UBS reports a growing shift among Asia’s high-net-worth investors away from U.S. dollar assets and toward gold, cryptocurrencies, and Chinese markets. The pivot is driven by ongoing market volatility and geopolitical uncertainty, with investors seeking stability in alternative assets and new growth in China’s recovering economy.

Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic has traced $8.4 billion in illicit crypto transactions to Xinbi Guarantee, a Chinese-language marketplace registered in Colorado. The platform allegedly facilitates money laundering, fraud, and pig-butchering scams across Southeast Asia. Most of the activity involved stablecoins like Tether, with services including fake IDs, stolen data, and laundering tools marketed via Telegram.

The daughter of Paymium CEO Pierre Noizat and her son narrowly escaped a daylight kidnapping in Paris. Three masked men tried to force them into a van but fled after she resisted and passersby intervened. Police say the suspects, who left behind a vehicle, are being pursued by a special anti-gang unit.

Standard Chartered is joining forces with digital asset prime broker Falconx to provide a range of banking services to institutional clients. This partnership will enhance Falconx’s cross-border settlements, offering smoother and quicker transactions in multiple currencies. It’s a big step in expanding services tailored for asset managers and hedge funds in the crypto space.

Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana, has proposed the creation of a meta-blockchain to enhance data availability across digital networks. On the X platform, Yakovenko stated, "There should be a meta blockchain. Post data anywhere—Ethereum, Celestia, Solana—and use a specific rule to merge data from all the chains into a single ordering." This proposal seeks to…

In line with its goal to make 90% of financial transactions cashless by 2026, Dubai's government has partnered with Crypto.com to introduce crypto payments for government services. This collaboration will allow individuals and businesses to settle service fees using stable cryptocurrencies, which will then be converted into dirhams.

Anchorage Digital has acquired Mountain Protocol in an effort to enhance its stablecoin offerings. Under the terms of the transaction, Mountain will cease all activities related to the minting of its USDM stablecoin and yield rewards will be discontinued within 30 days. This acquisition strengthens Anchorage's strategic position against the growing demand for regulated stablecoin…

Curve Finance has warned users not to interact with its website after its domain was hijacked for the second time in a week. The team says smart contracts remain secure, but the DNS now points to a malicious site that could drain user wallets. Security firm Blockaid suspects a front-end attack and advises users not…

Al Maryah Community Bank (Mbank) has teamed up with Changer.ae to launch a new crypto-to-dirham conversion service, following approval from the UAE Central Bank. The fully regulated AED escrow account allows users to convert stablecoins like USDT and USDC into AED securely and instantly. Mbank says the move supports the UAE’s goal of becoming a…

Frank DeGods, the founder of the DeGods NFT collection, has stepped down as CEO after leading the project for three years. His departure comes as the project sees a big jump in activity, with DeGods sales on Solana rising 101% in just one week. As new leaders take over and hint at a refreshed strategy,…