Taiwan's Legislative Yuan passed the Virtual Asset Service Act on June 30, establishing a full licensing regime for seven categories of cryptocurrency service providers — exchanges, custodians, lenders, transfer services, underwriters, lending platforms, and other designated services — and restricting stablecoin issuance exclusively to banks holding 100% reserve backing in segregated trust accounts. The law moves Taiwan from a registration-based anti-money laundering system to a full licensing framework administered by the Financial Supervisory Commission; stablecoin issuers additionally require Central Bank approval — a dual-authorization structure no other major jurisdiction has codified in statute. Existing AML-registered firms receive 12 months to apply for a full FSC license and up to 21 months to secure approval, with a three-month extension available. The commencement date will be set separately by the Executive Yuan; unauthorized VASP operation or stablecoin issuance without a license carries up to seven years in prison and fines up to NT$100 million (approximately $3 million USD).

Japan's Metaplanet purchased 2,823 BTC for approximately $170.7 million on July 2, bringing its cumulative treasury to 43,000 BTC and becoming the world's third-largest corporate Bitcoin holder, trailing only Strategy and Twenty One Capital. The acquisition was funded through the company's equity-issuance program, priced at an average of 12.71 million yen per coin, with cumulative spending reaching 659.3 billion yen across all purchases to date. Metaplanet's Bitcoin Income Generation business — which earns yield on the treasury through structured products — produced approximately $10.85 million in Q2 operating revenue, reducing the effective per-coin cost below the stated $80,000 average purchase price for the quarter. Metaplanet shares rose 3.5 percent on the day of the announcement.