‘Fabricated rumors’ about BitMart founder, Binance bStocks dominate: Asia Express

BitMart account demands founder explain funds status, Xia calls claims ‘fabricated’

BitMart’s official Chinese-language X account has publicly demanded that founder Sheldon Xia explain the whereabouts of user funds and produce a repayment plan.

It said some users were unable to withdraw funds and some employees have not received their final salary or compensation and threatened Xia that if he does not provide a verifiable asset disclosure and repayment plan by the deadline, it would continue to submit evidence to regulators, law enforcement, lawyers and the media.

Xia called the claims in the post “fabricated rumors” and promised a counter-attack.

“We have collected full evidence of the content on X, all of which is fabricated rumors. During daytime US time, we will file a police report and send a lawyer’s letter to X, demanding technical and data forensics,” Xia said.

Binance bStocks pass xStocks as second-largest tokenized stock issuer

Binance bStocks have overtaken xStocks to become the second-largest tokenized stock issuer by value less than two months after launch.

BStocks reached about $624 million on Aug. 3, surpassing xStocks at roughly $579 million but trailing Ondo Finance at about $927 million, according to Token Terminal data.

The issuer landscape has shifted sharply as the tokenized stock market has grown. A year earlier, xStocks led with $40.7 million, followed by Robinhood at $37.2 million, while Ondo held about $65,000. The total value tracked by Token Terminal has since surged from roughly $80 million to about $2.7 billion.

NORTH KOREA

Inside the fake crypto startup that fooled North Korean IT workers

Suspected North Korean IT workers joined a fake crypto startup — without realizing their every move was being tracked to extract valuable intel. Cointelegraph came along for the ride.

Suspected DPRK IT workers pitch for venture capital backing from the fictitious Definitive Communications, played by Cointelegraph. Source: ANY.RUN

ISRAEL

Israel’s largest bank taps Galaxy to offer Bitcoin, Ether, Solana trading

Israel’s Bank Leumi will become the first local bank to offer crypto trading, after partnering with Galaxy Digital to let customers trade Bitcoin, Ether and Solana through the bank’s investment platform from early 2027.

The companies said Friday that customers of Leumi and Pepper, its mobile banking arm, will be able to buy, hold and sell the three cryptocurrencies through a dedicated section of the Leumi Trade app.

JAPAN

Metaplanet CEO shuts down Bitcoin sale speculation after $322M transfer

Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich has shut down speculation that the Japanese Bitcoin treasury company is selling its holdings after the company transferred 5,014 BTC ($322 million) over a 24-hour span last week.

“This was a routine custody operation. No Bitcoin was sold, and our holdings remain 43,000 BTC,” Gerovich said.

Metaplanet is the third-largest publicly traded Bitcoin treasury company and the largest in Asia. According to Arkham data, it is sitting on an unrealized loss of about $1.4 billion.

MUFG PoC to bring Japanese government bond repo transactions onchain

Four MUFG companies plan to bring Japanese government bond repo transactions onchain using the Canton Network, as part of a new proof of concept (PoC).

The companies said they seek to improve operational efficiency through automation of the transaction lifecycle, enable real-time intraday settlement 24/7, as well as enhance funding and capital efficiency.

SINGAPORE

Singapore introduces mandatory tax reporting

Singapore has finalized regulations that require crypto firms to report user transactions to the tax department. The rules implement the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework into Singapore domestic law and take effect from January 1, 2027 for new users, while existing users can tarry until December 31, 2027.

Singapore. Source: Pexels

Binance and RedotPay stoush heats up

Binance and RedotPay are disputing whether a Singapore case related to their nearly $473 million Hong Kong legal battle is coming to an end. The stablecoin payments card issuer told Cointelegraph it expects Binance to discontinue the Singapore proceedings and will seek legal costs.  

Binance said that’s not going to happen and it “is not abandoning its claims and has informed both the court and RedotPay accordingly.”

The plaintiffs previously alleged in a Hong Kong court that RedotPay diverted more than 470,000 Binance Card users by allowing Binance Pay funds to be used for stablecoin card top-ups outside the terms of a commercial agreement.

Meanwhile RedotPay’s US IPO has reportedly been delayed as it seeks regulatory approvals.

KOREA

Shinhan Asset Management partners with Plume on tokenized fund pilot

South Korea’s Shinhan Asset Management signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with tokenization-focused blockchain network Plume to develop a proof of concept for a Korean won-denominated tokenized fund.

The pilot is intended to test the overseas use of won-denominated financial products in onchain markets that have largely developed around dollar-denominated assets.

HONG KONG

HashKey begins beta distribution of Hong Kong-regulated HKDAP stablecoin

The Standard Chartered-led Anchorpoint Financial has started to rollout the first regulated Hong Kong dollar backed stablecoin called HKDAP. HashKey Exchange will be an authorized distributor, potentially expanding access to the fiat-backed asset as the territory’s stablecoin market takes shape. Retail access will be limited initially, with the focus on institutions.

Meanwhile, the Securities and Futures Commission reportedly identified 65 fraudulent websites impersonating HashKey.