Thai digital asset operators froze 47,692 mule accounts in 2025 alone.

Thailand’s digital asset industry has stepped up its efforts to tackle money laundering linked to mule accounts.

Crypto exchanges in the Southeast Asian country have frozen more than 10,000 suspicious accounts under a newly enforced measure known as the “Speed Bump,” according to the Thai Digital Asset Operators Trade Association (TDO).

Major Anti-Money Laundering Push

While speaking to the Bangkok Post, Att Thongyai Asavanund, chief executive of KuCoin Thailand and chairman of the TDO, said mule accounts remain one of the most significant vulnerabilities within the crypto ecosystem.

Criminal groups typically move illicit funds through a network of multiple bank accounts before combining the money into a single account that is used to transfer funds to a crypto platform. Once the funds arrive on the platform, they are quickly converted into digital assets and transferred overseas.

Although blockchain technology enables operators to track wallet addresses and observe transaction flows across the network, Asavanund acknowledged that a major limitation remains the difficulty of identifying the real person controlling a wallet. He explained that while operators can see a wallet address and its activity on the blockchain, determining the true beneficial owner behind that address is often extremely challenging.

To address the problem and slow the movement of suspicious funds, the TDO has introduced the Speed Bump mechanism, which imposes a 24-hour transaction lock on transfers of 50,000 baht or more. During this holding period, users are required to complete additional know-your-customer checks, including video verification, before the funds can be released.

According to Asavanund, the delay is designed to disrupt the speed that criminal networks rely on to move money through the system before it can be detected. The association said the enhanced screening process has already led to the suspension of thousands to tens of thousands of accounts suspected of operating as mule accounts.

However, crypto operators are facing rising compliance costs and operational pressures as they manage frozen accounts and investigate suspicious transactions. Criminal groups have also attempted to bypass these controls by recruiting new individuals to open replacement accounts once previously used accounts are blacklisted.

In addition to the Speed Bump measure, the TDO is coordinating with authorities to strengthen broader safeguards within the financial system. These efforts include linking suspect databases with the Bank of Thailand’s payment system and law enforcement agencies to help screen individuals classified as high risk under different risk categories.

Other Industry Measures

Last August, Thailand launched a program called TouristDigiPay, allowing foreign visitors to convert cryptocurrency into Thai baht for payments during their stay. Under the scheme, tourists must open an account with a regulated digital asset business and e-money provider and complete strict identity checks.

In June, the government approved a five-year tax exemption on cryptocurrency profits for domestic traders to encourage more funds to remain within the country. The decision followed a sharp decline in foreign inflows after authorities introduced stricter taxation on foreign income brought into Thailand the previous year. Meanwhile, the Thai Revenue Department said it is preparing to implement the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), which supports global sharing of digital asset account data.

A lobbying group for some of the largest banks that do business in the United States may be heading to court over crypto’s growing access to the U.S. banking system. The Guardian first reported the news, citing a source familiar with the lobby’s thinking.

The Bank Policy Institute (BPI) — whose members include Bank of American, Citi, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Santander, and HSBC, among many others — is considering filing a lawsuit against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) over the regulator’s move to grant national trust bank charters to crypto and fintech firms. The BPI has not yet decided whether to proceed with legal action, per The Guardian.

At the heart of the dispute is a question of competitive fairness. Banks argue the OCC’s move grants federal approval to bank-like activities without the same supervision, controls, and safeguards required of traditional banks.

BPI’s board includes JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Goldman Sachs chief David Solomon, and Bank of America’s Brian Moynihan, among other executives of Wall Street’s largest players.

The banking charter pipeline for crypto firms has grown rapidly under OCC Comptroller Jonathan Gould, who was appointed by President Donald Trump and sworn in last July.

In December, the OCC granted conditional national trust bank charter approvals to several crypto firms, including BitGo, Ripple, and Paxos. A growing number of other companies have followed since.

Most recently, as The Defiant reported, Crypto.com received conditional approval to charter Foris Dax National Trust Bank, and Revolut and Zerohash became the latest crypto-linked firms to file applications with the OCC in early March.

The question of crypto firms competing with banks has extended beyond the OCC. Amid the ongoing Senate consideration of a broad crypto market structure bill, JPMorgan’s CEO told CNBC that stablecoin issuers paying interest on customer balances should face the same rules as traditional lenders — a position that has become a central sticking point holding up passage of the CLARITY Act in Congress.

