News Archives – Continuum

Weekly Risk Update August 21, 2026

Continuum Editor — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 06:07:26 +0000

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.

🏛️ REGULATORY
Singapore has finalised its CARF crypto tax reporting framework, requiring digital asset firms to report customer transaction data to tax authorities from 2027, bringing the city-state in line with OECD global standards.
https://lnkd.in/gvnaRK4V

South Korea’s National Assembly has passed a bill expanding FIU powers to freeze suspicious crypto accounts without court approval in urgent cases, marking a significant step up in the country’s AML enforcement toolkit.
https://lnkd.in/gwFYXSDf

🔐 HACKING & PHYSICAL RISKS
Hong Kong’s SFC flagged 65 fake websites impersonating licensed exchange HashKey, warning investors of a coordinated phishing campaign targeting retail crypto users in the city.
https://lnkd.in/gvnaRK4V

BitMart’s founder has been accused of withholding user funds owed since the exchange’s 2021 hack, with new claims alleging millions in unpaid compensation remain outstanding.
https://lnkd.in/gvPkd5Ab

📊 INDUSTRY & MARKETS
Hong Kong has kicked off live beta testing for its HKD-backed stablecoin through the HKDAP programme, with licensed participants transacting under the regulatory sandbox ahead of a broader rollout.
https://lnkd.in/gBB9ZiWa

South Korea’s Shinhan Bank has tokenised one of its investment funds on Plume’s blockchain network, becoming one of the first major Korean banks to put a traditional financial product onchain.
https://lnkd.in/gNhN6d5g

🛡️ INSURANCE SPOTLIGHT
Lloyd’s Asia held GWP flat at US$1.2bn in 2025 after the prior year’s 17% surge, but underwriting gains jumped 24% and net profit climbed 10% according to MAS filings, pointing to a deliberate shift toward quality over volume.
https://lnkd.in/gy_-f-gs

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Weekly Risk Update August 14, 2026

Continuum Editor — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 06:05:41 +0000

Aug14WeeklyRiskUpdate

🏛️ Regulatory
South Korea sentenced the CEO of crypto lender Delio to 15 years in prison for embezzling $50M in digital assets from over 1,100 customers. One of the harshest enforcement outcomes the country has handed down for crypto fraud.
https://lnkd.in/gWwAZcvf

🔓 Hacking & Physical Risks
Trezor warned 14,000 customers that their shipping addresses were exposed in a breach at a third-party fulfilment partner, the first time physical customer data has leaked from the hardware wallet maker.
https://lnkd.in/giVXChX8

Japan’s FSA and National Police Agency jointly asked crypto exchanges to impose withdrawal delays and require pre-registration of withdrawal addresses, citing a sharp rise in losses from sophisticated scams.
https://lnkd.in/gj8FFjgR

📈 Industry & Markets
MUFG is preparing to test real-time blockchain settlement for Japanese government bond trades using the Canton network, a significant step toward tokenised sovereign debt infrastructure in Asia.
https://lnkd.in/ghW9Vdre

MSCI’s new proposal would exclude companies like Japan’s Metaplanet from major stock indices on the grounds that holding crypto as a primary asset with no core operating business does not meet index criteria.
https://lnkd.in/gfqxMe3K

🔎 Insurance Spotlight
Tether completed its first-ever Big Four audit, with KPMG signing off on the reserves backing $180B in USDT. For institutions and platforms with significant stablecoin exposure, a verified reserve audit changes the risk picture.
https://lnkd.in/gnRWKBRJ

MSIG Thailand has appointed its first dedicated cyber insurance manager, signalling growing demand for specialist cyber cover across Southeast Asia’s mid-market.
https://lnkd.in/g6qRpC7S

Get in touch with Continuum to see how we can help cover your business’ risk.

