Indian Crypto Exchange CoinDCX Implements Workforce Reduction

Taiwan Advances Crypto Regulation with Initial Reading of Digital Asset BillTaiwan has furthered its efforts on the path of digital asset regulation, as the nation’s legislature introduced a cryptocurrency bill for its inaugural reading.The “Virtual Asset Management Ordinance Draft” bill represents a significant stride toward establishing a legal framework for digital assets in the country. The proposal passed its first reading at the Taiwanese state legislature, according to published parliamentary records.Photo by Ethan Lin on UnsplashBill objectivesThe primary objectives of the bill are to define virtual assets, establish operational standards for asset operators, enhance customer protection, and make it mandatory for industry players to join relevant associations and secure regulatory permissions.Up until now, Taiwan has maintained a relatively hands-off approach to the cryptocurrency sector. Its oversight was limited to existing know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) laws. However, this stance evolved following the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX in November. The platform’s popularity among Taiwanese users, owing to favorable US dollar interest rates compared to local banks, led to increased regulatory scrutiny.A member of Taiwan’s parliament, Yung-Chang Chiang, told The Block that “after the first reading of the bill, discussions on the regulatory framework for the virtual asset industry have progressed to the next stage.” Chiang added:“We hope that the Financial Supervisory Commission can also submit their version of a draft bill to the legislature, allowing various sectors of society to further consolidate consensus during the process.”In contrast to cryptocurrency regulations in neighboring Hong Kong, Taiwan’s bill does not adopt a strong stance on derivatives or stablecoins. Nevertheless, it recognizes that derivatives linked to virtual assets possess unique characteristics, with a specific mention of perpetual contracts. This recognition opens the door for the possibility of cryptocurrency derivative-specific regulation in future drafts.Importantly, the bill does not restrict the trading of virtual assets to professional investors, which allows broader participation in the digital asset market.Auditing and segregation of fundsUnlike Japan, which mandates the use of custodians for locally licensed exchanges, the draft bill in Taiwan only necessitates the segregation of customer assets from business funds. It does not explicitly require the involvement of third-party custodians.Under this legislation, exchange operators will be obliged to commission periodic reports from accountants regarding their operations and asset management. Additionally, regulators, such as the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), will have the authority to conduct regular inspections of exchange internal control and audit systems.Although this initial draft does not explicitly mention “Proof of Reserves,” it does indicate that the regulator will establish standards for asset ratios after consulting with industry stakeholders, with the expectation that licensed exchanges will adhere to these standards.Fostering self regulationTaiwan’s crypto industry stakeholders have expressed their support for formal regulatory oversight. Wayne Huang, co-founder and CEO of Taipei-based fintech company XREX, recently affirmed the industry’s willingness to collaborate with the FSC in defining regulatory operations.In tandem with the establishment of a regulatory framework, regulators have indicated that they want industry stakeholders to move towards some level of self-regulation. That led nine exchange businesses to form an industry association last month.The bill’s second reading is pending, and the FSC is anticipated to provide its input and recommendations before the next phase of the legislative process.

In Mumbai, users of cryptocurrency exchanges are increasingly being asked to prove they are real people—by moving their eyes or turning their heads in front of a camera—before they can open an account. In Tokyo, meanwhile, exchange operators are collecting a different kind of identity marker: each customer’s country of tax residence, recorded for reporting to authorities at home and abroad. Governments across Asia are tightening oversight of the crypto sector, with India and Japan pursuing parallel efforts to boost compliance, strengthen tax enforcement, and curb financial anonymity. Together, these measures are pushing digital assets closer to conventional financial standards.Photo by Rowan Heuvel on UnsplashIndia mandates biometric-style checksAccording to the Times of India, India’s Financial Intelligence Unit has required crypto exchanges to adopt more stringent know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money-laundering (AML) procedures, including liveness checks designed to prevent accounts from being created using deepfakes. Under the guidelines, platforms must also record information such as geolocation data, IP addresses, and timestamps during onboarding, and link users to bank accounts through verification steps that include test transactions and government-issued identification like passports or voter IDs. The measures come as tax authorities continue to face obstacles in monitoring crypto activity. India taxes crypto profits at a flat rate of 30% and applies a 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) on transfers. According to a separate report by the Times of India, the Income Tax Department (ITD) told lawmakers that the pseudonymous and cross-border nature of crypto transactions can complicate compliance—particularly when funds move through offshore exchanges, private wallets, or decentralized finance platforms. Despite international information-sharing efforts, officials say tracing crypto holdings across jurisdictions remains challenging when transactions bypass regulated intermediaries. India’s central bank has also continued to argue in favor of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) over privately issued stablecoins. In its December financial stability report, the Reserve Bank of India said CBDCs can offer efficiency and programmability within a sovereign framework, while warning that stablecoins may introduce risks during periods of market stress. Japan implements OECD crypto tax rulesJapan, meanwhile, has moved to formalize international data exchange. On Jan. 1, 2026, it implemented the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), a standard developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to address cross-border tax evasion by automating the exchange of crypto transaction data between tax authorities. Under the new rules, users of Japanese crypto exchanges must declare their country—or countries—of tax residence. Exchange operators are required to collect and submit data to Japan’s tax authorities by April 30 of the following year, including transaction volumes, consideration received from purchases and sales, and asset-type breakdowns covering cryptocurrencies as well as security tokens and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Information related to non-resident users is also intended to be shared with relevant foreign tax authorities under existing tax cooperation arrangements. While both nations pursue stricter oversight and transparency, their broader policy trajectories differ. In India, regulatory tightening reinforces a restrictive environment focused on risk containment. In Japan, by contrast, the new compliance frameworks appear to be laying the groundwork for a broader economic embrace of digital assets. Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama, speaking at the Tokyo Stock Exchange last week, framed 2026 as the “inaugural year of digital.” Unlike her Indian counterparts, who remain wary of private crypto assets, Katayama argued that established market infrastructure should play a larger role in adoption. Pointing to the U.S. market, she suggested Japan could move toward exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and integration with stock and commodity exchanges to capture the benefits of blockchain-based assets. This pro-growth shift is reinforced by the prospect of fiscal relief. Tokyo is considering an overhaul that would reclassify crypto gains—currently taxed as miscellaneous income at rates of up to 55%—to a flat 20%, aligning them with stocks. The changes, however, are not expected to take effect until 2028, given the extent of the required legal and regulatory revisions. India, meanwhile, has indicated that it plans to adopt CARF by 2027, suggesting that its current emphasis on domestic controls may eventually be supplemented by deeper international cooperation—bringing offshore crypto activity more firmly into the view of tax authorities. 

