japan's largest financial conglomerate acquires a 20% stake in Indonesia's 20-million-user investment platform, deploying its regulated yen stablecoin beyond Japan for the first time and signaling structural confidence in a…
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27 August
Sinaloa Cartel’s crypto millions now wash through Cambodia
A joint U.S.-Cambodia raid in August 2026 seized $7 million in digital assets and exposed the cartel's first direct financial hub in Southeast Asia, signaling a structural shift from trafficking…
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25 August
Thailand locks crypto ETFs into domestic custody and 80% exposure
The Securities and Exchange Commission's draft framework requires spot Bitcoin and Ether funds to hold assets primarily with Thai-licensed custodians, forcing Western asset managers to partner locally or exit the…
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24 August
Chinese fintech is betting billions on AI payments before the market exists
Lianlian DigiTech's adjusted operating profit surged 147 per cent to RMB156 million in H1 2026, even as reported net income collapsed 99 per cent—a deliberate trade-off to fund an Agent…
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23 August
Hong Kong’s $7.6 billion Indonesia bet masks a tariff evasion risk
Foreign direct investment from China and Hong Kong into Indonesia tripled to $11.5 billion in H1 2026, but the routing pattern raises questions about whether companies are circumventing US tariffs…
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22 August
Asia’s shipping lines are racing toward the Arctic
China launched weekly Arctic container service in August 2026, South Korea's pilot departed Busan on August 22, and India announced its first Northern Sea Route cargo voyage for 2027, cutting…
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21 August
KKR-backed consortium buys Steadfast for A$7.7 billion, splits the broker
Australian shareholders receive A$6 per share in cash—a 51.9% premium—but the deal's structure matters more: Dragoneer takes the broking network, Amwins the underwriting agency arm.
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21 August
Capital.com got a UAE crypto licence. The service doesn’t exist yet.
Capital Vault Virtual Services received a full virtual-asset licence from the UAE Capital Market Authority on 20 August 2026, authorising spot crypto custody and dealing, but with no launch date,…
