1. Vietnam Officially Launches Pilot Program for Crypto Asset Trading Platform Licenses link
Vietnam has officially launched its crypto asset trading platform licensing pilot program. Per Decision №96/QD-BTC issued by the Ministry of Finance on January 20, 2026, the State Securities Commission has started accepting applications for the issuance, modification, and revocation of crypto asset trading platform licenses, with the regulatory framework anchored in Government Resolution №05/2025/NQ-CP. Key eligibility criteria include the applicant being a Vietnamese domestic enterprise and meeting a minimum paid-in capital requirement of VND 10 trillion (approximately USD 380 million). Multiple securities firms and banks have expressed interest in participating in the program.
2. Indonesia Financial Services Authority: Indonesia’s Crypto Asset Trading Volume Reached Approximately 482.23 Trillion IDR (About $31 Billion-$32 Billion) in 2025 link
The Indonesia Financial Services Authority (OJK) reported that despite a year-on-year decline in crypto asset transaction volume in 2025, the number of investors and tax contributions continued to rise. Data shows that Indonesia’s crypto asset transaction volume reached approximately IDR 482.23 trillion (around USD 31–3.2 billion) in 2025, down from over IDR 650 trillion (about USD 41–4.2 billion) in 2024. As of the end of 2025, the number of crypto investors rose to 20.19 million, mostly young people. OJK official Hasan Fauzi stated that cumulative tax revenue from the crypto industry had reached IDR 719.61 billion (roughly USD 45–47 million) as of November 2025.
3. Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office in South Korea Lost Seized Bitcoin Worth $48 Million, Suspected to Be Caused by Staff Falling for Phishing Scams link
The Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office in South Korea lost Bitcoin worth tens of billions of won while keeping seized items. The prosecutors discovered the incident during a regular check of the private key passwords stored on a USB drive. According to insiders, the accident was caused by inadvertently accessing a “scam website” during the inspection, with internal rumors putting the loss at as high as 70 billion won (approximately 49 million US dollars). The Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office stated that it “cannot confirm” the matter.
4. Central Political and Legal Affairs Conference: Put Forward Legislative Proposals on Virtual Currencies Proactively link
When deploying the 2026 political and legal work and advancing scientific legislation, the Central Political and Legal Work Conference proposed that forward-looking research should be carried out on emerging issues such as the protection of the rights and interests of new employment groups, virtual currencies and low-altitude economy, and legislative suggestions should be put forward proactively.
5. Chinese Man’s Account Holds Large Amounts of Bitcoin; Police from Two Regions Intervened and Filed Cases on Different Charges link
Li Dong, a network engineer, is suspected of two crimes. 1. Crime of Operating a Casino: In 2024, he was summoned by the Zhangjiajie police, who seized 103 Bitcoins from him and converted them into more than 49.61 million yuan. Four days after being released on bail pending trial, he was taken away by the Xuchang police, who seized approximately 80 Bitcoins. 2. Crime of Theft: Prosecutors alleged that Li Dong exploited vulnerabilities on the “Kaiyun Sports” gambling website to steal the personal information of over 1.84 million Chinese citizens. In 2020, he replaced the bank account for agent rebates and embezzled more than 35.5 million yuan in rebate funds (over 6.44 million yuan was transferred to bank cards under his control, and more than 29.05 million yuan was used to purchase Bitcoins which were transferred to his digital wallet). The defense argued that the evidence for the theft charge was insufficient and the connection between the accounts had not been proven; Li Dong’s confession of guilt was obtained through the police’s threat against his pregnant wife, and the defense applied for the exclusion of illegally obtained evidence.
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6. Hong Kong Industry Association Opposes Proposed New Regulations on Virtual Asset Management link
The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Professionals Association (HKSFPA) opposed the proposed new regulations on virtual asset management in its submission to the regulator. It stated that if the existing “de minimis exemption for crypto asset allocation within 10%” applicable to Type 9 (Asset Management) licenses is removed, even an allocation of just 1% to Bitcoin would require applying for a full virtual asset management license. The association argued that the compliance costs would be disproportionate to the risk exposure, which might deter traditional asset management institutions from experimenting with crypto assets.
7. Bank of Russia Plans to Simplify Licensing Regulation for Crypto Exchangers to Drive the Industry Out of the Grey Zone link
The Central Bank of Russia stated that it will simplify the licensing and regulatory requirements for cryptocurrency exchangers not involved in the securities market to help relevant institutions move out of the “gray area”. Ekaterina Lozgacheva, Director of the Department for Strategic Development of the Financial Market at the Central Bank, said that the regulator plans to establish a separate compliance framework for crypto intermediaries instead of applying the rules governing the securities market. Meanwhile, it will introduce special prudential restrictions on banks and securities brokers to prevent the transmission of risks from crypto-related businesses to the traditional financial system. The relevant legislation is expected to be completed by July 1, 2026, and liability will be imposed on illegal crypto intermediaries starting from July 2027.
8. India’s FIU Orders Exchanges to Stop Supporting Privacy Coins Citing Money Laundering Risks link
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under India’s Ministry of Finance, in its updated guidelines, has ordered cryptocurrency exchanges and related platforms to prohibit deposits and withdrawals of Anonymity-Enhancing Tokens (AETs), classifying such assets as high-risk. It argues that AETs can obscure the origin, ownership, and value of transactions, making them vulnerable to money laundering and other illicit activities. The report notes that privacy coins like Monero, Zcash, and Dash, as well as tools such as crypto mixers/tumblers, can be used to disrupt on-chain fund-tracking trails. Additionally, the FIU has required platforms to strengthen the collection of customer information and risk control measures for transactions involving unhosted wallets.
9. North Korean Hackers’ Attack Method of Planting Backdoors via VS Code Automated Tasks Was Exposed 7 Months Ago link
@im23pds, Chief Information Security Officer of SlowMist Technology, posted a warning stating that the recently high-profile attack method targeting developers by North Korean hackers actually appeared in the GitHub repository “VSCode-Backdoor” as early as seven months ago. This attack method involves relevant personnel from North Korea luring developers with fake job offers. Once a developer opens the malicious VS Code project, hidden tasks will run automatically, fetch JavaScript code from Vercel and deploy backdoors, thereby achieving Remote Code Execution (RCE).
10. CZ: In Talks with “Possibly More Than a Dozen Governments” on National Asset Tokenization link
CZ, co-founder and former CEO of Binance, stated at the World Economic Forum in Davos that he is engaged in discussions with “probably over a dozen governments” regarding the tokenization of state-owned assets. He explored leveraging blockchain for fractionalized financing of state-owned assets such as infrastructure, real estate, and commodities. Previously, he revealed that Pakistan, Malaysia, and Kyrgyzstan were among the countries he had communicated with. CZ also noted that the integration of traditional payments and crypto payments is accelerating, and he believes that cryptocurrency will become the native payment currency for AI agents, which will directly use crypto assets to complete transactions on behalf of users.
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