Bitcoin backed mortgages and stablecoin yield are hot topics in Japan right now, as Hyundai experiments with Avalanche for global stablecoin transfers. Asia Express
A crypto wallet linked to a suspected romance-scam money launderer processed more than $122.5 million in 10 months, according to Interpol.
Interpol said that Thai authorities arrested two suspects and uncovered a money-laundering network that funneled proceeds from romance scams into cryptocurrencies, using cross-chain token swaps to obscure the trail.
The investigation was part of Operation First Light 2026, an Interpol-coordinated campaign targeting social engineering scams and the financial infrastructure used to launder their proceeds.
The operation involved authorities in 97 countries and territories, resulting in 5,811 arrests and the seizure of $293 million in illicit assets tied to fraud and money laundering.
Romance scams, also known as pig-butchering scams, often involve criminals building trust with victims through social media or online dating platforms before steering them toward fraudulent investment schemes.
Authorities carried out raids on scam centers. Source: Interpol
Hyundai Motor's US and Mexican units completed a pilot cross-border treasury transfer using Tether's USDT stablecoin, settling a $20,000 payment in about seven minutes on the Avalanche blockchain.
Hyundai Motor America converted the funds into USDT, transferred the stablecoin to Hyundai Motor Mexico and converted it back into US dollars. The transfer and verification process took about seven minutes, compared with three to four hours or more for a traditional cross-border bank transfer.
Tether said the pilot used Axiym's settlement infrastructure, while Hyundai Card designed the remittance structure and oversaw the regulatory, compliance, accounting and operational requirements needed to support the proof of concept.
Tokyo-based SBI VC Trade will begin accepting applications Thursday for a Japanese yen-denominated stablecoin lending service offering an initial annualized rate of 3% on JPYSC lent for 12 weeks.
Customers will lend JPYSC to the SBI Holdings subsidiary from Thursday and receive the tokens back with a lending fee at maturity, the company said in a Monday press release. At the advertised rate, the gross return over the 12-week term would be about 0.69%, before tax.
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