XPLA to Bring The Walking Dead: All-Stars to Mainnet

Japan is moving to pull its cryptocurrency market firmly inside the regulated financial system. A bill approved by the cabinet this month would reclassify digital assets as financial products, while separate developments in blockchain infrastructure and corporate treasury strategy suggest the shift extends well beyond Tokyo's rulebook. The cabinet approved the bill on April 10 to amend the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, according to Nikkei. The legislation would bring cryptocurrencies under the regulated financial system and mark a departure from the previous framework, which had largely treated them as payment instruments under the Payment Services Act.Photo by Louie Martinez on UnsplashTighter rules take shapeIf enacted, the new rules could take effect as early as 2027. They would prohibit insider trading based on undisclosed information, require issuers to file annual disclosures, and redesignate licensed firms from "crypto-asset exchange operators" to "crypto-asset trading operators." Penalties for operating an unregistered business would also be stiffened, with maximum prison terms raised to 10 years from three and fines increased to 10 million yen ($63,000) from 3 million yen ($19,000). The changes align with the government's broader effort to strengthen market integrity, transparency, and investor protection. The regulatory tightening comes as firms work to build compliant blockchain infrastructure. SBI Ripple Asia, a joint venture between SBI Holdings and Ripple, announced on April 7 that it had completed development of a token issuance system based on the XRP Ledger. The company described the project as financial infrastructure for issuing and managing prepaid payment instruments as tokens on a public blockchain. Such instruments, regulated under current Japanese law, could be handled via apps, websites, and APIs. SBI Ripple Asia added that it completed regulatory registration on March 26 as an issuer of third-party prepaid payment instruments. Corporate treasuries expand crypto betsListed companies are also increasing their exposure to digital assets. WIZE, a Tokyo-listed firm formerly known as Mobcast Holdings, reported holdings of 24,597 SOL as of April 10, valued at roughly $3.13 million (about 498 million yen). The company had announced in October 2025 that it would begin building a Solana reserve, and the latest disclosure suggests corporate crypto holdings in Japan are expanding beyond Bitcoin (BTC).Metaplanet remains the most aggressive example of the trend. Chief Executive Simon Gerovich said on X that the company purchased 5,075 BTC in the first quarter and now holds 40,177 BTC, acquired for a cumulative 623.37 billion yen ($3.92 billion) at an average purchase price of 15,515,598 yen ($97,600) per coin.

Blockchain Experts Gather at KBW 2023 Side Event to Discuss Future Prospects of South KoreaBlockchain experts from various corners of the industry converged to exchange insights on industrial and technological trends during “Unveiling Prospects in South Korea,” a side event affiliated with Korea Blockchain Week (KBW) 2023. This noteworthy gathering, co-hosted by Sui, Google Cloud, CoinNess, and Bitmain, took place on September 5 at Banyan Tree Club and Spa Seoul.Blockchain compatibility and Web3 adoptionAmong the distinguished speakers at the event, Derik Han, Head of APAC Partnerships at Mysten Labs, the team behind the layer-1 blockchain project SUI, discussed how the SUI project plans to enhance blockchain compatibility through a zero-knowledge (ZK) login feature, similar to single sign-on (SSO). SSO enables users to use a single set of login credentials to gain access to various applications.Han underscored the significance of reducing technical barriers for the widespread adoption of Web3 in our daily lives, and he pointed out that SUI’s ZK login feature would contribute to this goal. Additionally, Han shed light on SUI’s intention to add on-chain features highly favored among Korean gamers.Security tokens and RWAsJo Dong-hyeon, the CEO of Undefined Labs, a developer specializing in on-chain risk rating solutions, emphasized that the Korean decentralized finance (DeFi) market is poised for growth, driven by security tokens and real-world assets (RWAs). He highlighted the significant attention received by the Financial Services Commission’s announcement regarding guidelines for security token offerings (STOs) in February.Jo observed that tokens backed by real-world assets (RWAs) would serve as a bridge between the DeFi space and traditional financial markets, facilitating the development of the former. He also noted that this development would follow the pattern seen in the Korean cryptocurrency market whose liquidity has been supported by young investors.NFT ecosystemsMeanwhile, Kim Min-gu, Head of Web3 Business Development Lab at LG Uplus, a telecom company, expressed their commitment to expanding the Moono NFT ecosystem. This venture, anchored around their octopus character, intends to advance through collaborations with similar NFT projects like Lotte Homeshopping’s pink bear character, Bellygom. Kim highlighted that the company’s primary goal for this year is to make NFTs accessible even to customers who are unfamiliar with cryptocurrencies.Kim further explained that LG Uplus aims to delve into the differences between Web3 NFT communities and their Web2 counterparts. The company’s focus lies in improving the overall usability of its services, without narrowing down its target audience. They are particularly intrigued by the potential of wallets and decentralized applications (dApps) in this pursuit.Banks’ entry into the virtual asset landscapeFollowing this, Leem Min-ho, an analyst at Shinyoung Securities, predicted a strategic expansion by Korean banks, with an emphasis on offering digital asset custody services. This endeavor has been catalyzed by recent developments, including the introduction of security token guidelines in February and the passage of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act in June. These regulatory milestones are gradually shaping a more defined legal framework for virtual assets within South Korea. Leem went on to say that banks, known to favor engaging in business activities within established regulatory boundaries, are poised to concentrate their forthcoming initiatives on approved security tokens, ensuring compliance and adherence to regulatory standards.

