HKMA Issues Warning Against Crypto Firm Misrepresentation

Circle Makes Inroads in Singapore with License AwardCircle Internet Financial’s Singapore entity, Circle Internet Singapore, has received a full license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to provide digital payment token services in Singapore. This major payment institution (MPI) license will enable Circle Singapore to offer cross-border and domestic money transfer services through its Circle account.Photo by Timo Volz on PexelsMajor Payment Institution (MPI) licenseThe company announced the milestone achievement via a press release published on Monday. The MPI license enables Circle to offer institutional customers access to USDC, a leading US dollar stablecoin issued by the company. With the license approval, Circle Singapore can now fully utilize the expertise of its corporate affiliates to drive innovation, expand its offerings, and provide more value to its clients and stakeholders.The granting of the license follows the in-principle approval received by Circle Singapore in November last year and the subsequent opening of its office in May. The company recognizes the importance of Singapore in its global expansion strategy and its mission to promote global economic prosperity through seamless value exchange.Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder and CEO of Circle, expressed the significance of Singapore in Circle’s expansion plans and the goal of facilitating frictionless value exchange. The company aims to leverage its licensed status to contribute to Singapore’s digital payment ecosystem positively.Pursuing overseas expansionWith ongoing regulatory turmoil in the United States right now in relation to the treatment of digital assets, no doubt Circle, just like many other leading US digital asset companies, sees the benefit in diversifying geographically. In turn, that feeds into the importance Allaire affixes to this Singapore expansion: “Singapore is integral to Circle’s global expansion and mission in raising global economic prosperity and through the frictionless exchange of value.”There has been a flurry of activity in terms of large crypto sector players establishing a greater foothold in Singapore in recent months. Last week, global crypto trading platform Crypto.com was granted an MPI license by MAS.Coinbase, the US-headquartered crypto exchange business that was sued earlier this week by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the United States, took the decision to expand its product offering in the Singapore market last month. Another US-based crypto business, Gemini, has decided to expand its Singapore operation with a view towards growing its institutional and retail customer base.Tribe collaborationEarlier this year, Circle Singapore collaborated with Tribe, the first government-supported blockchain ecosystem builder in Singapore. Together, they launched a training and support program designed to nurture and upskill Web3 developer talent in the region. This initiative aligns with Singapore’s focus on promoting blockchain technology and nurturing a skilled workforce capable of driving the growth of the digital economy.With its full license, Circle Singapore is well-positioned to strengthen its presence in the Singaporean market and offer enhanced digital payment token services to institutional customers. The license also demonstrates the company’s commitment to compliance and regulation in the evolving landscape of digital finance.As Circle Singapore expands its operations and explores further innovations, it will continue to contribute to Singapore’s reputation as a leading global fintech hub. The company’s focus on promoting global economic prosperity aligns with Singapore’s vision of becoming a smart financial center and a pioneer in digital innovation.

MANTRA, a real-world asset (RWA) tokenization blockchain project headquartered in Hong Kong, has announced that it has been awarded a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In a community update published on its website, MANTRA co-founder and CEO John Patrick Mullin outlined that Dubai regulator, the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), had awarded the company the VASP license, meaning that the project is now entitled to act as a virtual asset exchange. Additionally, it is authorized to offer broker-dealer and investment management services. Photo by Aleksandar Pasaric on PexelsMullin claimed that the milestone is huge for both the company and the broader industry. He stated:”It’s a major step in our objective to bring the world’s financial ecosystem onchain by being the preferred ledger of record for real world assets. It’s a validation of our purpose,which is to provide developers and institutions with a purpose-built RWA Layer 1 Blockchain, that’s capable of adhering to real world regulatory requirements.” Scaling operations in the Middle EastThe project sees the license as a key step in broadening MANTRA’s global footprint and scaling its operations within the Middle East. Mullin outlined that both the UAE and broader Middle East & North Africa (MENA) have become “a progressive global hub and thriving ecosystem for Web3 and virtual assets owing to their regulatory initiatives and frameworks.” Mullin added that the license not only strengthens the project’s presence regionally, but it also “positions us internationally to deliver unique DeFi products that bridge the gap between decentralized finance and traditional finance.”  Shorooq Partners, a Dubai-based venture capital firm and investor in the project, commented on the announcement on X. It said that the license would mean that MANTRA would set a new standard for compliant and secure DeFi solutions. It emphasized the importance of regulatory compliance in enabling institutional DeFi adoption on a global scale. The venture capital firm was the lead investor in an $11 million funding round completed by MANTRA in March 2024. At the time, Shane Shin, founding partner at Shorooq, said that he liked MANTRA’s strategic focus on key markets like Hong Kong and Dubai, adding that the investment implicated a future where digital and traditional assets converge seamlessly. The project intends to launch DeFi-based products that have been formulated to meet investors' needs by combining the benefits of DeFi with the structure and security provided by conventional finance. Token's price performanceThe OM token is a utility and governance token within the MANTRA decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). It was the best-performing layer-1 token as of Feb. 17. At the time of writing, it’s trading at $7.59, according to CoinMarketCap data. The project also announced a $1 billion deal with UAE-based DAMAC Group, a property development company, last month.

