Bitcoin treasury crackdown, Asia embraces stablecoins: Asia Express 2025

With the end of the year in sight, Asia Express looks back at some of the most significant developments for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in the region in 2025.

Bitcoin treasuries face pushback in Asia

The rise of Bitcoin treasury firms was a major development in Asia in 2024, after Japan-based Metaplanet adopted the blueprint popularized by Michael Saylor’s Strategy.

In 2025, the model gained a formal label with the firms now known as digital asset treasury companies, or DATs. But for many DATs, the embrace of Bitcoin was really just a last-ditch attempt to revive moribund share prices. Several had little to do with crypto prior to their pivots, and DAT announcements often triggered short-lived stock rallies before prices normalized.

Japan was the hot spot in Asia, with at least 13 publicly listed DATs holding Bitcoin on their balance sheets. The rapid growth caught the attention of Japan Exchange Group, which is reportedly examining tighter oversight of Bitcoin treasury strategies, including concerns around backdoor listings.

Hong Kong-based DATs have also begun to emerge. Meme culture pioneer 9GAG snapped up a stake in Hong Kong-listed Howkingtech International Holdings, with plans to rebrand the company as “MemeStrategy” and add Bitcoin and other crypto assets to its balance sheet.

Hong Kong’s stock exchange has taken notice as well. Local media reported that regulators have begun weighing the risks associated with DAT structures, reflecting growing caution around listed companies using crypto holdings as a market narrative.

Stablecoins have turned into a geopolitical battlefield

Stablecoins became the blockchain use case grabbing regulatory attention across Asia after US President Donald Trump signed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act into law in July.

The tension was visible in China, where core crypto activities such as mining and trading remain banned. While stablecoins are increasingly viewed as a key component of the future payments landscape, Beijing has been pushing its own central bank digital currency.

For much of the year, industry players speculated that the rise of stablecoins might prove too big for even China to ignore. The thinking was that growing global adoption could force Beijing to soften its long-running hostility toward cryptocurrencies.

That speculation intensified as major media outlets reported that China was considering a yuan-backed stablecoin of its own, while local e-commerce giants were said to be lobbying the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) to greenlight yuan-pegged tokens in Hong Kong. Academics also warned that stablecoins reinforce US dollar dominance and pose a threat to China’s monetary sovereignty.

In late October, the PBOC laid the stablecoin rumors to rest. Governor Pan Gongsheng said that no policy shift was underway, slamming stablecoins as instruments that fail to meet basic Anti-Money Laundering requirements.

Hong Kong is often described as a financial gateway to the mainland. Its business-friendly tax regime and bespoke financial access schemes have long allowed global capital to engage with Chinese markets in controlled ways. In terms of crypto, the city has positioned itself as a regulated hub for digital asset firms, rolling out its Stablecoin Ordinance, which came into effect in August. Several companies applied to obtain a license, but Hong Kong regulators said that only a handful of applicants will receive approvals.

Despite Hong Kong stealing headlines with its stablecoin framework, Japan became the first major economy in the region to actually launch a regulated stablecoin. Amendments to Japan’s Payment Services Act that took effect in 2023 laid the groundwork for a yen-pegged stablecoin to enter the market in October, with the first bank backed stablecoin expected to be available by mid-2026.

Governments hit the reset button on crypto policy

Government attitudes toward crypto across Asia shifted in 2025, shaped in part by political and regulatory developments in the United States.

In South Korea, former president Yoon Suk Yeol had been expected to remain in office until May 2027 but his tenure ended early after a failed martial law attempt in late 2024 triggered impeachment proceedings, culminating in his removal in April 2025. A snap election followed, bringing crypto-friendly president Lee Jae Myung into office.

While a more supportive stance toward digital assets had been widely anticipated regardless of the election outcome, Lee’s victory helped reset the political tone around crypto. His administration signaled renewed momentum on long-delayed regulatory discussions, including proposals related to stablecoins. 

South Korea’s financial regulator was supposed to submit draft legislation on Dec. 10, but missed the deadline. Lawmakers have since pressed the Financial Services Commission to deliver a proposal by the end of the year, warning that parliament will introduce its own framework in January if regulators fail to act.

Elsewhere in Asia, governments pursued blockchain adoption more selectively. The Philippines advanced legislation promoting the use of blockchain technology as an anti-corruption tool, framing it as public-sector infrastructure rather than a vehicle for financial speculation.

Not every jurisdiction moved in a permissive direction. Singapore, long viewed by crypto firms as a stable and predictable base of operations, moved to close regulatory loopholes. Many firms had operated from Singapore without a license by excluding local users, assuming this structure would shield them from regulatory oversight. In 2025, authorities made clear that such arrangements would no longer be tolerated, warning companies to get licensed or get out.

Memecoins frenzy recycles celebrity and pop culture nostalgia

The memecoin frenzy on Solana extended into the first half of 2025 and spilled over to other networks, including BNB Chain. The trend also revived familiar playbooks. Across Asia, legacy pop culture figures and global celebrities resurfaced through token launches, often marketed toward offshore investors.

One of the most prominent examples involved Japanese adult video star and pop singer Yua Mikami, who launched a Solana-based memecoin that raised millions of dollars in presale funding despite questions around its structure and management. The project’s disclaimer prohibited Japanese residents but no technical restrictions were made. Blockchain analysts flagged promotional activity aimed at Chinese-language communities and claims that the project’s rights had been acquired by entities linked to China.

In March, Chinese social media circulated rumors of a Shenzhen-based “celebrity memecoin factory” after a token associated with Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho briefly surged before collapsing. Unconfirmed rumors alleged that organized teams were systematically launching and promoting celebrity-linked tokens, raising concerns about industrialized pump-and-dump operations operating at scale.

Nostalgia-driven speculation also resurfaced in a different form. Tokenized representations of Pokémon trading cards gained traction across blockchains, reflecting the enduring appeal of the Japanese gaming and anime franchise. In 2025, randomized digital vending machine-style products became a recurring trend, allowing users to draw digital versions of rare Pokémon cards and extending collectibles speculation into onchain markets.