Singapore

Circle is preparing a broad expansion across emerging and developing markets as demand for digital-dollar payments grows in Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. The push comes as USDC competes with Tether’s USDT for stablecoin market share and as clearer rules encourage wider adoption.

A U.S. federal judge declined to overturn Gemini’s $5 million settlement with the CFTC, even after the regulator backed the exchange’s request. The ruling keeps the January 2025 court order in force and underscores that Washington’s changing crypto stance does not automatically erase prior judgments.

Standard Chartered’s Dubai branch is now offering regulated institutional custody for Ripple’s dollar-pegged RLUSD stablecoin on the XRP Ledger. The bank also plans to work with Ripple and LMAX Group on a collateral model that could let clients trade while keeping RLUSD in bank custody.

Gold remains under pressure as a strong U.S. dollar, elevated Treasury yields and tighter Federal Reserve policy weigh on non-yielding metals. Even so, longer-term demand from ETFs, central banks and expanding Asian market infrastructure keeps a potential move above $5,000 in 2027 on the radar.

B2C2 has appointed Jason Lai, former chairman of Schroders Wealth Management Asia, as a senior adviser in Singapore. The move underscores the institutional crypto liquidity provider’s push to serve family offices, funds and asset managers across Asia-Pacific.

Binance has sued Hong Kong-based RedotPay and its founders, alleging the stablecoin payments company diverted about 470,000 users and caused nearly $473 million in losses. RedotPay has rejected the claims as unfounded and says it will defend itself vigorously.

Japan’s SBI Group has acquired a majority stake in Singapore based crypto platform Coinhako, advancing a broader plan to link digital asset markets across Asia. The move sits alongside partnerships with Ondo Finance and the Solana Foundation as SBI expands into tokenization, stablecoins and blockchain settlement infrastructure.