SBI Zodia Custody is discontinuing operations two years after its launch, Bloomberg reported. The joint venture was formed by Tokyo-based SBI Holdings and Zodia Custody, an institutional digital-asset platform backed by Standard Chartered, with ownership split 51% and 49% respectively.Photo by Haotian Zheng on UnsplashStrategic realignment behind exitAccording to people at the companies involved, the decision reflected shifting priorities at both partners. Zodia Custody chief executive Julian Sawyer described the move as a mutual alignment of strategy and said the company had prepared materials to seek local registration with Japan’s Financial Services Agency but had not filed an application before opting to exit. An SBI Holdings spokesperson said the dissolution did not signal a withdrawal from crypto custody or the company’s broader Asia strategy, describing the step instead as an effort to generate greater collective impact across SBI’s digital ecosystem. Security breaches shape regulatory climateThe retreat comes as overseas crypto businesses continue to face a cautious regulatory environment in Japan, a market shaped by several high-profile security breaches. Industry analyses have repeatedly noted that three of the largest crypto hacks targeted Japanese exchanges: Mt. Gox in 2014, Coincheck in 2018, and DMM Bitcoin in 2024. Mt. Gox lost about 850,000 BTC, now worth roughly $98 billion, and began making creditor repayments in July 2024 after years of legal proceedings. The repayment deadline was later extended to Oct. 31, 2025, and initial distributions totaled about 59,000 BTC, or just over 41% of the roughly 141,686 BTC earmarked for repayment, to an estimated 127,000 creditors. Coincheck’s 2018 breach involved what was then about $534 million in NEM tokens. Despite that episode, the company secured approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in November 2024 for a Nasdaq debut through a merger with Thunder Bridge. The transaction generated roughly $31.6 million in gross proceeds for the combined company. Moving forward, Coincheck is entering Europe through the acquisition of Aplo, a French-licensed digital asset brokerage. The most recent breach involved DMM Bitcoin, which had suspended operations after a May 2024 theft of more than 4,502.9 BTC. Its accounts and assets were transferred in March 2025 to SBI VC Trade, a cryptocurrency exchange owned by SBI Holdings, which said it would support 14 tokens previously listed on DMM that were not available on its own platform. Policy uncertainty as leadership shiftsAt the policy level, uncertainty is growing over Japan’s stance on crypto and blockchain following Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s Sept. 7 announcement that he will step down. Ishiba, who took office in October 2024, has advocated for digital assets, with his latest remarks delivered at the WebX2025 event. There, he pledged greater state support for Web3 initiatives, describing the sector as a driver of innovation that could help address demographic decline and support broader economic change. Last month, Finance Minister Katsunobu Katō, seen as a potential contender to succeed Ishiba, said cryptocurrency could play a role in a diversified investment portfolio, noting its growing user base in Japan. While recent surveys show Sanae Takaichi and Shinjiro Koizumi as the leading preferences for the next Liberal Democratic Party leader, Katō has emphasized the need to foster a stable trading environment for digital asset stakeholders, balancing investor protection with industry innovation. Within this policy climate, SBI Zodia Custody’s shutdown underscores the operational and licensing challenges facing foreign-linked crypto ventures in Japan.