Weekly Risk Update August 07, 2026

Continuum Editor — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 07:11:51 +0000

Aug7WeeklyRiskUpdate

🏛️ Regulatory
Bitget will stop accepting new Japanese registrations and close all remaining positions by year-end, making it the latest crypto exchange to exit Japan’s demanding FSA licensing regime.
https://lnkd.in/g3ds6mX3

⚠️ Hacking & Physical Risks
2. A volunteer group running AI against Bitcoin codebases flagged 85 critical vulnerabilities, describing the situation as extremely bad. The disclosure raises serious questions about how long known flaws can go unpatched across core blockchain infrastructure.
https://lnkd.in/gEJg_RSr

Non-custodial swap service Boltz suspended operations after detecting a coordinated wave of AI-assisted attacks, marking one of the first confirmed cases of attackers using AI to probe and exploit DeFi infrastructure in real time.
https://lnkd.in/gDDxyYkE

📊 Industry & Markets
4. Japan’s yen stablecoin company JPYC raised $38M in a Series B led by logistics giant AZ-COM Maruwa, the same firm paying 2,300 logistics partners in JPYC. The back-to-back moves signal Japan’s stablecoin ecosystem is moving fast from concept to corporate infrastructure.
https://lnkd.in/gyJf6hiE

With semiconductor fabs concentrating in earthquake and typhoon-exposed zones across Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, reinsurers face growing accumulation risk in a single asset class that is now central to global AI infrastructure.
https://lnkd.in/gxB49Qm5

🛡️ Insurance Spotlight
6. Axa XL agreed to fully acquire S-RM, a cyber security and incident response firm with its Asia Pacific division headquartered in Hong Kong. The deal deepens the insurer’s in-house cyber capabilities across the region as demand for specialist capacity grows.
https://lnkd.in/ggHB7KkU

Get in touch with Continuum to see how we can help cover your business’ risk.

Weekly Risk Update July 31, 2026

Continuum Editor — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 09:26:29 +0000

Jul31WeeklyRiskUpdate

🏛️ Regulatory

South Korea confirmed it will tax crypto gains above $1,740 at a combined 22% rate from January 2027, the fourth time the law has been scheduled and the first time officials signalled no further delay.
https://lnkd.in/ghBSeswK

⚠️ Hacking & Physical Risks

A randomness bug in Coldcard hardware wallets made supposedly unguessable seed phrases predictable. Attackers swept 594 BTC in under 25 minutes, draining $38M from older wallet models.
https://lnkd.in/geuDsYg4

Seoul police arrested two suspects after a fake staking platform drained $8.5M in XRP from dozens of investors with promises of easy yield. Total losses may climb to $20M.
https://lnkd.in/gdjTZN9g

📊 Industry & Markets

Twenty-eight global banks including JPMorgan, Citi and UBS settled live cross-border payments using tokenized money in a $1M BIS pilot, the largest real-money blockchain settlement test by mainstream financial institutions to date.
https://lnkd.in/erFvsydG

Institutional traders now account for 72% of all crypto volume, a record share, according to market maker Wintermute, compressing volatility and shifting flows toward tokenized assets.
https://lnkd.in/ggemhenz

🛡️ Insurance Spotlight
Samsung Fire & Marine inked a digital asset custody insurance deal with South Korean blockchain firm DSRV covering $20M in cold and hot wallet holdings, the first major Korean insurer to formally enter the crypto custody market.

Get in touch with Continuum to see how we can help cover your business’ risk.

