OKX user’s desperate plea, Hong Kong talks gold stablecoins: Asia Express

OKX user’s desperate plea

An OKX user trying to get around restrictions on Chinese users has issued a desperate plea after the crypto exchange froze funds, saying that the money was needed to cover urgent family medical expenses.

The user, who shared a lengthy personal appeal on X, said about $40,000 in crypto became inaccessible after OKX’s risk controls locked multiple accounts linked to identity violations. The user admitted the accounts were acquired from third parties to access promotions that were unavailable to mainland China users.

In the post, the user said all funds transferred into them originated from their verified personal account. They described the funds as “life-saving money” needed for a family member’s surgery.

OKX founder Star Xu responded, saying that the exchange cannot transfer control of accounts or release assets based on personal claims, even when the claimant admits wrongdoing. Further handling is possible only if the registered account holder steps in to provide verifiable documents.

The user later apologized to OKX and said he would attempt to contact the account’s KYC-registered owner to seek a resolution. They added that loans from friends helped address the immediate medical emergency.

Hong Kong cautious on gold-backed stablecoins

Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po has downplayed calls for gold-backed stablecoins.

Chan was responding to an audience member who suggested the city explore stablecoins backed by gold, at a Saturday forum on the city’s upcoming budget.

He said Hong Kong would take a step-by-step approach to stablecoin development and stressed the need for prudence, adding that proposals to link stablecoins to gold or other assets could be examined after regulatory groundwork is completed.

Hong Kong’s stablecoin rules took effect on Aug. 1 and have since attracted a long line of applicants hoping to capitalize on the world’s largest offshore yuan market. However, Chan has said only a select few will be approved, warning that most applicants are likely to be disappointed.

Stablecoin adoption has accelerated since US President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law, prompting regulators worldwide to reassess their own stablecoin frameworks. 

Gold-linked stablecoins have also gained traction. Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin USDT, has continued expanding its gold-backed offering. 

In October, Tether’s XAUt market cap rose by about $500 million, lifting the gold-pegged stablecoin’s market capitalization to $1.5 billion, CoinMarketCap data shows. Since then, its market capitalization has climbed further, to about $1.87 billion at the time of writing, as gold prices surge to record highs.

Crypto first movers risk becoming TradFi casualties in South Korea

A South Korean startup has accused financial regulators of favoring established institutions and sidelining a crypto pioneer as the country moves to formalize its tokenized securities market.

Lucentblock, a blockchain-based fractional investment firm founded in 2018, said it faces possible closure after being excluded from the shortlist for South Korea’s planned over-the-counter exchange for security token offerings (STOs).

In October, three groups of applicants — the Korea Exchange (KRX), Nextrade (NXT) and Lucentblock — submitted applications to the Financial Services Commission for preliminary approval to operate a fractional investment over-the-counter exchange.

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) is expected to finalize licenses by Wednesday. If the reported shortlist is confirmed, Lucentblock would be excluded from South Korea’s first officially sanctioned STO trading infrastructure.

Lucentblock CEO Huh Se-young called for an emergency press conference on Monday, and said that the company was being “pushed out of the market” despite operating for seven years under South Korea’s regulatory sandbox.

“This is an existing business being institutionalized in a way that excludes the very companies that built the market,” Huh said.

The dispute has raised broader concerns over how regulatory sandboxes transition into permanent market structures. Critics argue that startups invited to experiment often lack protection once formal licensing frameworks are introduced, allowing larger players to enter late and dominate the market.

Vietnam to license pilot crypto exchanges by Thursday

Vietnam will license companies to participate in a pilot digital asset exchange program before Thursday as part of a regulatory sandbox aimed at bringing the local crypto market under formal oversight, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said.

The instruction was issued at a national conference on Jan. 6 reviewing the finance sector’s performance in 2025 and setting priorities for 2026. 

According to a government summary of the conference, the licensing deadline was included among eight priority task groups assigned to the finance sector for the year. Five companies are reportedly expected to join the pilot.

Government communications described the sandbox as a mechanism for controlled crypto experimentation while managing risks related to investor protection and Anti-Money Laundering.

Vietnam’s crypto market has long operated in a legal grey area, until Jan. 1, when the Law on Digital Technology Industry came into force. The law provides a legal foundation for crypto that allows for regulatory sandboxes.

Just last week, authorities in Da Nang city reportedly approved a pilot program for stablecoin conversion to and from the Vietnamese dong.