Companies and non-sovereign issuers in the Asia-Pacific region have been hawking bonds at a record rate as investors look to move away from US dollar assets, according to a new Bloomberg report.

Non-sovereign issuers are non-federal bond issuers like local and regional governments and public agencies.

Bloomberg reports that Asia-Pacific companies and non-sovereign issuers have sold $1.5 trillion in local-currency bonds year-to-date, a record in that time frame. The sales represent a 6% increase.

Daniel Tan, a portfolio manager for global emerging markets at Grasshopper Asset Management, tells Bloomberg the number of bond buyers has surged in the second quarter of the year. 

“We are definitely seeing more buyers of local-currency Asian bonds than in pre-April. There are large inflows from pension and sovereign wealth funds looking to diversify away from US dollar assets.”

US President Donald Trump kicked off his wave of tariffs in April, spurring macroeconomic uncertainty.

Angus Hui, the deputy chief investment officer at the Singapore-based investment firm Fullerton Fund Management, tells Bloomberg that “diversification into broader Asian local currency markets is likely to accelerate.”

The Bloomberg Asia-Pacific Aggregate index, a multi-currency benchmark based on Asia-Pacific investment-grade bonds, has beaten the US-based bond metric, gaining 3.9% year-to-date compared to 3.5%, respectively.

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

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Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao has urged national governments to explore the use of artificial intelligence tools, particularly large language models (LLMs), to simplify their legal systems.

In a July 10 post on X, Zhao argued that AI could play a key role in making legal codes more understandable and accessible to everyday citizens.

According to him, many countries have accumulated layers of complex, conflicting laws over time that legal professionals often shape through patchwork amendments.

Due to this, the current legal systems have become “gigantic, patched, added, and often intentionally made complex.”

Zhao pointed out that this has made it nearly impossible for non-lawyers to fully comprehend their rights and obligations.

However, he believes that this could change with the advent of LLMs.

Large language models are advanced AI systems like OpenAI’s ChatGPT that could be trained on extensive legal text. This would allow these tools to read, analyze, and rewrite dense legal documents into simplified formats.

As a result, these AIs could detect inconsistencies, streamline clauses, and interpret technical language, which could help make the law more accessible to everyday users.

AI won’t replace lawyers

Despite his enthusiasm, Zhao clarified that AI should not be seen as a substitute for human lawyers.

Instead, he positioned these technologies as assistants that could handle routine tasks while freeing up legal professionals to focus on more complex, high-stakes work.

According to him:

“There could be a 1000 companies building spaceships vs only a couple now. We can test more drugs to cure cancer. Flying cars… All of them need tremendous amounts of legal work.”

Meanwhile, market observers cautioned that while LLMs offer tremendous utility, they have flaws.

Current iterations still face challenges such as hallucinations or situations when the AI generates incorrect or misleading information. They argued that this reinforces the continued need for legal professionals who can interpret, verify, and contextualize the law.

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The state of Connecticut is barring itself and its local governments from being able to invest in digital assets.

Connecticut has passed House Bill 7082, which bans state and local governments from being able to invest in crypto assets as well as accept them as payments starting October.

“(Effective October 1, 2025) Neither the state nor any political subdivision of the state shall (1) accept or require payment in the form of virtual currency for an amount due to the state or the political subdivision, or (2) purchase, hold, invest in or establish a reserve of virtual currency.”

The bill also prohibits the state from establishing a crypto strategic reserve, a concept already signed off on by President Donald Trump at the federal level.

Though the number of bills attempting to follow the Federal government’s footsteps to establish a strategic Bitcoin (BTC) reserve has risen to 31, Connecticut joins a handful of states that have rejected the idea in one way or another, including Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Arizona, Utah, Florida and Pennsylvania.

House Bill 7082 – which received bipartisan support – was voted on by the State’s Congress on May 30th and received 148 votes in favor and zero votes against it from the House of Representatives and 36 votes in favor and zero votes against it from the Senate, according to state records.

