Metaplanet equity backlash, SE Asia crypto funding doubles: Asia Express

Shareholder anger has flared at Tokyo-based Bitcoin treasury company Metaplanet after the company’s 10th Series executive option pool was structured to represent 20% of fully diluted shares and to expand automatically as new equity was issued to buy Bitcoin. Several investors have taken to social media to protest potential dilution and are asking Metaplanet to cancel an extra 273 million shares created under the change and to disclose clearer guidance on future equity decisions. Bitcoin Magazine CEO David Bailey publicly defended the package, saying a 20% allocation over five years is reasonable, but the dispute shows a divide between management and parts of the shareholder base.

Across southeast Asia, private-market data from Tracxn shows regional crypto equity investment roughly doubled between 2025 and 2026, rising to $680 million from about $319 million, even as the number of funding rounds fell to 25 this year from 46 last year. Singapore has emerged as the dominant hub, hosting 2,285 of the region’s 3,957 blockchain companies and accounting for 82.5% of all-time blockchain equity funding tracked in the region. Observers noted that the increase in capital amid fewer deals points to more funding flowing into a smaller set of firms.

Regulatory and enforcement moves accompanied the funding news. U.S. authorities restrained more than $52 million in crypto tied to the scam marketplace Xinbi, with the Justice Department seizing two wallets holding about $12 million and seeking restraints on 47 additional wallets. The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Xinbi as a significant transnational criminal organization and sanctioned Singapore-based SafeW Technology and Cambodia-based Anwen Technology for alleged support to Xinbi. In Singapore, crypto exchange Gemini received a Major Payment Institution license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, while USDC issuer Circle agreed to acquire cross-border payments company Tazapay for $400 million.

In South Korea, the Financial Services Commission unveiled a three-phase roadmap to build tokenized securities infrastructure, with tokenized securities set to receive legal recognition starting Feb. 4, 2027, after changes to the Act on Electronic Registration of Stocks and Bonds. The National Assembly Budget Office estimated won-denominated stablecoins could lower annual merchant payment fees in South Korea by between $275 million and $3.8 billion. Elsewhere in Asia, Indian agri-warehousing firm Arya.ag is piloting tokenized warehouse receipts on a dedicated Avalanche layer-1, working with Finternet; India’s Financial Intelligence Unit has issued non-compliance notices to 15 offshore virtual asset service providers; and India’s Finance Ministry is scheduled to appear before a parliamentary panel on Sept. 16 to discuss virtual-asset taxation and regulation.

Additional deals and regulatory shifts included Thailand’s Webull Securities completing a $100 million acquisition of Pi Securities, and the Philippines central bank proposing a 12-month freeze on new payment-system operator registrations while it considers tighter rules. Taken together, the developments show active private investment, enforcement actions and a burst of regulatory planning across the region as crypto markets mature.