Thailand’s Incoming Prime Minister Signals Crypto Embrace

Earlier this month Metaplanet, a Japanese Bitcoin treasury company, said that it was targeting 10,000 Bitcoin in 2025 but the company has raised the bar once again, planning on an acquisition of 21,000 Bitcoin by 2026. On Jan. 5, Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich set out a number of objectives for 2025. Among them was a goal for the company to acquire 10,000 Bitcoin in 2025. Gerovich explained that the firm intended to utilize “the most accretive capital market tools available” in order for Metaplanet to meet that target.Photo by André François McKenzie on Unsplash2025-2026 Bitcoin PlanAbout three weeks after the Metaplanet CEO announced that ambition, the company published a press release on Jan. 28 detailing its 2025-2026 Bitcoin Plan, which goes much further.  The plan outlines that 10,000 Bitcoin remains the target for 2025 but that the company has adopted the strategy to accumulate 21,000 Bitcoin by 2026. Gerovich stated that since Metaplanet embraced the Bitcoin Standard on April 8, 2024, the company has experienced exponential growth. Gerovich added: “The market has recognized Metaplanet as Tokyo’s preeminent Bitcoin company, and we are seizing this momentum to solidify our position as a global leader. Our vision is to lead the Bitcoin renaissance in Japan and emerge as one of the largest corporate Bitcoin holders globally. This plan is our commitment to that future.” Adopting MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin playbookMetaplanet has adopted the Bitcoin playbook first pioneered by U.S. business intelligence company turned Bitcoin development firm MicroStrategy. In short, that playbook involves financing Bitcoin purchases with debt. In this way, the company can capitalize on Bitcoin’s historical trend of positive returns over time, using convertible notes and equity to facilitate that.  The practice also creates a feedback loop in so far as MicroStrategy buys Bitcoin, resulting in the Bitcoin unit price increases. The MicroStrategy stock price goes up. Demand for MicroStrategy’s stock and debt goes up, enabling the company to buy more Bitcoin. In its press release, Metaplanet looked back on what had been achieved in terms of its Bitcoin strategy in 2024. In Q4 2024, the company achieved a Bitcoin yield of 309.82%, following on from a 41.7% Bitcoin yield in Q3.  At the close of the year, the Japanese Bitcoin treasury company held 1,761 Bitcoin, purchased at an average Bitcoin unit price of 11.85 million yen ($76,411). Shareholder growth has seen the company surpass 50,000 shareholders. Meanwhile, share trading volume has increased 430x, year-on-year. Since the firm adopted the Bitcoin Standard in April 2024, the company’s market capitalization has grown by 7,000%. Last month, the company celebrated the milestone of having reached a $1 billion market cap. Asia’s largest equity capital raise for BitcoinThe company has dubbed its new plan “The 21 Million Plan.” It will comprise the issuance of 21 million shares by means of moving strike warrants. Gerovich confirmed on X that at $750 million, the plan will involve Asia’s largest-ever public equity capital raise to buy Bitcoin.

Chinese authorities have apprehended an individual suspected of identity forgery in connection with the StarkNet (STRK) airdrop. The suspect, identified as Lan Mou, allegedly assumed the identities of others to submit false Early Community Member Program (ECMP) airdrop forms. Through this scheme, the suspect claimed over 40,000 STRK tokens that originally belonged to the victims. After successfully claiming the tokens, the suspect transferred them to an OKX wallet. Subsequently, the tokens were converted into over $91,000 worth of Tether, as reported by local media on April 30. Lan Mou was apprehended by police in Guangdong Province on April 25. Authorities seized a computer and two mobile phones during the arrest.Photo by Tamara Gak on UnsplashUnprecedented scale of identity theftWhile cryptocurrency scams and phishing attacks are prevalent, the scale of identity theft observed in this case is unprecedented. The suspect's method involved claiming airdrops using stolen identities, marking a novel approach to fraudulent activity in the cryptocurrency space. A crypto airdrop is a method used to distribute new cryptocurrency tokens, typically targeting early users who engage with a specific protocol. In the case of the StarkNet Foundation's airdrop, which launched on Feb. 20, a total of 700 million STRK tokens were distributed to various participants, including Ethereum solo and liquid stakers, Starknet developers, users, external projects and developers within the Web3 ecosystem. Concerns raised by developerFollowing the StarkNet airdrop, concerns were raised by pseudonymous Yearn.finance developer Banteg regarding the eligibility criteria. Banteg warned that the eligibility list mainly consisted of airdrop squatters, individuals who exploit airdrop opportunities for financial gain. These individuals often control multiple addresses to maximize their rewards. This incident is not the first instance of airdrop exploitation. In March 2023, it was revealed that airdrop hunters consolidated $3.3 million worth of tokens from the Arbitrum (ARB) airdrop into just two wallets, highlighting the prevalence of such fraudulent activities within the cryptocurrency community. 

Bitstamp, regarded as the longest-running cryptocurrency exchange in the business, declared on March 6 that it has obtained in-principle approval for a license to function as a Major Payment Institution (MPI) from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).Photo by Zhu Hongzhi on UnsplashFirst major Euro exchange in SingaporeThis preliminary approval, a precursor to a full-fledged license for operation in Singapore, marks a significant milestone for Bitstamp towards offering digital payment token services within the city-state. According to the exchange's press release, it's the first crypto trading platform with a substantial presence in the European Union (EU) to secure such approval from MAS. The nod from Singapore’s financial regulator arrives amidst notable regulatory strides in the crypto domain, including the European Union’s rollout of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework and the green light given by the U.S. for Bitcoin ETFs. Focusing on AsiaBitstamp's strategic focus on the Asia Pacific region, with Singapore as its central hub, underscores its focus in delivering services to both institutional and retail clientele across the region. The firm’s intent in this regard became clear in August of last year when Bitstamp sought capital funding to enable it to extend the platform’s reach into various markets across Asia. Whilst the company’s origins can  be traced back to Slovenia, it has since developed further ties with Asia. In 2018, the company was acquired by NXMH, a subsidiary of South Korea’s NXC Corporation. The same holding company owns Korean crypto exchange Korbit. Compliance strategyWhile the licensing is quite the achievement, the company already boasts a robust regulatory track record, surpassing the 50-license mark across key markets such as Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, France the United States (with coverage in 40 states including New York, Washington, Texas and Florida) and the United Kingdom. In its press release the company referred to its ever-growing licensing collection, outlining that “compliance and regulation [are] at the heart of all operations.” Leonard Hoh, Bitstamp's APAC General Manager, lauded Singapore's proactive stance in establishing a regulatory framework for crypto exchanges, positioning the city-state as a pivotal player in the digital assets landscape. Singapore has already granted full licenses to several crypto service providers, including Blockchain.com, Circle, Coinbase and Ripple. In late 2023, Bitstamp initiated talks with three major European banks regarding the potential introduction of cryptocurrency services in 2024. This signals a broader trend within the EU, where the crypto regulatory initiative, MiCA, is smoothing the path for traditional financial institutions to venture into the digital assets realm. Robert Zagotta, Bitstamp’s Chief Commercial Officer, highlighted the surge in interest surrounding its “Bitstamp-as-a-Service” offering, especially within European circles. This service furnishes a white-label licensing framework, coupled with requisite technology, to aid banks and fintech entities in facilitating cryptocurrency transactions for their clientele. However, the regulatory landscape isn't as welcoming in India, where the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) urged the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to block the URLs of nine major global crypto exchanges, including Bitstamp, in late 2023.