SBI Remit and Shonan Shinkin Bank Join Forces on International RemittancesSBI Remit, a long-time partner of Ripple, has expanded its collaboration in Japan, partnering with Shonan Shinkin Bank to offer international remittance services.The partnership, operating under the guidance of SBI Group and announced by SBI Remit last week, claims to provide a more efficient and cost-effective solution for international employees living in Japan who need to transfer money abroad.Photo by Naoya Matsuda on UnsplashEfficient overseas transfersBoth Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture, the area of operation of Shonan Shinkin Bank alongside the city of Yokosuka where it is headquartered, have witnessed a surge in the number of migrant employees working there. That makes these metropolitan areas ideal locations for this particular collaboration.According to the press release, the partnership “was formed as mutual use of both parties’ network and strengths would allow Shonan Shinkin Bank to offer highly convenient international money transfer services that deliver convenience for foreign nationals working at local companies while enabling SBI Remit to develop new markets.”The collaboration, named SBI Ripple Asia, aims to leverage Ripple’s distributed ledger technology to streamline international payments. The technology has the potential to disrupt the remittance sector by offering real-time processing of cross-border payments. This approach significantly reduces transfer times and costs. One of the key elements of the partnership involves the use of XRP, Ripple’s native digital asset, for on-demand liquidity (ODL) between Japan and the Philippines. ODL allows for near-instantaneous transfers.Broader sector trendThis partnership is part of a broader trend in the financial industry, where blockchain technology is being harnessed to enhance services. Ripple, in particular, has been targeting remittances through an offering that enables a competitive edge through both speed and cost-effectiveness relative to transfers. Foreign workers in Japan, particularly the 280,000 Filipinos working in the country, stand to benefit from this new offering. That’s due to the ongoing need for foreign overseas workers to send money back home.The SBI Remit and Shonan Shinkin Bank collaboration highlights the immense potential of blockchain technology in reshaping financial services, especially in regions with a high concentration of foreign workers.This development represents yet another significant achievement in the longstanding partnership between SBI and Ripple. The two companies first began to cooperate by way of a mutually beneficial partnership in 2016 with the establishment of SBI Ripple Asia. The recent demonstration of using XRP for ODL remittances in Japan and the Philippines showcases the tangible benefits of this collaboration, with the potential to reduce international transfer times from days to mere minutes.With the demand for seamless international money transfers on the rise, the partnership between SBI Remit, Shonan Shinkin Bank, and Ripple is poised to make a significant impact on the remittance landscape in Japan and beyond.Foreign overseas workers and the families they support in their home countries have long since been at the edge when it comes to financial inclusion. In the press release, Shonan Shinkin Bank was stated to be committed to achieving financial inclusion by partnering with various stakeholders to provide solutions to the various issues facing small- and medium-sized enterprises, as well as providing international remittances and other solutions to the diverse local community.As the financial industry continues to embrace blockchain solutions, collaborations like this one serve as a testament to the ongoing evolution of global payments systems.