Binance

1 days ago

Binance rolls out post-hack campaign, but the 100 USDC voucher only offsets trading fees

Binance has launched a Community Appreciation Campaign after its hot wallet hack on Oct. 30 and the reopening of withdrawals on Nov. 1, when users withdrew about $4.4 billion on the first day back. The campaign runs until 07:59 Taiwan time on Nov. 22, but it is not a cash compensation plan tied to the hack. Binance had already said losses from the incident would be covered by its SAFU fund and company capital. The promotion includes three parts: a 100 USDC rebate voucher, a 20 million USDC trading prize pool, and boosted yields on selected stablecoin wealth products. The voucher is not credited directly to user balances. Instead, it rebates 30% of spot trading fees, after referral commissions are deducted, and pays the amount in USDC the next day. The trading pool requires at least $10,000 in cumulative eligible volume, with rewards capped at 4,000 USDC per user. Yield boosts apply only to new subscriptions made after the campaign starts and are subject to quota limits. Taiwan is not listed among the explicitly excluded jurisdictions, though Binance says eligibility still depends on regional restrictions and reserves the right to verify user location and disqualify participants.

90

Ether.fi

1 days ago

Ether.fi card test in Taiwan highlights seven trade-offs and who it suits

ABMedia’s hands-on test of the Ether.fi card in Taiwan found that the product can be applied for locally and advertises rewards of up to 3%, with extra incentives for some AI subscriptions, but the economics are far from straightforward. The report, based on account setup, funding and card spending tests conducted in October 2026, lays out seven practical drawbacks users may face after signing up. Among the main issues: rewards are paid in ETHFI rather than cash, making their value dependent on token price swings; premium perks such as AI subscription boosts, lower FX fees on TWD spending and airport lounge access sit behind Luxe or higher tiers; rewards must unlock for seven days and reach a $5 threshold before they can be claimed; and Taiwan users still need to buy stablecoins on a local exchange before funding the card. The report also notes extra foreign-exchange charges on TWD spending for lower tiers, says the AI rebate alone does not justify the $199 Luxe annual fee, and warns that the Borrow mode carries liquidation risk when volatile crypto assets are used as collateral. ABMedia concludes that the card is more suitable for users who already hold stablecoins, spend frequently in U.S. dollars and can tolerate ETHFI price volatility, while it is less suitable for users seeking stable rewards in TWD or a simple fiat on-ramp.

50

Taiwan

3 days ago

Taiwan Investigation Bureau’s Threads account disappears less than a month after launch

Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau launched an official Threads account in early October and drew more than 10,000 followers, but the account disappeared on the evening of Oct. 30 after a series of controversial posts. The backlash centered on three episodes: a post asking users how many years of punishment would be appropriate in a corruption case that was still being tried, a firearms training video that drew criticism over gun-handling and job descriptions, and a reply under a National Geographic Threads post that said the agency had been “anti-communist since 1928.” As of publication, neither the Investigation Bureau nor Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice had publicly explained whether the account was shut down, suspended, or removed for another reason. The original report said the account had been presented in a lighter tone, with a bio stating that following it might increase users’ legal knowledge and sense of humor, but several posts quickly triggered criticism from legal professionals, police circles, and online commenters.

60

Thunder Tiger

Oct 29, 2026

Thunder Tiger wins Taiwan government drone supply contract qualification across nine ministries

Thunder Tiger Technology said on Oct. 28 that it had secured winning-supplier qualification under a government joint supply contract for drone systems handled by Bank of Taiwan on behalf of the Ministry of the Interior and eight other ministries. The procurement program carries an estimated volume of 5,920 units and a total announced budget of NT$1.048 billion. According to the company’s disclosure, Thunder Tiger qualified across six drone categories: training, aerial imaging, entry-level inspection, advanced inspection, long-range surveillance, and transport. The contract also requires compliance with domestic manufacturing, origin restrictions, supply-chain controls, and cybersecurity rules. Thunder Tiger said the NT$1.048 billion figure is the ceiling for the full procurement program rather than a guaranteed order amount for the company. Once qualified, eligible agencies can place orders directly under the agreed contract pricing instead of running separate tenders. The report also noted the company’s earlier military procurement progress, its capacity expansion plans, and its Blue UAS-related certification in the United States as it seeks more government and defense business at home and abroad.

