US Orders DeepSeek Off Federal Systems as Treasury Targets AI and Chip Bets

DeepSeek just got the boot from Washington's civilian agencies. The Department of Homeland Security filed an order Monday requiring federal civilian IT systems to remove DeepSeek products — plus DeepSeek affiliates and any third-party tools built on its tech — and barring new purchases. DHS warned that government employees and contractors using the Chinese AI could expose sensitive data to Beijing, potentially revealing details about US citizens and federal programs.

Treasury is squeezing the money side too. It proposed rules blocking US investment in artificial intelligence projects and certain high-risk semiconductors in some foreign countries — a list aimed mainly at China that now sweeps in Russia, Iran, North Korea and Cuba, according to Cointelegraph. The rules would implement December 2025's COINS Act and expand the Outbound Investment Security Program that took effect in January 2025. Treasury has already fired its first shot: a $200,000 penalty against Amidi, LLC for failing to report its Chinese subsidiary's investment in embodied AI and robotics company Shanghai Qiongche Intelligent Technology, also known as Noematrix.

Solana's Shanghai showcase never made it to the stage. Solana Foundation president Lily Liu said the Solana Accelerate event was postponed after pre-registration quadrupled overnight and blew past the cap local authorities had set, with organizers pulling it to comply with local requirements. Earlier that day, X users claimed the event was abruptly suspended with law enforcement stationed at the venue. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao said he was impressed the foundation had been allowed to open a Shanghai office at all, noting BNB Chain had not managed it.

Korea and Japan are testing a yen stablecoin at the card terminal. Shinhan Card signed a Tuesday agreement with SBI VC Trade and SBI XDC Network APAC to trial stablecoin card payments, wallet-to-wallet transfers and cross-border trade settlement, along with anti-money-laundering and fraud-detection controls. Meanwhile, Seoul finance officials met major exchanges — Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, DigitalX and Gopax, plus DAXA executives — to consult on crypto taxation, days after a lawmaker introduced a bill that could push the new tax back two years. Korea has already delayed it three times, with the start date now set for 2027.

Metaplanet found its Nasdaq shortcut. Shareholders of Super League, the Nasdaq-listed gaming and digital media company, approved a deal handing the Japanese Bitcoin treasury firm a 93.7% ownership stake — a path into US capital markets — and Metaplanet separately announced plans to repurchase about $160 million of its own shares. Bitget, meanwhile, said it plans to acquire Thailand's GMO-Z.com Cryptonomics through BTGT Management (Thailand) to grow its Southeast Asia footprint, weeks after a major hack hit its hot and warm wallets, per an announcement shared with Cointelegraph.