Asia Sets the Pace for Regulated Crypto

Welcome to our Crypto news in 10, a daily podcast bringing you the latest news about crypto in under 10 minutes.

Here’s what’s moving crypto on Monday, December 8, 2025... Asia is the center of gravity today.

Robinhood is buying its way into Indonesia’s booming equities and crypto market. Binance just notched a first of its kind regulatory authorization out of Abu Dhabi—one that covers its global platform. Coinbase is quietly back in India with signups live, and a rupee on ramp on the roadmap. In the Philippines, a fast growing digital bank is rolling out a beginner friendly crypto feature for six and a half million customers. And in India, a collapse in the U S D T premium is shaking up a popular remittance channel.

We’ll unpack what changed, who benefits, and what to watch next. For context, Bitcoin is holding near the low ninety thousand dollar range, and Ether sits a little above three thousand one hundred, as traders eye an expected Fed cut midweek.

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Let’s start in Jakarta. Robinhood is entering Indonesia by acquiring Buana Capital Sekuritas, a local brokerage, and Pedagang Aset Kripto, a licensed digital asset trader. Terms weren’t disclosed, but closing is targeted for the first half of 2026.

Why Indonesia? It’s one of Southeast Asia’s hottest retail markets—more than nineteen million capital market investors, and roughly seventeen million registered crypto traders. The deal also brings on Indonesian tycoon Pieter Tanuri as a strategic adviser... useful when you’re navigating a new regulatory maze.

Robinhood frames this as the next leg of its international expansion, after joining the S and P 500 and launching prediction markets this year. Its stock is up nearly two hundred sixty eight percent year to date. The strategic takeaway is this—Robinhood wants a single app that spans U S equities, local stocks, and crypto across Asia, and it’s buying licenses to get there.

A quick nuance here... Robinhood also runs Bitstamp, which has been stacking licenses in places like Singapore—so expect cross pollination on compliance and custody as Indonesia comes online. The Financial Times notes that Robinhood aims to integrate U S equities and crypto access, while continuing to offer local products once approvals land. Timing matters—the regulatory clocks in the region can be slow—but the intent is clear.

Over to Abu Dhabi, where Binance says it has secured a global authorization under the Abu Dhabi Global Market framework—approved by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority, the F S R A. It covers the Binance dot com platform via three separately licensed entities—a recognized investment exchange to run spot and derivatives trading, a clearing house, and a broker dealer. Local press describes it as a global first for a crypto exchange, and industry outlets report Binance will align operations to this structure starting in early January 2026.

Practically, this gives Binance a comprehensive, named regulator and a home base with a well known virtual asset rulebook first published in 2018. It’s a big step in the company’s multiyear push to operate under clearer, more centralized oversight.

Two caveats. First, the permission becomes fully effective as conditions are met—so watch for operational go live milestones. Second, while the authorization is broad, it’s still under A D G M law... access in other countries will continue to depend on local rules and partnerships. Still, for institutions, the optics of a recognized exchange, clearing house, and broker dealer under one umbrella are compelling.

Coinbase is back in India. After more than two years of dormancy, the exchange has reopened app registrations nationwide. For now, it’s crypto to crypto trading only—no rupee deposits yet—but the company told attendees at India Blockchain Week that a rupee on ramp is planned for 2026.

This move follows Coinbase’s registration with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit earlier this year—a prerequisite for anti money laundering compliance. Why it matters... India is one of the world’s largest crypto user bases, despite high taxes. Returning with a phased, regulator aligned approach signals a longer term bet on policy normalization. If fiat rails do arrive next year, expect local competition—and retail volumes—to heat up in a hurry.

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In the Philippines, bank integrated crypto just took a step forward. GoTyme Bank—licensed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, or B S P, and serving about six and a half million customers—is rolling out a simple, in app crypto feature powered by Alpaca’s brokerage infrastructure. At launch, users can buy and hold eleven assets, including Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana, with pesos auto converted to U S dollars behind the scenes.

The pitch is bank level security and exchange like access—minus pro trader complexity. For a country that ranks high in global crypto adoption, adding a regulated bank front end could pull more first timers into digital assets and remittance friendly stablecoins over time. Look for other Southeast Asian neobanks to watch the playbook.

One more story from India that’s flying a bit under the radar, but matters for everyday users... The U S D T premium has collapsed, upending a popular non resident Indian remittance channel that relied on pricing gaps between onshore and offshore markets. Money changers and arbitrage desks that used to lean on a persistent premium to move value more cheaply are finding those spreads have evaporated, disrupting flows and raising costs—at least temporarily.

It’s a reminder that even so called stable routes depend on market microstructure and liquidity conditions. When spreads compress, entire business models can wobble. Regulators and banks will be watching whether this pushes demand back toward formal corridors—or into new stablecoin rails under tighter oversight.

Big picture, today’s theme is regulated access. Robinhood’s Indonesia push is a license first expansion. Binance is anchoring under A D G M’s comprehensive framework. Coinbase is re entering India step by step with F I U compliance. And GoTyme is putting crypto inside a regulated bank interface.

Even the U S D T premium story is, in its own way, about markets maturing—arbitrage squeezing out as liquidity deepens. If the Fed delivers a cut this week and risk appetite hangs in, that combination—better pipes plus friendlier macro—could set the tone into year end.

That’s your rundown—Robinhood’s Indonesia deal, Binance’s A D G M authorization, Coinbase’s India reboot, GoTyme’s bank integrated crypto launch, and India’s U S D T premium shake up. Keep an eye on the regulatory milestones and the fiat ramps—because when those go live, volumes tend to follow.

Thanks for listening and see you tommorow!