The United States has ordered DeepSeek products removed from federal civilian agency IT systems, citing concerns that use of the Chinese artificial-intelligence service could expose sensitive information. The move comes as Washington separately proposes broader limits on US investment in advanced AI and semiconductor projects in several foreign countries.
The developments were reported alongside a series of crypto and digital-asset initiatives across Asia, including a new spot Bitcoin ETF in Switzerland, stablecoin payment trials involving Japan and South Korea, and blockchain infrastructure projects in Malaysia and Vietnam.
Washington widens scrutiny of AI and overseas investment
The US Department of Homeland Security filed an order on Monday requiring federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek products, affiliates and third-party services built using DeepSeek implementations from their IT systems. The order also prevents the affected agencies from making new purchases of those products and services.
DHS said government employees’ and contractors’ use of DeepSeek could expose sensitive information to China, including information about US citizens and federal programs. The action extends restrictions beyond the technology itself to related products and services that use DeepSeek implementations.
Separately, the US Treasury has proposed rules that would block certain investments in artificial-intelligence projects and high-risk semiconductors in a group of foreign countries. The measures are primarily directed at China but would also cover Russia, Iran, North Korea and Cuba.
The proposed rules would implement the COINS Act passed in December 2025 and expand the Outbound Investment Security Program, which took effect in January 2025. Treasury has already announced its first penalty under the program this month: a $200,000 fine for Amidi, LLC, over failure to report an investment by its Chinese subsidiary in Shanghai Qiongche Intelligent Technology, also known as Noematrix. The investment involved embodied AI and robotics.
Crypto links grow between Asian markets
Japan and South Korea are testing whether yen-denominated stablecoins can support payments and trade between the two countries. Shinhan Card, one of South Korea’s major card companies, signed an agreement with Japan’s SBI VC Trade and SBI XDC Network APAC.
The trial will examine stablecoin card payments, transfers between digital wallets and cross-border trade settlement. The companies will also assess anti-money-laundering and fraud-detection controls. Stablecoins are digital tokens designed to maintain a stable value against an underlying currency or other asset; in this case, the project concerns yen-based payments.
South Korea is also developing its own won-based digital-asset infrastructure. Blockchain network Injective signed a memorandum of understanding with digital-asset custodian BDACS to bring a won-backed stablecoin to tokenized-asset markets. The proposed system could allow institutions to settle transactions without relying on US dollar stablecoins.
Kakao, KakaoBank and KakaoPay have formed a stablecoin task force focused on infrastructure for won stablecoin issuance, custody and payments. The companies said the initial use cases would include shopping and gifting. Meanwhile, South Korean finance officials met representatives of Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, DigitalX, Gopax and the Digital Asset Exchange Alliance for consultations on crypto taxation. The meetings followed legislation that could delay the start of a new crypto tax by two years; the tax has already been postponed three times, with the latest schedule placing its start in 2027.
In Malaysia, Bank Negara Malaysia launched a distributed-ledger platform for issuing, holding and safeguarding tokenized debt securities, including Islamic bonds known as sukuk. Its next-generation Scripless Securities Depository System, or SSDS+, is connected to a payment system designed to operate around the clock.
Bitcoin, exchanges and regional market activity
Singapore-backed BIT Asset Management has launched what the source describes as Switzerland’s first spot Bitcoin ETF. The product was approved by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority. The manager’s Zurich arm was formerly known as Matrixport, and the ETF is described as Europe’s only spot Bitcoin ETF.
In Japan, shareholders of Nasdaq-listed gaming and digital-media company Super League approved a transaction that would give Bitcoin treasury firm Metaplanet a 93.7% stake. Metaplanet also announced a planned repurchase of approximately $160 million of its own shares. The transaction is intended to support the company’s expansion into US capital markets through a publicly traded Bitcoin treasury company.
Crypto exchange Bitget said it plans to acquire Thailand’s GMO-Z.com Cryptonomics through BTGT Management (Thailand), a company in which Bitget said it holds an interest. The proposed acquisition would give Bitget a route to introduce its trading platform to Thai users. The announcement came weeks after a major hack affected Bitget’s hot and warm wallets.
Elsewhere, Solana Foundation President Lily Liu said the Solana Accelerate event in Shanghai had been postponed after overnight pre-registration rose to four times its previous level and exceeded the cap set by local authorities. She said the postponement was intended to comply with local requirements.
According to Cointelegraph, Vietnam and Switzerland are also seeking closer technology links. A free-trade agreement between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association countries includes Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. After meeting Vietnam’s prime minister, Swiss President Guy Parmelin proposed connecting Switzerland’s Crypto Valley with Vietnam’s innovation ecosystem in blockchain, artificial intelligence and quantum technology. Da Nang, meanwhile, is using a controlled sandbox for crypto-related tourism applications.
Moneyiar market picture
Moneyiar data at 11:09 p.m. on October 22, 2026, showed Bitcoin at $81,271.589217426, down 3.54% over 24 hours and 1.09% over seven days.
- DeepBook Protocol: $0.0178389153, down 10% in 24 hours and 24.78% over seven days.
- XPR Network: $0.0018528576, down 2.2% in 24 hours and 17.1% over seven days.
- Comedian: $0.0572710406, down 3.78% in 24 hours but up 6.86% over seven days.
These figures are Moneyiar market data at the stated time and represent a snapshot rather than a forecast.
