Asia-Pacific

Coinbase, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency exchange by trade volume, is cutting jobs and closing down most of its operations in Japan.

Hong Kong has passed a new licensing regime on for crypto exchanges that will subject providers to the same legislation and rules as traditional finance.

Some 90% of user assets at WazirX, India’s largest crypto exchange by volume, are held in wallets at Binance while the remaining 10% are stored in hot and warm wallets, revealed WazirX’s proof of reserves that the company released on Wednesday.

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has written to cryptocurrency exchange Zipmex Thailand seeking clarification on whether it has been operating as a digital-asset fund manager without permission, according to a Bloomberg report. 

Top blockchain and crypto news: DCG under investigation. Lido DAO surges as Ethereum’s Shanghai upgrade looms. Hong Kong burnishes crypto credentials.

Indian cryptocurrency exchanges faced a flurry of taxes on trading last year that saw volumes across most platforms drop as much as 90%, slashing income from trading fees. What’s a crypto exchange to do? Maybe sell mutual funds?

India’s Decimal Point Analytics (DPA), a research and data analytics firm, has received grant funding of up to US$750,000 from The Hashgraph Association, a Switzerland-headquartered non-profit organization, to develop an asset tokenization platform on Hedera’s distributed ledger technology (DLT) network. 

Bitcoin dropped in afternoon trading on Tuesday along with most other top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Ethereum rose further while Dogecoin led gains. 

PayProtocol, the South Korean issuer of payments-focused cryptocurrency Paycoin (PCI), will reapply for a local license to stay in business.

Indian music composer A. R. Rahman, who won Best Original Score at the Oscars for the movie Slumdog Millionaire, has launched the ‘Katraar’ metaverse platform to promote new music creations and other art forms.

Bitcoin, Ethereum extended gains in afternoon trade in Asia on Monday along with the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Cardano rose the most in the last 24 hours, followed by Polygon, BNB and Dogecoin.

Hong Kong will continue pushing ahead with the development of the Web 3.0 industry as it aims to become a regional hub for the nascent industry despite the series of collapses of crypto exchanges, said Paul Chan, the city’s financial secretary on Monday.

Hong Kong should make efforts to encourage the establishment of virtual assets rating agencies, and consider developing the e-HKD, the city’s central bank digital currency in the works, into a stablecoin, a Hong Kong lawmaker said in a recent media interview.

WazirX VP Rajagopal Menon sits down with Forkast to provide some insight as survival becomes a huge concern for crypto exchanges in India.

India’s current cryptocurrency tax structure “may lead to a loss of approximately US$1.2 trillion of local exchange trade volume in the next four years,” according to research by Esya Centre, a technology policy think tank in India.

Indonesia plans to set up a crypto stock exchange in 2023, ahead of moving regulatory powers to securities authorities from a commodities jurisdiction.

Ripple Labs Inc. expects a court decision in the first six-months of this year in the case filed against the company by the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission. The SEC sued Ripple in December 2020 for allegedly selling US$1.3 billion in unregistered securities.

The Hong Kong Police received 1,503 online investment scam complaints over the first 10 months of 2022, 70% were related to cryptocurrencies.

Binance declined to comment on reports in local media that it is in late stage talks to acquire South Korean digital asset exchange GOPAX.

Yosuke Matsuda, the president of Square Enix, has reaffirmed the gaming company’s commitment to blockchain technology.

Hong Kong’s financial services providers, including local brokers and fund managers, are seeking advice to prepare for new licensing requirements which will allow them to provide services to retail traders, according to a media report.

A group of S.Korean hackers stole 8.5 billion Korean won (US$6.7 million) worth of cryptocurrencies from Kim Jung-ju, the late founder of Nexon.

South Korea took a real shine to the metaverse in 2022, with the central government, regions and cities all interested in getting a piece of the virtual reality pie, despite criticism that the technology has a long way to go.

Japan-based game company Gumi has announced a business alliance with Square Enix SBI Holdings to grow its metaverse business.

Kraken announced on Wednesday that it will “cease its operations” in Japan and deregister from the Financial Services Agency.

Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) reportedly plans to allow the circulation of foreign-issued stablecoins in the local market next year.

India loves religious festivals, but are its citizens ready to attend such celebrations in virtual reality? An Indian startup reckons they are and launched its first effort this year, saying 20,000 avatars showed up.

Hong Kong’s commercial crime investigation bureau on Friday arrested two local men for suspected involvement in digital asset fraud on Atom Asset Exchange (AAX)

A lot of the troubles for India exchanges in 2022 will run into next year as they shed staff and run down reserves to stay afloat, and not all are expected to make it.

As crypto investors move towards self-custody following FTX’s collapse, Brian Paik wonders whether it could teach people the true value of Bitcoin, beyond hype and price speculation.

Busan announced the steering committee for its flagship exchange, but it didn’t include global partners earlier linked to the project.

South Korea’s Gyeongbuk Province plans to use the metaverse to expand economic and other relations with Vietnam.

Julia Leung, the next chief executive of Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) due to start her three-year term on Jan. 1, called for stricter crypto regulation when speaking at the city’s Fintech Week last month.

Hong Kong launched two exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking cryptocurrency futures on Friday, the first of their kind in Asia, the local exchange said.

Japan’s ruling party approved a proposal that exempts companies issuing crypto from taxes on unrealized gains on retained tokens.