340

Taiwan

Oct 28, 2026

Taiwan’s mortgage-and-personal-loan borrowers hit 434,000, the highest since 2012

The number of people in Taiwan carrying both a mortgage and a personal loan reached 434,000 in July, the highest level since records began in 2012, according to credit data cited by Central News Agency and referenced in an industry report. The figure was up by nearly 30,000 from a year earlier, an annual increase of about 7.4%. The report said the rise came even as housing transactions stayed weak. It pointed to three main drivers: sharply higher home prices after the pandemic, rising living costs tied to inflation and oil prices, and stronger borrowing demand linked to stock market investing during the recent AI-driven rally. Debt balances also moved higher. Average mortgage debt among these dual-loan borrowers rose to NT$6.531 million in July from NT$6.258 million a year earlier, while average personal loan debt increased to NT$1.309 million from NT$1.147 million. Combined, that meant an increase of about NT$435,000 in average debt per borrower over the year. Separate central bank data cited in the report showed total personal lending by banks reached NT$22.9 trillion as of August, with revolving funds accounting for more than NT$1 trillion of the increase from the end of last year.

220

South Korea

Oct 28, 2026

South Korea May Delay Crypto Gains Tax Again, With 2029 Now the Likely Start Date

South Korea is leaning toward pushing back its crypto gains tax for a fourth time, moving the start date from Jan. 1, 2027 to Jan. 1, 2029, according to the report. A final decision is expected in early December. The main issue is not the tax structure itself but access to cross-border trading data under the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, or CARF. South Korea, Japan and the U.K. are set to begin exchange of exchange data in 2027, while Singapore, Switzerland and Hong Kong are scheduled for 2028. The U.S. is not expected to join until 2029. South Korean officials said privately that nearly half of crypto trading volume is tied to the U.S. market, raising concerns that taxing before U.S. data becomes available would mainly hit users of domestic exchanges while leaving large cross-border traders outside effective oversight. The proposed tax would apply a 20% levy on annual net gains from crypto asset transfers and lending, rising to an effective 22% after local income tax, with a 2.5 million won deduction. Any new delay would still require a vote in the National Assembly.

310

ASUS

Oct 28, 2026

ASUS winds down smartphone line as Zenfone inventory sells out, shifts focus to AI hardware

ASUS smartphones have largely disappeared from major retail channels, with distributors saying the final batch of inventory has sold out and chain retailers no longer plan to restock. The remaining sell-off covered the Zenfone 11 Ultra and Zenfone 12 Ultra, while ROG Phone inventory had already dried up earlier in the year. ASUS had said at the start of the year that it would gradually step back from the smartphone market and stop launching successor models for both the Zenfone and ROG Phone lines. Chairman Jonney Shih said on Jan. 16 that the company would continue supporting existing smartphone users, but would not add new models and would reallocate resources toward AI, which he described as having greater strategic value. The report also said discounted pricing had attracted attention, with the Zenfone 11 Ultra falling to NT$16,990 after another NT$2,000 cut in September, marking a cumulative decline of 43%. HTC is moving in a similar direction. Senior Vice President Huang Chao-ying said in September that the smartphone business would "temporarily take a back seat," though the company could revisit the category if a new technological breakthrough emerges. HTC’s U24 pro, launched in June 2024, is now nearing the end of its sales cycle, with only double-digit inventory left in retail channels. Meanwhile, VIVE Eagle AI glasses, launched in 2025, have generated more revenue this year than HTC’s smartphone business, according to the report.

310

HTC

Oct 28, 2026

HTC unveils VIVEE AI companion, opens U.S. preorders at $99

HTC on Oct. 27 introduced VIVEE in Taiwan, a small AI companion positioned as an interactive lifestyle device rather than a standard digital assistant. Roughly the size of an egg, the device supports voice conversations, retains part of past interactions, and develops response patterns over time. HTC said U.S. preorders opened on Oct. 22 through hivivee.com and participating online retailers, with a promotional price of $99 through Nov. 30 and a regular price of $119 afterward. Shipments are expected to begin in early December. The company said Taiwan and Japan are scheduled to receive the product before the end of the year, while expansion into Europe is also planned. Local pricing and exact launch dates for Taiwan have not been disclosed. On hardware, VIVEE does not include a camera and comes with a physical mute switch that can turn off both the microphone and speaker. HTC also said information is de-identified before being shared with third-party AI service providers, and user interactions will not be used to train general-purpose large language models. The company has not named those third-party AI providers.

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