Weekly Risk Update July 24, 2026

Continuum Editor — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 03:24:06 +0000

Jul24Weekly Risk Update

🏛️ Regulatory
1. Japan’s parliament formally aligned crypto with traditional financial products, opening the door to significantly lower capital gains treatment.
https://lnkd.in/edwujW2t

2. Seoul is amending its National Finance Act to formally recognise digital assets at the sovereign level — a landmark shift for one of Asia’s most active crypto markets.
https://lnkd.in/g4qHjyCK

⚠️ Hacking & Physical Risks
3. The on-chain derivatives platform lost $18M in the latest oracle manipulation attack, highlighting persistent vulnerabilities across DeFi.
https://lnkd.in/gizxeNis

4. APAC is set to be the fastest-growing region for drones and electric aircraft, but insurers are cautious amid regulatory gaps and limited loss data.
https://lnkd.in/g572g9ju

📊 Industry & Markets
5. The $1.9 trillion asset manager entered the digital asset ETF space with a diversified, actively managed fund — a sign institutional crypto appetite is maturing fast.
https://lnkd.in/g_NiWgqq

6. One of TradFi’s most respected market makers took a significant stake in the exchange, deepening the bridge between traditional and digital finance.
https://lnkd.in/gdgup92j

🛡️ Insurance Spotlight
7. Rising claims are straining underwriter margins, and S&P warns the deceleration in rate cuts may mark the start of a correction.
https://lnkd.in/g_xCZmki

8. Nearly 380,000 claims totalling US$943M filed after the storms struck 20 provinces, with the final bill expected to breach US$1 billion.
https://lnkd.in/gYJrcEVj

Get in touch with Continuum to see how we can help cover your business’ risk.

Swipe through the full update below.

Weekly Risk Update July 17, 2026

Continuum Editor — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 03:14:40 +0000

Weekly Risk Update

🏛️ Regulatory
1. Japan’s parliament formally aligned crypto with traditional financial products, opening the door to significantly lower capital gains treatment.
https://lnkd.in/edwujW2t

4. APAC is set to be the fastest-growing region for drones and electric aircraft, but insurers are cautious amid regulatory gaps and limited loss data.
https://lnkd.in/g572g9ju

6. One of TradFi’s most respected market makers took a significant stake in the exchange, deepening the bridge between traditional and digital finance.
https://lnkd.in/gdgup92j

🛡️ Insurance Spotlight
7. Rising claims are straining underwriter margins, and S&P warns the deceleration in rate cuts may mark the start of a correction.
https://lnkd.in/g_xCZmki

8. Nearly 380,000 claims totalling US$943M filed after the storms struck 20 provinces, with the final bill expected to breach US$1 billion.
https://lnkd.in/gYJrcEVj

Get in touch with Continuum to see how we can help cover your business’ risk.

Swipe through the full update below.

Weekly Risk Update July 10, 2026

Continuum Editor — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 07:32:17 +0000

July10Weekly Risk Update

📋 REGULATORY
1. Taiwan passes its first crypto and stablecoin law. All VASPs now need FSC approval to operate, and stablecoin issuers must hold reserves in trust and submit to regular audits.
https://bit.ly/4gq6nuq

2. South Korea shifts Polymarket scrutiny from users to the platform. The country’s media review body is giving Polymarket a chance to respond before issuing a corrective order over gambling concerns.
https://bit.ly/4pd1rvf

🔒 HACKING & PHYSICAL RISKS
3. BonkDAO drained of $20M via malicious governance proposal on Solana. An attacker pushed through a rogue on-chain vote to empty the project’s treasury; BONK dropped 7% on the news.
https://bit.ly/3Rvjmki

4. CertiK: Crypto hacks fell 47% in H1 but the ecosystem is not safer. North Korean hackers drove a 59% quarter-on-quarter spike in Q2, and total incident numbers more than doubled year-on-year.
https://bit.ly/44lJXDm

📊 INDUSTRY & MARKETS
5. Japan’s collapsing yen is pushing corporate treasuries into Bitcoin and XRP. SBI VC Trade says corporate crypto demand is climbing as the yen trades near a 40-year low, with registered accounts doubling to 2 million in 12 months.
https://bit.ly/4vjijSj

6. SBI Holdings leads a $76M Series C for institutional crypto exchange EDX Markets. SBI is building out the full institutional crypto stack in Asia, having also acquired Bitbank and launched yen and dollar stablecoins in Japan this year.
https://bit.ly/4vnRoou

🔍 INSURANCE SPOTLIGHT
7. Stablecoin volumes hit a record $1.79T in June even as market cap fell to its lowest since TerraUSD. High velocity against shrinking reserves points to concentration risk that digital asset insurers should be watching.
https://bit.ly/4wG93cl

Get in touch with Continuum to see how we can help cover your business’ risk.