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Microsoft announced in Berlin today a new European Security Program that promises to bolster cybersecurity for European governments.

The program expands to Microsoft’s existing Government Security Program, which is free to all European Union countries, including accession states, European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members, the UK, Monaco, and the Vatican.

The tech giant noted that the program primarily aims to thwart attacks from state-backed actors in Russia, Iran, China, and North Korea, who have escalated their operations against the EU.

“Microsoft continues to observe persistent threat activity targeting European networks from nation-state actors, with Russian and Chinese activity being particularly prolific in Europe,” reads the announcement.

“Nation-state actors, including those engaging in malicious activity from Iran and North Korea, are predominantly pursuing espionage objectives in Europe through credential theft or the exploitation of vulnerabilities to gain access to corporate and government networks,” mentions Microsoft in another part.

AI at the center of cyber-defense

The key element of the program is the use of artificial intelligence to create actionable intelligence that will help in the timely detection and blocking of sophisticated attacks.

Microsoft will provide real-time AI-driven threat insights tailored to the needs of each nation, leveraging the program and expanding access to intelligence from the Digital Crimes Unit and Threat Analysis Center.

Moreover, Microsoft will supply updates on foreign influence operations using deepfakes and deliver early warnings and remediation guidance for newly discovered vulnerabilities.

Another important pillar in the new program is strengthening partnerships to identify new threats, develop defense measures, and disrupt cybercrime.

Microsoft will renew and strengthen collaborations with Europol, the CyberPeace Institute, LASR, and the Western Balkans Cyber Capacity Center, and will continue to support the GitHub Secure Open Source Fund. Also, it will work closer with internet service providers to advise on user-level remediation.

Microsoft highlights its recent role in the recent takedown of the Lumma infostealer malware as a clear demonstration of its deepening commitment to protecting Europe’s digital infrastructure.

The info-stealer operation had many infections in the continent, mainly in Spain, France, Poland, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

The CIO of the crypto asset management firm Bitwise says Bitcoin (BTC) is going through the next phase of its natural evolution.

In a new Crypto Prime interview, Matt Hougan points out a key difference between the current Bitcoin bull market and the one witnessed in 2020.

According to Hougan, the current market cycle is being driven by major institutions laying the groundwork for Bitcoin’s evolution into a trusted store of value.

“The Bitcoin of today really is different than the Bitcoin of five years ago. That was a Bitcoin driven by retail investors and crypto-native investors. This is increasingly a Bitcoin driven by institutions, corporations, governments and macro hedge funds. 

And you’re seeing it behave differently. You’re seeing it behave more like a hedge asset. I think it’s maturing before our eyes. Bitcoin’s a teenager. It’s 15 years old. It’s in a transition phase from a risk asset to a hedge asset. But I think that’s the direction of travel. I think you’re going to see it act like that more and more in the future.

And as it does, it’s going to bring more investors into it because it’s a really useful tool in the macro quiver.”

At time of writing, Bitcoin is trading for $94,703.

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The US government’s decision to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve could significantly ease market sell pressure by up to $18 billion.

In a March 7 post on X, Coinbase executive Conor Grogan estimates that federal authorities currently hold around 198,109 BTC. He suggests that the new directive, which prevents the liquidation of these holdings, effectively removes $18 billion in potential sell-side pressure.

On March 6, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order ensuring that Bitcoin deposited into the reserve will not be sold. Instead, it will serve as a store of value, similar to a “digital Fort Knox.”

This policy shift follows concerns raised by White House AI and Crypto advisor David Sacks, who argued that the US government may have lost out on $17 billion by offloading Bitcoin instead of holding it long-term.

With this executive order in place, federal agencies must retain confiscated digital assets as a long-term store of value rather than selling them.

Data from Arkham Intelligence indicates that the US government controls roughly $18 billion in digital assets. This includes Bitcoin worth $17.49 billion, 56,035 ETH valued at $122 million, $122 million in Tether (USDT), $66 million in Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), and $24 million in Binance Coin (BNB).