This article was generated with the assistance of AI workflows.

TLDR:

• Bitcoin surged above $71K, triggering a crypto short squeeze that liquidated over $100M in bearish positions.
  
• Ethereum followed Bitcoin’s breakout, reclaiming $2,050 as the crypto market cap expanded rapidly.
  
• Over $150B flowed back into the crypto market within 36 hours as momentum traders returned.
  
• Analysts identify $75K BTC and $2,100 ETH as major liquidation zones in derivatives markets.

Crypto Short Squeeze is driving renewed momentum across digital asset markets after Bitcoin climbed above $71,000 and Ethereum moved past $2,050. The rally triggered more than $100 million in short liquidations across major exchanges within 36 hours.

Bitcoin Breakout Triggers $100M Short Liquidation Cascade

Crypto Short Squeeze activity intensified after Bitcoin reclaimed the $70,000 psychological resistance level. The breakout triggered forced liquidations across derivatives markets.

Data from trading platforms shows that more than $100 million worth of short positions were liquidated. Traders who expected lower prices were forced to close their positions.

When short traders exit losing positions, they must buy the asset back. That process creates additional upward pressure on price.

Bitcoin’s price increased by roughly 8.61% during the last 36 hours. The rally added nearly $113 billion to the asset’s total market capitalization.

Technical charts show consecutive higher highs and higher lows during the surge. This pattern reflects steady buying pressure during the breakout.

The move above $70,000 also triggered clusters of stop-loss orders. Many short sellers placed liquidation levels just above that resistance zone.

Once those orders were activated, automated buying accelerated the rally. Such chain reactions often amplify volatility in derivatives-driven markets.

Meanwhile, total cryptocurrency market capitalization expanded by nearly $150 billion during the same period. This rapid increase suggests both liquidation-driven demand and fresh spot buying.

Ethereum Rally and Key Liquidation Zones at $75K and $2,100

Crypto Short Squeeze momentum extended to Ethereum as the asset climbed above $2,050. The second-largest cryptocurrency mirrored Bitcoin’s breakout strength.

Ethereum recorded an 8.18% gain during the same 36-hour period. The move added about $19 billion to Ethereum’s market capitalization.

Price action shows buyers defending higher support levels since the $1,930 consolidation region. This structure indicates continued participation across large-cap cryptocurrencies.

While both assets moved higher, derivatives heatmaps reveal new liquidation zones forming. These zones could influence the next price movements.

Bitcoin currently faces a dense cluster of short positions between $74,000 and $75,500. Analysts describe this area as a liquidity magnet for leveraged traders.

If Bitcoin reaches $75,000, forced buying from liquidated shorts could accelerate the rally. Some traders expect rapid movement toward $78,000 if liquidation pressure builds.

Ethereum faces a separate liquidation structure near $2,100. Many leveraged long traders placed liquidation levels around that support region.

Estimates indicate nearly $850 million in Ethereum long positions remain exposed near that price range.

If Ethereum drops toward $2,100, automated selling could trigger a long liquidation cascade. Under that scenario, the next major support level appears near $1,900.

Such divergence between Bitcoin and Ethereum would increase volatility across crypto markets. Traders would also watch Bitcoin dominance as capital shifts between major digital assets.

TLDR:

• Brian Armstrong says AI agents cannot open bank accounts but can hold crypto wallets.
  
• Coinbase launched Agentic Wallets via the x402 protocol for fast AI-to-AI payments.
  
• Wallets enable gasless trading on Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 network.
  
• Mastercard and crypto firms build solutions to support AI agent commerce.

Brian Armstrong’s AI agents and crypto wallets discussion gained attention after the Coinbase CEO highlighted that autonomous AI programs will soon dominate financial transactions.

Armstrong stated that AI agents cannot open bank accounts, but they can generate crypto wallets and transact globally.

Coinbase Launches Agentic Wallets for Machine Transactions

On March 9, Brian Armstrong posted on X explaining that AI agents will soon outnumber humans in financial activity. He argued that traditional banks cannot serve AI because of the Know Your Customer requirements.

AI agents require payment capabilities to execute assigned tasks autonomously. Without bank accounts, agents cannot pay for services like server hosting or software tools.

Coinbase introduced Agentic Wallets on February 11, 2026, via its x402 protocol. The protocol is designed for machine-to-machine payments and has processed over 50 million transactions by the time of Armstrong’s post.

