The week’s ten most important crypto stories from India and Asia, ranked by impact.

1. Korea’s FSC drafts tokenized securities rules, with a ₩100 million retail cap per venue
South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) has published draft rules that would let stocks, bonds and fund units be issued and traded as tokenized securities, according to its press release. The draft caps a retail investor’s annual net purchases at ₩100 million (about $74,200 / €66,100) per over-the-counter exchange, and requires firms that manage issuer accounts to hold ₩4 billion ($3.0 million / €2.6 million) in capital. Comments are open from 2 Oct to 11 Nov, with the rules due to take effect on 4 Feb 2027.
Why it matters: it puts a start date on tokenized stocks and bonds in Korea, and the purchase cap shows how cautious the first phase will be.

2. Philippine central bank blocks inbound bank transfers to Coins.ph’s e-wallet arm under Resolution 839
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has partially suspended DCPay Philippines, the e-money operator behind Coins.ph, from receiving InstaPay and PESONet transfers under Monetary Board Resolution No. 839, BitPinas reported. Users cannot currently add money from banks or other e-wallets; outbound transfers, merchant QR payments and crypto trading remain available, according to a Coins.ph statement on 2 Oct.
Why it matters: cutting off cash-ins is a significant step against one of the country’s largest crypto apps. The BSP has given no public reason or end date.

3. India’s parliamentary finance panel may recommend tighter monitoring of crypto transactions
The Lok Sabha Standing Committee on Finance, chaired by Bhartruhari Mahtab, may recommend stricter monitoring of crypto transactions and newer tools to track digital assets in its upcoming report, The Economic Times and Hindustan Times reported.
Why it matters: India still has no dedicated crypto law; committee reports often shape what the finance ministry does next.
Caveat: the report has not been finalised or published; this item is based on newspaper reports, not an official document.

4. Japan’s Ministry of Finance sets up a study group on blockchain settlement for government bonds, first meeting 8 Oct
Japan’s Ministry of Finance has formed a study group to examine settling Japanese government bonds (JGBs) on a blockchain, with its first meeting set for 8 Oct, TokenPost reported.
Why it matters: JGBs are one of the world’s largest bond markets; even a study signals that tokenized settlement is moving from private pilots towards the sovereign plumbing.

5. SBI completes its takeover of exchange Bitbank, a deal worth about ¥46.7 billion
SBI Holdings completed the transaction making Bitbank a wholly owned subsidiary on 1 Oct, according to an SBI disclosure. The total consideration was about ¥46.7 billion ($296 million / €264 million), and Bitbank said its services continue unchanged.
Why it matters: it folds one of Japan’s larger crypto exchanges into SBI, which already runs the exchange SBI VC Trade.

6. HSBC names its Hong Kong dollar stablecoin ‘HSBC RedCoin’, launch planned for 2H 2026
HSBC said its forthcoming Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin will be called HSBC RedCoin, and that it plans to launch it in the second half of 2026 through its PayMe app and the HSBC Hong Kong app, according to the bank. HSBC received a stablecoin issuer licence from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority in April.
Why it matters: a licensed bank stablecoin distributed through an existing consumer wallet could reach retail users faster than crypto-native issuers. See what a dollar stablecoin is for the basics.
Caveat: the token has not been issued yet.

7. Shinhan Bank completes a stablecoin remittance trial with the Solana Foundation on 30 Sep
Shinhan Bank finished a proof of concept with the Solana Foundation for corporate cross-border remittances using stablecoins on a private Solana-based setup, The Asia Business Daily reported on 30 Sep. The test ran from registration and approvals through settlement and returns inside the bank’s existing systems.
Why it matters: Korean banks are preparing stablecoin rails ahead of legislation. Commercial use depends on regulation that has not passed yet.

8. CoinSwitch reports FY26 revenue of ₹324.19 crore, up 150%
Indian exchange CoinSwitch reported revenue of ₹324.19 crore ($33.7 million / €30.0 million) for the year to March 2026, up 150%, with adjusted EBITDA of ₹86.38 crore ($9.0 million / €8.0 million), up from ₹1.65 crore, VCCircle reported. Costs rose 37% to ₹270.07 crore.
Why it matters: a profitable domestic exchange is notable in a market where Indian users send most of their volume offshore (see item 10).
Caveat: figures are company-reported and adjusted EBITDA is a non-standard measure; not independently verified by CryptoWatchDesk.

9. Korea’s crypto market value fell 33% in the first half to ₩58.9 trillion
The total value of crypto held on Korean platforms was ₩58.9 trillion ($43.7 billion / €38.9 billion) at the end of June, down 33% from ₩87.2 trillion at the end of 2025, according to a survey by the FSC’s Financial Intelligence Unit and the Financial Supervisory Service, Yonhap reported. Average daily trading fell to ₩3.1 trillion ($2.3 billion / €2.0 billion) from ₩5.4 trillion, and customer won deposits dropped 35% to ₩5.2 trillion.
Why it matters: the data show how sharply retail activity cooled in one of the world’s most active crypto markets.

10. Indian users sent $88.4 billion to centralized exchanges in a year; domestic platforms took 0.7%
India recorded $88.4 billion (€78.8 billion) in centralized exchange inflows from July 2025 to June 2026, the most in its region, Chainalysis said. Domestic Indian platforms’ share of local exchange volume was just 0.7%, down from about 7% before mid-2022, according to the report.
Why it matters: the slide in domestic share dates from mid-2022, when India’s 1% TDS on crypto transfers took effect; see India’s crypto tax and FIU rules.

Next week in Asia

  • Wed 7 Oct-Thu 8 Oct: TOKEN2049 in Singapore (SGT, same as HKT and six hours ahead of CEST).
  • Thu 8 Oct: First meeting of Japan’s Ministry of Finance study group on blockchain settlement for JGBs (time not announced).
  • Until Wed 11 Nov: Korea’s FSC takes comments on its tokenized securities draft.
  • India: No date yet for the Standing Committee on Finance report; watch Parliament’s notices (IST).

This article was written by Kavya Raghunathan, an AI author persona at CryptoWatchDesk, and was reviewed, fact-checked and edited by Akriti Seth. It is not investment advice. Kavya Raghunathan holds no crypto assets.