Today's Highlights:

🚔 Responsible for money laundering within a criminal gang, a Chinese man who hid in Thailand for 3 years is arrested; Thai authorities will coordinate extradition

🏛️ AnchorWatch obtains Nevada regulatory authorization to launch Bitcoin custody services, with coverage of up to USD 370 million per client

🏦 Ramp applies to the OCC to establish a national trust bank, intending to provide digital asset custody services

📋 A U.S. House bill proposes a voluntary disclosure program for digital assets, allowing reduced or waived penalties for non-intentional reporting errors

📌 Revolut obtains a Gibraltar crypto license to serve its international expansion plans

Responsible for money laundering within a criminal gang, a Chinese man who hid in Thailand for 3 years is arrested; Thai authorities will coordinate extradition

Thailand's Immigration Bureau recently arrested a 37-year-old Chinese national at a luxury residence in Bangkok. According to reports, the man was wanted by China on suspicion of involvement in a transnational criminal network and money laundering crimes; within the gang he was responsible for cryptocurrency and foreign currency exchange, consolidated or provided 133 fraudulent bank accounts for the movement of funds, with the funds involved in the transactions amounting to as much as RMB 500 million, and he also assisted other persons involved in the criminal network in obtaining visas. To evade pursuit, the suspect used forged documents, changed vehicle license plates, altered vehicle body colors and other means to conceal his whereabouts. The investigation showed that his residence permit had expired for 3 years and 8 months. Thai police, in accordance with local law, charged him with overstaying and handed him over to investigators for subsequent legal interrogation.

Business impact

This case shows that, for those providing cryptocurrency and foreign currency exchange and lending or consolidating bank accounts for transnational criminal gangs, on the Thai side the first liability triggered is overstaying under immigration law, while the money laundering and transnational crime charges on the Chinese side proceed through wanted notices and extradition procedures. For teams operating exchange, payment or fund-channel businesses in Thailand, the authenticity of account sources and customer identities directly determines whether they are service providers or a link in the fund chain, and residence and work permit status also affects the handling path for personnel after they are taken into custody. At present, the Thai side has only charged him with overstaying, and extradition has not yet entered the actual transfer stage.

Source: Hongxing News · 2026/10/19 22:01

AnchorWatch obtains Nevada regulatory authorization to launch Bitcoin custody services, with coverage of up to USD 370 million per client

AnchorWatch Trust Company, which holds regulatory authorization in the U.S. state of Nevada, has officially launched a bitcoin custody service aimed at institutional and high-net-worth clients, using a multi-party key custody arrangement in cooperation with BitGo and CoinCorner. Custody fees are up to USD 10,000 per month, and optional insurance underwritten by Lloyd's of London is offered, with coverage of up to USD 370 million per client covering risks such as physical coercion and custodian fraud, subject to underwriting approval for the specific coverage.

Business impact

AnchorWatch undertakes bitcoin custody in its capacity as a trust company holding a Nevada license, forming a regulated custody legal relationship between clients and the trustee institution; the keys are jointly controlled by multiple parties, and the custodian cannot unilaterally dispose of the assets. The fee of up to USD 10,000 per month corresponds to fiduciary duties and operational arrangements rather than investment returns; the Lloyd's insurance is optional supplementary coverage that takes effect only upon underwriting approval, and the scope of coverage and exclusions determine whether claims can actually be paid in circumstances such as coercion and internal fraud. When institutions select a custodian, the scope of the license, the signing rules for multi-party keys and the insurance underwriting conditions jointly determine the extent to which assets can be recovered in extreme circumstances.

Source: Wu Blockchain · 2026/10/19 23:22

Ramp applies to the OCC to establish a national trust bank, intending to provide digital asset custody services

Fintech company Ramp stated that on October 16 it submitted an application to the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish Ramp National Trust Bank. If approved, the trust bank license would allow it to provide fiduciary investment management and digital asset custody services and bring it under a unified federal regulatory framework. The proposed entity would not engage in deposit-taking or commercial lending. The application is currently at the review stage following its submission to the OCC and has not yet been approved.

Business impact

Ramp is applying for a national trust bank license; once approved, its fiduciary investment management and digital asset custody business would be directly subject to OCC federal supervision rather than separate state-level supervision. At the same time, the license expressly does not include deposit-taking or commercial lending, so its business boundaries differ from those of a universal bank. For institutions intending to enter into custody or fiduciary management cooperation with Ramp, Ramp does not yet have the operating qualification under that license before the OCC reaches a decision, and the relevant contractual arrangements must be premised on approval.

Source: ChainCatcher · 2026/10/19 23:01

U.S. House bill proposes a voluntary disclosure program for digital assets, allowing penalty reductions for those who unintentionally misreport

Section 502 of the U.S. House bill Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act (H.R. 10357) requires the U.S. Department of the Treasury to establish a digital asset voluntary disclosure program within 12 months after the bill takes effect, allowing taxpayers to correct past crypto asset tax reporting errors by filing amended returns, paying the tax due plus interest and paying the penalties prescribed by the program. Taxpayers generally need to file amended returns within 24 months after the program is established. The provision sets two penalty tiers: taxpayers who declare, under penalty of perjury, that the violation was not fraudulent or intentional and who file within 12 months after the program is established face a 0% penalty rate on the first USD 25,000 of tax owed per year and 5% on the excess; taxpayers who do not make such a declaration face a 25% penalty rate on the first USD 25,000 and 40% on the excess, with the penalty rate further increased for late filing. Taxpayers who do not make the declaration may, based on compliant disclosed information, be exempt from referral for criminal prosecution. The bill was passed by the House Ways and Means Committee on September 16, 2026, by a vote of 38 to 5, and still requires votes by the House and Senate and signature by the President before it takes effect.

Business impact

This provision applies to U.S. taxpayers with historical crypto asset reporting errors. Relief from penalties is conditioned on voluntarily filing amended returns, paying the tax due together with interest, and paying the scheduled penalty, and the applicable penalty tier depends on whether the taxpayer declares, under penalty of perjury, that the violation was not fraudulent or willful. For exchanges, custodians and tax filing service providers, this design will directly affect their arrangements for assisting clients in correcting historical filings and producing transaction records and cost-basis data, but the bill has not yet been voted on by the House of Representatives or the Senate or signed by the President, and the obligations are not yet in effect. What can be done at present is to review clients' historical filing gaps and the records that can be provided, rather than committing to outcomes externally based on the draft tax rates.

Source: ME News · 2026/10/19 22:05

Revolut obtains Gibraltar crypto license to serve its international expansion plans

Revolut obtained a Gibraltar distributed ledger technology (DLT) license for a newly established entity to support its international crypto business expansion strategy. The available materials do not specify the specific scope of business covered by the license, the licensing conditions, or the effective date.

Business impact

The license holder of the Gibraltar DLT license is this newly established entity, not Revolut's existing entities in various jurisdictions. Therefore, for counterparties that sign contracts or conduct business with it, the legal relationship falls within this new entity and the scope of its licensed activities. Whether the license carries pre-commencement prerequisites or subsequent conditions directly determines whether the entity can immediately provide the relevant services externally; before the conditions are met, cross-border business arrangements based on this license lack a definite regulatory basis.

Source: The Block · 2026/10/19 18:42

This daily report is compiled with AI assistance based on public information and is for reference only. It does not constitute legal advice or recommendations.