Japanese Bitcoin treasury company Metaplanet is facing renewed shareholder criticism after it continued expanding an executive share option pool that automatically grows as new shares are issued to support the companyโs Bitcoin accumulation strategy. Multiple investors have raised dilution concerns and are urging the company to rescind the additional shares created under the plan.
Across Asia, the crypto sector also saw a mix of regulatory movement, enforcement actions, and corporate dealmakingโfrom Singapore granting Gemini a payment license to South Korea laying out a roadmap for tokenized securities and India moving forward with a tokenization test for grain warehouse receipts.
Key takeaways
- Metaplanet shareholders are objecting to dilution tied to a 20% fully diluted share executive option pool that expands when new shares are issued for Bitcoin buying.
- Singaporeโs crypto funding performance strengthened sharply in 2026, with private market data cited as showing 25 rounds totaling $680 million.
- Gemini received a Singapore Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from MAS, removing the earlier โin-principleโ approval step.
- South Koreaโs Financial Services Commission introduced a three-phase plan for legally recognizing tokenized securities and eventually enabling stablecoin-linked onchain payments.
- US authorities moved to restrain over $52 million in crypto linked to alleged scam marketplace Xinbi Guarantee and related wallets; OFAC also designated Xinbi as a significant transnational criminal organization.
Metaplanet executive pool under scrutiny as dilution concerns escalate
Metaplanetโs executive stock pool has again become a flashpoint among shareholders, according to reporting linked by Cointelegraph. The plan in question is the companyโs 10th Series executive option pool, structured to represent 20% of fully diluted shares and to expand automatically as Metaplanet issues additional shares to fund its Bitcoin (BTC) accumulation.
According to investor posts referenced in the coverage, some shareholders are asking Metaplanet to cancel an additional 273 million shares created from changes tied to the pool. They are also requesting greater transparency around future decisions, arguing that the mechanismโs built-in growth can materially dilute existing holders.
In response to the backlash, Bitcoin Magazine CEO David Bailey defended the approach, characterizing the allocation of 20% of the cap table over a five-year period as not โcrazy.โ Still, the disagreement underscores the tension common to treasury-style Bitcoin strategies: while token issuance can fund BTC purchases, investors may view the share mechanics as insufficiently predictable or too aggressive relative to what they believe is warranted for long-term alignment.
Funding momentum in Southeast Asia tilts toward Singapore
In Southeast Asia, investment activity in crypto-related firms accelerated over the past year. A report cited by Cointelegraph states that funding doubled between 2025 and 2026, reaching 25 funding rounds and $680 million in 2026, based on private market data from Tracxn.
While the headline growth is notable, the data cited also suggests concentration risk: the number of rounds fell compared with the previous year (46 funding rounds reported for 2025), implying that more capital is flowing into fewer companies. Singapore, in the same coverage, is described as taking the lead as a regional crypto hub, with 2,285 of 3,957 blockchain companies in the region and 82.5% of all time blockchain equity funding tracked.
For investors and founders, the implication is straightforward: capital availability appears stronger, but competition for funding may be more intense as fewer deals capture larger sums. Builders looking for traction may need to sharpen their differentiation while fund managers may focus on a narrower set of โwinsโ as funding concentrates.
Singapore and other regulators: licensing upgrades, tokenization roadmaps, and enforcement actions
Singapore added regulatory clarity for crypto services when Gemini received a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), completing a transition that had been underway since the exchange received in-principle approval nearly two years earlier. Cointelegraphโs coverage notes that MPI license holders can provide regulated payment services without the transaction-volume limits that apply to standard payment institutions.
Gemini has served Singapore customers since 2020, with the company describing Singapore as a strategic hub for both retail and institutional clients in its commentary as reported. The development matters because payment licensing often affects how quickly regulated exchanges and wallet providers can scale product features, especially where transaction processing and cross-border settlement capabilities are involved.
Meanwhile, South Koreaโs Financial Services Commission introduced a three-phase roadmap to build infrastructure for tokenized securities issuance for assets such as stocks, bonds, and funds. Cointelegraph reports that starting February 4, 2027, tokenized securities will be legally recognized as digitized forms of securities following an update to the Act on Electronic Registration of Stocks and Bonds.
The plan is staged: the first phase covers legal recognition for certain tokenized products (including institutional money market funds, bonds, unlisted stocks, and fractional investment securities). Phase two would broaden recognition to all publicly offered securities, while phase three targets onchain payments linked to stablecoins. This sequencing is important for market participants because it indicates where compliance and infrastructure investment may land firstโlegal status tends to precede broader market rollout.
Related to payments economics, the South Korea National Assembly Budget Office estimates that won-denominated stablecoins could reduce merchant payment fees by between $275 million and $3.8 billion annually, as cited in the same coverage. Whether those savings materialize will likely depend on adoption and competitive dynamics among payment rails.
Enforcement also featured prominently. According to Cointelegraph, US authorities restrained more than $52 million in crypto linked to the alleged scam marketplace Xinbi Guarantee and its vendor network. The US Justice Department said its Scam Center Strike Force seized two wallets used by Xinbi to collect vendor payments containing about $12 million, and sought restraints against 47 additional wallets believed to be connected to money laundering across Xinbiโs network. Separately, OFAC designated Xinbi as a significant transnational criminal organization and sanctioned SafeW Technology (Singapore-based) and Anwen Technology (Cambodia-based) for allegedly providing technological and financial support to Xinbi.
Corporate and cross-border moves: payments, tokenization pilots, and treasury expansion
Several business developments highlighted how crypto is being tested and integrated into traditional finance workflows. Citi plans to offer Japanese companies near-instant international payments using blockchain-based infrastructure, including outside standard banking hours, according to Cointelegraphโs report.
In Singapore, Circle agreed to acquire Tazapay for $400 million, with the company described as having more than 60 bank and fintech partners across 100 markets. The reported strategic logic is to deepen cross-border payments capability, an area where stablecoins and compliant rails often intersect.
In India, Arya.ag is testing a system to tokenize warehouse receipts representing ownership of stored grain on a dedicated Avalanche layer-1 blockchain, according to Cointelegraph. The coverage states Arya.ag is working with Finternet to connect grain deposits, warehouse receipts, collateral commitments, and loan status through the network. Devika Mittal of Ava Labsโ India team said each tokenized receipt would represent ownership of the stored commodity, while the companies did not disclose an expected launch date or the scale of the initial deployment.
Separately, the Indian Financial Intelligence Unit issued non-compliance notices to 15 offshore virtual digital-asset service providers for alleged AML failures and sought takedowns of relevant applications and URLs, accusing them of serving Indian customers without proper controls. And Indiaโs Finance Ministry is expectedโper Cointelegraphโs coverageโto appear before a parliamentary panel on September 16, with discussion focusing on taxation and regulation of virtual digital assets.
In Hong Kong, Circleโs USDC jersey sponsorship with Chelsea Football Club created complications, with the issue reportedly linked to the jurisdictionโs stricter approach to unlicensed crypto promotions and local merchant hesitation to sell the jersey. In another corporate treasury item, Hong Kong-listed gaming company Boyaa Interactive purchased an additional 115 Bitcoin, adding to its existing treasury holdings, as cited by Cointelegraph.
As these stories develop, the clearest watchpoints are shareholder governance in Bitcoin-treasury companies, the pace at which Singapore and South Korea turn licensing and tokenization roadmaps into real market products, and enforcement signals that may tighten how global payment providers and tokenized finance rails operate across borders.