As South Korea’s cryptocurrency market rapidly evolves, authorities are working to keep the nation's regulatory framework up to speed. Recent initiatives aim to provide clearer guidelines across the sector, encompassing tax policy adjustments, seized assets, and bank-backed digital tokens.Photo by André François McKenzie on UnsplashGovt tightens control over seized cryptoAccording to Yonhap News, the government has approved a new framework for managing roughly 78 billion won ($54 million) in crypto held by the public sector. The move is aimed at imposing clearer controls over digital assets that state agencies hold, including tokens seized or frozen during investigations. Under the new rules, crypto taken from personal wallets must be transferred immediately into agency-controlled cold wallets kept offline. Sensitive access data, including private keys and recovery phrases, must be split among at least two people rather than left in the hands of a single official. That push for tighter custody comes as South Korea also explores new forms of digital money. A bank-issued product known as a deposit token is emerging as a possible middle ground between private stablecoins and a central bank digital currency, or CBDC. Deposit tokens are digital assets backed by bank deposits. They can function like stablecoins in payments, but they are issued by banks rather than crypto firms. The idea is gaining attention as legal uncertainty around stablecoins drags on. South Korea’s central bank has already moved its CBDC pilot, Project Hangang, into a second phase. The Digital Times reported that two more lenders, Kyongnam Bank and iM Bank, have joined the seven banks that participated in the first round: KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, NH NongHyup, IBK, and Busan Bank. In practice, the emerging view is that deposit tokens may not compete directly with a future CBDC so much as complement it, especially in everyday payments and settlement where banks already have distribution, compliance, and customer infrastructure. Tax gaps persist as market expandsEven as the payments debate advances, tax policy remains underdeveloped. South Korea is set to begin taxing crypto assets in January 2027, but the National Tax Service still does not have detailed standards for several common types of crypto income, according to the Herald Business. Those include staking, lending, airdrops, hard forks, NFTs, and decentralized finance. In a written reply to a lawmaker’s office, the agency said it is still collecting overseas legislative examples and expert views on what should count as taxable crypto income and how acquisition costs should be calculated. That gap is especially important for offshore activity. Profits earned through overseas exchanges are difficult to track outside the 56 jurisdictions participating in the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), an OECD-developed international regime for sharing tax information on crypto assets. The result is growing concern over uneven tax treatment and the possibility that capital could shift abroad if enforcement remains patchy. At the same time, global stablecoin issuers are trying to deepen ties with Korean institutions. Tether, the company behind stablecoin USDT, has returned to South Korea again this year after visiting in 2025. The Aju Business Daily reported that it has been in talks with players including KB Financial Group and local exchange Coinone, looking for ways to expand trading activity and circulation. Tether has argued that its network could help broaden Korea’s crypto ecosystem, while also promoting its new dollar-pegged stablecoin, USAT, as compliant and secure. The sector’s operational risks are also still visible at the exchange level. Bithumb has begun legal proceedings to freeze assets as it tries to recover seven Bitcoin that it failed to claw back after an erroneous payout during a promotional event in February. At the time, the unrecovered amount was worth about 700 million won ($483,000). The move points to a likely civil suit. According to an industry source cited by Chosun Biz, some customers refused to return the funds, arguing that the mistake was the company’s fault. Legal opinion in South Korea, however, appears to be broadly in Bithumb’s favor if the dispute ends up in court.