Thailand has introduced a 0% capital gains tax on cryptocurrency for licensed platforms, effective January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2029. The exemption applies only to sales conducted via platforms licensed by the Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission. Trades on unlicensed and overseas exchanges remain subject to standard personal tax rates up to 38%.
The move represents a significant shift from Thailand’s earlier approach. The country previously waived 7% value-added tax on crypto gains in early 2024, but that measure fell short of the current full exemption. The five-year window is designed to establish Thailand as a regional crypto hub amid growing digital asset adoption across Asia-Pacific.
APAC Transaction Growth Accelerates
The region’s on-chain transaction volume grew 68% year-on-year, reaching $2.36 trillion in the current period, up from $1.4 trillion the prior year. Digital payments now account for 60% of all payments across the Asia-Pacific region, according to data cited
Security Researchers Face AI Access Restrictions
Rob Hamilton, founder of the Bitcoin Red Team, said he will shift to Chinese open-source artificial intelligence models after OpenAI restricted access to its codebase for security research purposes. “It absolutely guts me as a patriotic American to have to do this, but I will be going back to using Chinese open source models to conduct my research to protect Bitcoin infrastructure,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton characterized the restriction as counterproductive to security efforts. “Black hats will not hit these issues. The white hats will. We’ve hit a local minima in policy. Intelligence is unrestricted for those who don’t follow rules, and those who engage in harm reduction are left on the sidelines,” he said.
North Korea-Linked Hack Enforcement Advances
Bybit, a crypto exchange, filed a sealed lawsuit against North Korea on June 18 following a $1.5 billion hack attributed to the Lazarus Group in February 2025. The U.S. court granted Bybit expedited discovery on June 19.
Of the stolen assets, 90.2% have been rendered untraceable, while 9.8% were traced to identifiable wallets. Authorities have frozen or recovered $75.5 million, representing 5.3% of total stolen assets.
Taiwan Implements Travel Rule Framework
Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission will implement its Travel Rule framework in October 2026. The rule establishes a 30,000 New Taiwan dollars threshold (approximately $930 USD) for additional data requirements on cryptocurrency transfers.
Taiwan plans to extend the Travel Rule framework to overseas transfers by the end of 2027,
Bitdeer Mining Output Surges
Bitdeer, a Bitcoin miner, produced 2,694 Bitcoin in the second quarter of 2026, compared to 565 BTC one year prior. However, the company’s balance sheet holdings declined sharply: Bitdeer held 150 BTC at the end of Q2 2026, down from 1,502 BTC one year earlier, a 90% decline.
Bitdeer liquidated 943 BTC in February, according to the company’s Q2 report.
Regional Regulatory Progress
Japan’s Financial Services Agency and National Police Agency continue oversight of crypto markets. Dunamu, the operator of Upbit exchange, obtained a technical evaluation score of 94.14 points in regulatory assessments.
Vincent Chok, founder and CEO of First Digital, a stablecoin issuer, said the regulatory delay in certain markets provides opportunity for established hubs. “For Asia, this delay gives regional financial hubs like Hong Kong and Singapore additional time to demonstrate that clear regulation can coexist with innovation,” Chok said.
Binance and RedotPay Litigation
Binance is seeking $473 million in damages against RedotPay, a cryptocurrency payments company, alleging that RedotPay diverted 470,000 users from Binance Card. RedotPay has denied the allegations. “RedotPay is strenuously defending the proceedings,” a RedotPay spokesperson said.
Singapore Wealth Growth
Singapore is experiencing 8% annual growth in residents with $5 million to $10 million in assets. The city-state is home to 27,000 residents with $5 million to $100 million in wealth.
Congressional Action on Crypto
The U.S. Senate has scheduled a vote on the CLARITY Act for mid-September 2026,
