Vietnam pilots cryptocurrency exchange, expands Bakkt, and more.

Welcome to the Asia-Pacific Morning Brief—an essential summary of overnight cryptocurrency developments that shape regional markets and global sentiment. Prepare your green tea and stay tuned to this space.

Vietnam will launch an international financial center, including a cryptocurrency exchange pilot program, by the end of the year. Bakkt is entering Japan with a bitcoin.jp rebranding. Chainlink is releasing U.S. stock data. Nomura has secured a Dubai derivatives license.

Vietnam to Pilot Crypto Exchange in International Financial Center

Vietnam is advancing cryptocurrency regulation, with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh announcing that an international financial center will operate by the end of 2025, featuring a digital asset trading platform. Deputy Prime Minister Pham Tien Dung stated at the GM Vietnam 2025 conference that Vietnam has established a comprehensive legal basis for digital assets.

The Digital Technology Industry Law passed in June 2025 officially recognizes crypto assets by distinguishing them from virtual assets and will take effect in January 2026. The Treasury has submitted a pilot resolution for a crypto asset exchange using blockchain technology as core infrastructure.

Vietnam ranks globally with 21.2% cryptocurrency ownership, with over 21 million citizens holding more than $100 billion in digital assets annually. The regulatory sandbox will operate in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, potentially attracting major exchanges. Upbit from South Korea has already explored entering the Vietnamese market, indicating international confidence in the emerging regulatory framework.

Bakkt Rebrands to 'bitcoin.jp' in Japan, Initiates Bitcoin Treasury Strategy

Bakkt Holdings has acquired a 30% stake in Tokyo-listed Marusho Hotta, becoming the majority shareholder in a $235 million transaction. The Japanese company will be rebranded to "bitcoin.jp" after shareholder approval, with Bakkt securing the matching web domain. Phillip Roth, president of Bakkt International, will take on the CEO role to integrate Bitcoin into the company's treasury strategy.

Bakkt Co-CEO Akshay Naheta mentioned that Japan's regulatory environment "provides an ideal platform for a Bitcoin-centric growth business". This move follows Bakkt's recent $75 million stock raise and $1 billion shelf offering to fund Bitcoin purchases, signaling a shift from crypto infrastructure to direct Bitcoin treasury operations.

Chainlink Launches Real-Time U.S. Stock Data Stream for DeFi

Chainlink has released data streams for U.S. stocks and ETFs, providing institutional-grade pricing to blockchain networks. The service offers real-time data for assets like SPY, NVIDIA, Apple, and Microsoft across 37 blockchains. DeFi protocols GMX, Camino, and others have already integrated the streams.

The infrastructure includes market time enforcement, congestion detection, and circuit breaker logic, providing sub-second latency. This addresses a critical gap in delayed tokenized stock infrastructure, despite a $275 billion real-world asset (RWA) tokenization market. Use cases include perpetual futures, on-chain lending via stock collateral, and synthetic ETFs.

Chief Business Officer Johan Eide noted that this enables "production-ready tokenized financial products linked to U.S. stocks" to be directly used on-chain. The move aligns with increasing regulatory acceptance, including the recent passage of the GENIUS bill supporting tokenized financial products.

Nomura Laser Digital Secures Dubai Crypto OTC License

Nomura's cryptocurrency subsidiary Laser Digital has secured its first regulated OTC crypto options license under Dubai's Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) pilot framework. The company becomes the first VARA-regulated entity to offer direct client-facing crypto OTC options services in the Emirates.

Dubai's crypto-friendly regulatory environment continues to attract major players, with Coinbase-owned Derbit also planning operations there. Chief Product Officer Johannes Ullad praised VARA's detailed justification process while highlighting its flexible execution approach. Laser Digital will initially focus on major crypto tokens through medium-term options under ISDA contracts, keeping the structure simple before expanding to revenue generation and lending services.

Contributions by Mori Shigeki and Oba Shota.