Welcome back to Continuum Risk Update. Every Friday we pull the top Asia headlines on digital-asset regulation, cyber risk, industry moves and insurance signals, with concise takeaways and practical actions for insurers and corporate risk teams.
1) Regulatory
APAC stablecoin adoption has cleared the pilot stage — 56% of institutions now live
A Fireblocks survey of APAC financial institutions found that 56% are already live with stablecoin operations — the highest adoption rate globally — with another 40% in active pilots or planning phases. The shift is directly tied to HKMA and MAS regulatory frameworks coming online: institutions that previously ran proof-of-concept projects are now building production infrastructure for wholesale settlement, payroll, and cross-border B2B flows. 62% of APAC institutions have formally committed budget to digital assets in 2026, with stablecoins as the priority layer.
Bird & Bird flags MAS cryptoasset capital consultation as a “gamechanger” for Singapore banks
The legal analysis highlights that MAS’s proposed shift from a blanket 1,250% Basel risk weight to a principle-based, conditional framework is the most significant change to Singapore bank crypto treatment since digital assets entered the regulatory agenda. For qualifying tokenised assets and stablecoins, the new approach could unlock meaningful balance sheet capacity — and Bird & Bird notes that the tight exposure caps (2% of Tier 1) are designed to let the market prove itself before limits are raised.
2) Hacking & Physical Risks
40+ DeFi protocols have shut down in 2026 as total hack losses pass $770M
A May 9 analysis confirmed that more than 40 DeFi protocols have ceased operations or entered wind-down mode since January 2026, as cumulative hack losses passed $770 million. The crisis is concentrated in cross-chain bridges, liquidity providers, and protocols running single-verifier infrastructure — the same structural weakness exposed by the Kelp DAO and Drift exploits. April alone accounted for over $635 million across 30+ incidents, the worst single month on record.
Roaring Kitty’s verified X account hacked to shill a Solana meme coin
Attackers compromised the long-dormant verified account of GameStop influencer Keith Gill and posted a Pump.fun contract address, triggering an instant rally before the posts were deleted. Over 80 wallets lost nearly $2.9M in the collapse while the developer, operating through 10 wallets, extracted $611K. The incident is the latest in a pattern of high-profile social media account takeovers being weaponised for coordinated pump-and-dump schemes.
3) Industry & Markets
APAC dealmaking drops 6% in Q1 2026 as M&A caution bites
GlobalData’s Q1 2026 APAC deal analysis, covered by Insurance Business this week, found overall deal activity down 6% year-on-year, with M&A contracting 26% and private equity volumes falling 42%. Japanese deal activity slipped 51%, a notable reversal given the sector’s aggressive outbound appetite in 2025. The only bright spot was venture financing, up 21%, concentrated in AI and digital infrastructure plays. Regulatory scrutiny, geopolitical complexity, and longer due-diligence cycles are the primary cited headwinds.
APAC set to outspend every other region on digital asset infrastructure in 2026 — 62% of institutions have committed budget, more than double the global average
Fireblocks’ Financial Grid Report found that APAC is the most aggressive region for digital asset infrastructure investment this year, driven by live regulatory frameworks in Hong Kong and Singapore pulling institutions from pilot to production. New customer acquisition and market expansion — not compliance — are the primary drivers, with 36% of APAC institutions already in external client pilots, more than double the global average of 20%.
4) Insurance Spotlight
Western Union launches USDPT stablecoin on Solana — Philippines is the first APAC rollout market
Western Union announced it has selected Fireblocks to provide wallet, settlement, and financial operations infrastructure for USDPT, its new USD-backed stablecoin built on Solana. The Philippines is the first rollout market, with Bolivia to follow — putting stablecoin-powered remittances directly into one of APAC’s largest inbound corridors. The move targets Western Union’s $100B+ annual remittance network and signals that traditional money-transfer players are now building digital-asset infrastructure rather than watching from the sidelines.
SQ Protocol exploited on BNB Chain via hardcoded owner backdoor
The exploit was small in dollar terms ($346K) but significant in method: a publicly accessible ownership function in the verified staking contract allowed the attacker to assume full control, create fraudulent staking claims, and drain liquidity in a single transaction sequence. Security researchers flagged it as a textbook example of how unaudited admin access patterns in “verified” contracts create silent, catastrophic risk — a concern directly relevant to insurers writing smart contract covers on BNB Chain protocols.