The wallets can be created and funded quickly through Coinbase developer tools. They also allow gasless trading on Base, Coinbase’s layer‑2 network built on Ethereum.

Armstrong emphasized that AI agents can own crypto wallets immediately, bypassing the human identity verification barrier. This capability positions crypto as a natural infrastructure for the coming machine economy.

Other crypto leaders have shared similar views on AI-driven financial activity. Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao predicted that AI agents will produce millions of times more transactions than humans.

Industry Prepares for AI Agent Commerce

Traditional financial companies are developing systems to accommodate agent-driven transactions. Mastercard launched Verifiable Intent, a framework co-developed with Google, to track AI purchases securely.

The system creates a cryptographic record linking the consumer’s authorization, the AI agent’s action, and the transaction. It uses selective disclosure to share only the necessary information with merchants and issuers.

Meanwhile, crypto platforms continue to expand blockchain-based payment rails for AI agents. EigenCloud partnered with Google Cloud to serve as a verifiable backbone for agent transactions.

The Ethereum Foundation also established the dAI Team to make Ethereum a preferred settlement layer for machine-driven commerce.

These efforts illustrate two approaches: traditional finance builds trust layers, while crypto platforms provide blockchain-native solutions.

Taken together, these developments indicate that AI agents are likely to rely on crypto wallets for autonomous transactions.

Coinbase’s Agentic Wallets and blockchain infrastructure offer immediate solutions for machine-to-machine financial operations.

BitGo will provide custody and trading services for StableX Technologies’ digital asset treasury as it plans to acquire up to $100 million in crypto tokens tied to the stablecoin sector.

According to Tuesday’s announcement, BitGo Bank & Trust, N.A. will serve as the custodian for StableX’s digital asset holdings, while BitGo’s trading platforms will help execute the company’s planned acquisitions through its over-the-counter liquidity desk.

StableX (SBLX) is a publicly traded company focused on stablecoin infrastructure and related technologies. Shares of the Nasdaq-listed company gained as much as 9% in afternoon trading following the news, before closing up 1.6%.

Chen Fang, chief revenue officer at BitGo, told Cointelgraph that the “partnership underscores BitGo’s expanding role as the go-to infrastructure provider for a new wave of publicly traded companies building digital asset treasury strategies.” He added:

“The StableX deal is notable because it goes beyond Bitcoin-centric treasury strategies. It signals demand for institutional custody infrastructure around stablecoin ecosystem tokens.”

StableX has already begun building its digital asset treasury, previously announcing purchases of tokens including FLUID and Chainlink’s LINK (LINK) in October.

BitGo, a digital asset infrastructure company founded in 2013, provides custody, trading and other services for institutional crypto clients. The company went public on the New York Stock Exchange in January, pricing its shares at $18 in its initial public offering.

The stock rose about 25% on its first day of trading before reversing course and later falling below its IPO price. The NYSE-traded shares closed up more than 11%.

Related: Societe Generale-FORGE launches EURCV stablecoin on Stellar

Investment products target stablecoin infrastructure

Interest in the stablecoin sector has grown as the total stablecoin market capitalization has climbed to more than $314 billion, according to the latest DefiLlama data. Though dedicated investment products remain limited, some investors are beginning to focus on the infrastructure that supports these tokens.

In September, Bitwise filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a Stablecoin & Tokenization ETF designed to track companies and digital assets tied to the stablecoin and tokenization sectors.

The proposed exchange-traded fund would follow an index composed of companies involved in stablecoin issuance, infrastructure, payments and exchanges, alongside crypto assets such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).

In January, MarketVector Indexes also launched benchmarks focused on stablecoin and real-world asset tokenization infrastructure, which underpin two exchange-traded funds from Amplify ETFs: the Amplify Tokenization Technology ETF (TKNQ) and the Amplify Stablecoin Technology ETF (STBQ).

Several stablecoin issuers are also publicly traded companies. Circle issues the USDC stablecoin, the second-largest dollar-pegged token in circulation, while PayPal launched its PayPal USD stablecoin (PYUSD) in 2023 to support blockchain-based payments and settlement.

Western Union, one of the world’s largest remittance providers, recently announced its planned stablecoin settlement system will run on Solana and include a US Dollar Payment Token (USDPT), which the company expects to launch in the first half of 2026.

Magazine: Bitcoin may face hard fork over any attempt to freeze Satoshi’s coins