A Japanese lawmaker called for more transparent regulations following the FTX meltdown, where investors were not warned of the risks with FTX Token.

An official in the South Korean city of Busan said the authorities have received no confirmation that Binance has pulled out of a partnership to establish the country’s first city-backed crypto exchange, as reported by local media.

Top blockchain and crypto news: SBF denied bail, US extradition likely next. The Block chief quits over secret FTX loans. Hong Kong readies digital asset rules.

Wemade Co. filed an immediate appeal against the court’s Dec. 7 decision that rejected the developer’s request to disallow four of the nation’s largest crypto exchanges from delisting its native cryptocurrency, WEMIX.

Stablecoins in USD are becoming the digital world’s default currency — which burdens ordinary crypto users and monetary policies in smaller nations, writes Wei Zhou of Coins.ph.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) is drafting regulatory requirements for the local licensed crypto exchanges, in light of the FTX debacle, according to a report on Monday by Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK

S.Korean authorities may mandate companies to pursue direct approval from regulators to list their crypto on local digital assets exchanges.

Interpol fugitive Kwon Do-hyung flew to the Republic of Serbia last month, South Korean prosecutors told Forkast, confirming local media reports.

Wemade, a S.Korean blockchain game maker, announced that it will buyback and burn US$10 million worth of its WEMIX token to stabilize its value.

Hong Kong passed the amendment to the bill that includes a licensing regime VASP on Wednesday, which will come into effect on June 1, 2023.

The South Korean blockchain game maker’s WEMIX cryptocurrency will be removed from the country’s four major cryptocurrency exchanges that collectively account for more than 95% of the country’s crypto trading volume.

A Seoul court has dismissed the injunction filed by Wemade Co. Ltd. to stop four local digital asset exchanges from delisting WEMIX cryptocurrency

Three Hong Kong-based asset management firms have applied for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking Bitcoin and Ethereum futures for retail investors.

The Bank of Korea (BOK) claimed it needs the authority to monitor and supervise stablecoins, according to the South Korean central bank’s report published on Monday.

The majority (58.3%) of South Koreans with assets of 1 billion Korean won (US$760,000) said they don’t plan to invest in cryptocurrencies.

Innovation and regulation are mutually exclusive in the world of crypto – and in the aftermath of the FTX collapse, getting the balance right is key.

Australian cryptocurrency exchange Swyftx cut 90 staff members — or 40% of its workforce — to prepare for a “worst-case scenario” in the market from the collapse of FTX.com.

Wemade Co. Ltd. said its in talks to have Binance Institutional Services take custody of its native cryptocurrency, WEMIX.

As the Philippine government ties to roll out a hugely ambitious ID system, we take a look at how blockchain could make data more secure.

Following a hearing on Friday, the court is expected to finalize its decision on an injunction Wemade filed against four exchanges.

Daesung’s venture capital subsidiary recently established a fund worth 110 billion Korean won (US$84.5 million) for expanding investments into metaverse startups.

The collapse of FTX.com and its far-reaching impacts will hinder North Korea’s ability to profit from cryptocurrency hacks, says one analyst.

Shinhan has opened a metaverse to provide financial and non-financial services, claiming to be the first bank in the country to provide such a platform.

Indonesia’s central bank has released a whitepaper detailing plans for its central bank digital currency (CBDC), as the country looks to “advance digital transformation.”

Despite the myriad benefits of blockchain and cryptocurrency, institutional interest remains mixed in Asia Pacific. What lessons should the industry learn from 2022 to overcome the barriers to adoption?

The Philippines might have moved on from Axie Infinity and other NFT collections, but its still steaming ahe

Binance returned to the Japanese market with the acquisition of regulated crypto exchange Sakura Exchange BitCoin (SEBC), according to a blog post on Wednesday.  See related article: Binance to help S. Korea’s Busan build first city-backed exchange Fast facts See related article: Crypto exchange Binance in regulators’ crosshairs as scrutiny mounts 

Blockchain adoption in the Philippines is struggling because businesses are focused on survival, according to Dr. Donald Lim, lead convenor at Philippine Blockchain Week in Manila.

A court in South Korea will review if prosecutors are allowed to arrest and bring Terraform cofounder Daniel Shin and seven others into custody, for charges including fraud.

Swiss crypto bank SEBA Bank announced on Wednesday the opening of its Hong Kong office to serve global institutional clients as part of its Asia-Pacific expansion. See related article: Hong Kong said it remains upbeat on digital assets after FTX debacle  Fast facts See related article: Hong Kong needs engineering talent to reclaim role as […]

The blockchain game maker fights delisting of its symbolic WEMIX crypto token.

South Korea’s science ministry released a guideline of core ethical principles for metaverse application participants.

Bitcoin and Ether both rose in Wednesday morning trading in Asia, with all other non-stablecoin top 10 cryptocurrencies also gaining ground as China on Tuesday said it will relax some Covid rules in response to protests.

India will launch its retail CBDC pilot on Thursday with plans to gradually expand trials, the RBI announced on Tuesday.

Asset tokenization and DeFi hold tremendous potential for the finance sector, writes Han Kwee Juan of DBS Bank. Here’s how the Singaporean government is at the forefront of change.

Companies based in the U.S. and South Korea have filed for more than 75% of patent applications related to the metaverse, VR and AR.