Weekly Risk Update July 03, 2026

Continuum Editor — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 08:33:23 +0000

Jul03Carousel

📋Regulatory
Korea’s PIPC hit Coupang with a record $409M data protection fine, with D&O exposure widening as the FTC extends reach to the NYSE-listed founder directly.
https://bit.ly/4uYzcSa

💻 Hacking & Physical Risks:
A ransomware group dumped 630GB of Apple and Tesla manufacturing secrets stolen from Tata Electronics, raising hard questions about supply chain cyber coverage.
https://bit.ly/4xRGkT7

Northern Japan logged its fourth major quake since November, with only 35.1% of households covered.
https://bit.ly/4v28sjM

🏭 Industry & Markets:
TMK research flags a billion-dollar OT cyber gap across APAC manufacturers.
https://bit.ly/43YENgj

First Street finds 89% of APAC data centre capacity sits in high climate-risk zones, with Swiss Re projecting premiums to double to $24.2B by 2030.
https://bit.ly/4ev7983

🔍 Insurance Spotlight:
Korea’s commercial market has fully exited high-risk medical malpractice. The government now absorbs 100% of PI premiums for OBs, paediatricians, and ER physicians.
https://bit.ly/3SpPkPf

Weekly Risk Update June 26, 2026

Continuum Editor — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 08:29:44 +0000

Jun26 Weekly Risk Update

📋Regulatory
Korea’s PIPC hit Coupang with a record $409M data protection fine, with D&O exposure widening as the FTC extends reach to the NYSE-listed founder directly.
https://bit.ly/4uYzcSa

Northern Japan logged its fourth major quake since November, with only 35.1% of households covered.
https://bit.ly/4v28sjM

🏭 Industry & Markets:
TMK research flags a billion-dollar OT cyber gap across APAC manufacturers.
https://bit.ly/43YENgj

First Street finds 89% of APAC data centre capacity sits in high climate-risk zones, with Swiss Re projecting premiums to double to $24.2B by 2030.
https://bit.ly/4ev7983

Weekly Risk Update June 19, 2026

Continuum Editor — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 08:24:19 +0000

Jun19 Weekly Risk Update

1) Regulatory
Japan moves to ban crypto insider trading as FIEA reclassification takes hold in 2026
Source: https://financefeeds.com/japans-fsa-to-enforce-crypto-insider-trading-ban/

Singapore’s June 30 deadline for unlicensed digital token providers looms
Source: https://www.elliptic.co/blog/crypto-regulatory-affairs-singapores-june-30-deadline-for-digital-token-service-providers-approaches

2) Hacking & Physical Risks
$127M stolen in cross-chain bridge attack targeting institutional market makers
Source: https://www.nadcab.com/blog/defi-bridge-exploit-june-cross-chain

DOJ-led “Disruption Week” freezes $3.8M tied to Southeast Asia scam compounds
Source: https://lnkd.in/gwPRZzBW

3) Industry & Markets
Coinbase Ventures backs onchain reinsurance protocol Re as real-world risk meets DeFi capital
Source: https://www.reinsurancene.ws/onchain-protocol-re-secures-strategic-investment-from-coinbase-ventures/

4) Insurance Spotlight

Willis: cyber cover delivers on most breach and first-party losses, but the gap is widening at the top
Source: https://insuranceasianews.com/cyber-insurance-limit-adequacy-under-the-microscope-across-asia-as-average-ransomware-event-cost-tops-us5m/