Flash News

TREE NEWS reports: Visa is fixing a loophole that let users earn credit card points or cashback when buying meme tokens through Crossmint, people familiar with the matter said. The loophole allowed those purchases to be settled under a merchant code intended for ordinary digital media such as ebooks, films and music. The fix was reported on September 19.

TREE NEWS update: Argentina-based crypto exchange Lemon is shutting down its Brazilian operations, saying the capital required to secure a central bank crypto licence is disproportionate to the size of its local business. Lemon Card services in Brazil will stop on September 30, and all Brazilian accounts will be automatically closed on October 16.

TREE NEWS update: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Chairman Liao Lin met on September 18 with Chee Hong Tat, Singapore’s Minister for National Development and Deputy Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, to discuss deepening financial cooperation, advancing financial market connectivity and supporting the international use of the renminbi. ICBC Vice President Zhang Weiwu and Singapore’s Ambassador to China Peter Tan attended the meeting.

TREE NEWS update: Beijing’s market regulator said on Sept. 19 it has opened an investigation into four online hotel and travel booking platforms over suspected violations. Tongcheng Network Technology said it received notice of the probe and will fully cooperate with regulators and comply with all requirements, adding that its business operations remain normal.

TREE NEWS update: Australia plans to ban camera-equipped smart glasses in federal government workplaces, citing privacy and security concerns. The devices can record and capture information, prompting the view that public servants need clear and consistent guidance. No effective date or enforcement mechanism was specified.

TREE NEWS update: Beijing’s Municipal Market Supervision Administration has opened investigations into four online hotel and travel booking platforms on suspicion of violations of China’s Anti-Unfair Competition Law and E-Commerce Law. The companies named are Hangzhou Taomei Aviation Services, Tongcheng Network Technology, Tujia Online Information Technology (Tianjin) and Beijing Sankuai Information Technology. The probe follows planning by the State Administration for Market Regulation and prior verification work.

TREE NEWS update: China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will launch a special action plan to raise automotive standards and optimize its credit management policy, chief engineer Wang Weiming said at the 2026 China Automotive Industry Development (TEDA) International Forum. The ministry will also establish a digital identity system for power batteries and step up efforts to regulate competition in the industry.

TREE NEWS update: China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will roll out rules governing vehicle modification as part of a package to lift auto consumption, chief engineer Wang Weiming said at the 2026 China Automotive Industry Development (TEDA) International Forum. The measures also include trade-in subsidies, EV sales in rural areas, county-level charging and battery-swap pilots, hydrogen applications and scaled new-energy heavy truck use, alongside a plan for intelligent connected new energy vehicles under the 15th Five-Year Plan.

TREE NEWS update: Anthropic, OpenAI, SpaceXAI and Google face a civil antitrust suit filed Friday in federal court accusing them of colluding to slow the pace of AI development. The complaint cites Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s call earlier this month for an “industry-wide coordinated” slowdown of frontier AI, which it says was endorsed by SpaceXAI head Elon Musk, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Google DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis, amounting to an illegal business agreement among competitors.

TREE NEWS update: China’s Cyberspace Administration (CAC) said it removed more than 1.56 million pieces of infringing enterprise-related information and shut down over 26,000 violating accounts during a special campaign against malicious speculation on corporate information. The action, part of the “Qinglang” initiative to improve the business online environment, also targeted accounts spreading false enterprise information and inciting consumer group confrontation. The second batch of typical cases was released.

TREE NEWS reports: A China Securities Association survey of its Risk Management Committee found that most Chinese brokerages have built basic consolidated management frameworks since the April 2025 release of the trial guidelines on consolidated management for securities firms, and the industry has now entered a critical phase focused on key areas. Under a one-to-three-year transition period, the pace of implementation varies notably among institutions.

TREE NEWS update: A federal judge in Rhode Island ruled Friday that the Trump administration unlawfully terminated a $7 billion solar funding program. The EPA cancelled the “Solar for All” program in August last year, after funds had already been allocated across the country to help low-income communities invest in solar and other home upgrades. The move had drawn legal challenges from multiple stakeholders nationwide.

TREE NEWS reports: China’s Economic Daily, in a commentary by Jin Guanping, rejected accusations of industrial overcapacity leveled at Chinese producers, calling the label a tool used by some countries and economies to defend their own industrial position and contain China’s industrial upgrading. The piece said ignoring one’s own conduct while pressing the issues of Chinese subsidies and overcapacity amounts to double standards and a violation of WTO fair-trade principles, urging multilateralism and open cooperation as global recovery remains weak.

TREE NEWS update: US President Donald Trump signed the Lindsey Graham 2026 Russia and Iran Sanctions Act on September 18, the White House said in a statement. The law authorizes and expands statutory sanctions, tariffs and prohibitions against Russia, and extends existing sanctions measures against Iran.

TREE NEWS update: Argentina has agreed to implement the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), with automatic exchange of crypto transaction data with other jurisdictions planned by 2029. Seventy-seven jurisdictions have joined the framework, which requires virtual asset service providers to report user identity information and data on fiat-to-crypto purchases and sales, digital asset exchanges, digital asset payments and transfers between external addresses. Argentina must draft domestic rules by 2028.

TREE NEWS update: The White House issued a proclamation imposing entry restrictions on certain nonimmigrant workers, with President Trump extending the H-1B visa entry restriction by 12 months through September 2027. The announcement covers specific categories of nonimmigrant workers entering the United States.

TREE NEWS update: The CFTC filed a crypto market rulemaking with the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on Sept. 17, covering “Regulation Crypto Asset Transactions and Regulation Crypto Asset Markets” under RIN 3038-AF80. OIRA lists the filing at the prerule stage, not as a proposed rule. The submission came two days after the Senate blocked the CLARITY Act.

TREE NEWS update: US President Donald Trump said he is in discussions with Senate Majority Leader John Thune over the Power User Protection Act. Trump did not give further details on the talks or a timeline. No legislative text or vote schedule was disclosed.

TREE NEWS update: Coinbase has filed to offer perpetual futures on individual US stocks, seeking to bring 24/5 trading to retail investors. The proposed contracts are now awaiting regulatory approval. If cleared, the products would extend Coinbase’s derivatives lineup beyond crypto into single-name equity exposure.

TREE NEWS reports: The US Department of Justice is considering joining an antitrust lawsuit against BlackRock and State Street. News of the potential action sent State Street shares down as much as 1.4% in a swift widening of losses. No further details on the suit or the DOJ’s timing were given.