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Shinhan Bank Advances into Metaverse with the Launch of Shinamon Season 3According to a report by local news media Dailian, Shinhan Bank, a prominent financial institution in South Korea, has made a stride in its metaverse endeavors. The bank announced yesterday the launch of Shinamon Season 3, a metaverse platform, accompanied by a series of celebratory events to mark its implementation.Photo by Richard Horvath on UnsplashMerging financial & non-financial realmsShinhan Bank claims it is the first Korean bank to independently develop a metaverse platform. With the launch of Shinamon Season 3, the bank has merged the financial and non-financial realms, providing customers with access to a user-friendly platform that offers fun and engaging experiences.In Shinamon Season 3, Shinhan Bank has enhanced its financial services by replacing mobile gifts with reward points and providing additional benefits to customers who make transactions through the bank.Personalization and enhanced servicesAfter gathering customer feedback over the past two seasons, Shinhan has made enhancements to the platform’s environment and interface. Additionally, they have introduced the ability for customers to personalize their characters’ costumes. Looking ahead, the bank intends to leverage NFT wallets to help customers reach other platforms.To celebrate the release of Shinamon Season 3, Shinhan Bank is organizing special events that will grant rewards to customers who join the metaverse. Participants of Shinamon Season 3 who engage in daily quests will have an opportunity to win enticing prizes, including electronic devices, free fried chicken coupons, and reward points.A Shinhan Bank official said that customer feedback was given top priority in the preparations for the launch of Shinamon Season 3. The official added that will continue to reflect customer needs and integrate a diverse range of financial services. This approach aims to create a metaverse platform that closely resonates with real-life experiences, making it more relatable for customers.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG), a leading Japanese multinational financial services corporation and holding company, has outlined plans to launch a stablecoin.Photo by JJ Ying on UnsplashIn a press release published on its website on April 2, the company outlined details of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) it has signed with a view towards initiating discussions on the commercial use of stablecoins. Among the parties that have signed the MOU is Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), Japan’s second-largest bank and a core unit of SMFG’s overall business. Other parties include local IT firm TIS, Inc., digital asset infrastructure firm Fireblocks and Ava Labs, the creator and developer behind the Avalanche layer-1 blockchain. Developing a framework for stablecoin issuanceThe agreement will see these stakeholders collaborate in an effort “to develop a framework for stablecoin issuance and circulation, including exploring key technical, regulatory, and market infrastructure requirements both in Japan and further afield.” The initiative will seek to examine a number of stablecoin use cases that SMFG believes can best leverage the characteristics of stablecoins. These include “a settlement method for tokenized financial and real-world assets (RWAs), such as government and corporate bonds, as well as real estate.” The company acknowledged that the tokenization of RWAs has been growing rapidly, with stablecoins emerging as an important settlement tool. It also acknowledged their growing use in the areas of international remittances, corporate payments and small-value, high-frequency transactions. SMBC sees potential in the use of stablecoins to reduce reliance on intermediaries where cross-border payments are concerned, improving upon traditional finance which relies on use of the SWIFT financial messaging network. It has identified savings that can be made in terms of the time taken to effect cross-border transactions and associated costs. According to a report published by Japanese financial news outlet Nikkei on April 1, Ava Labs is expected to use its know-how in order to construct the foundational basis for the stablecoin.  Meanwhile, Fireblocks will be responsible for the development of a management system for any stablecoin token that is subsequently issued as a consequence of the initiative. It will also get involved with the development of system security in relation to the project. The bank will work with TIS to support the developmental phase of the project. While the initiative is currently at the planning stage, trials are scheduled to begin during the second half of this year.If all goes to plan and work proceeds as per the schedule that has been established, a stablecoin could potentially be issued as a consequence sometime in 2026. It’s not the first time that SMBC has delved into consideration of stablecoins. Last September, it joined with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) and Mizuho to launch Project Pax, a cross-border stablecoin transfer platform. That initiative relies upon Progmat, a distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform founded by MUFG for the purpose of tokenization and the issuance of stablecoins. Japanese legislators have been working towards adding an amendment to the Payment Services Act, with some changes proposed relative to stablecoins. The changes would permit greater diversity in terms of stablecoin reserves. 

According to India’s Finance Ministry, Binance and a number of other virtual asset service providers (VASPs) are not tax-compliant in India. Cases of tax evasion detectedNews of this matter emerged via written answers, published on Dec. 2, provided in response to parliamentary questions which had been put to India’s Finance Minister, Pankaj Chaudhary. The minister confirmed that a “few cases of evasion of Goods and Services Tax (GST) by cryptocurrency exchanges and investors” had been detected. The document goes on to list 17 crypto entities who are currently being investigated on that basis, with Binance being the most well-known among them. Notable Indian exchanges listed include WazirX, CoinDCX and CoinSwitch. Chaudhary included details of cases booked against these exchanges. In Binance’s case, it was required to pay 722 crore Indian rupees, which amounts to around $85.2 million. While Binance doesn’t appear to have incurred penalties, in the case of WazirX, the exchange had an assessed tax shortfall of 40.51 crore Indian rupees ($4.78 million), but after fees and interest, it was provided with a demand for 49.19 crore Indian rupees ($5.8 million). CoinDCX and CoinSwitch were also assessed with a demand for 20.86 crore Indian rupees ($2.46 million) and 19.38 crore Indian rupees ($2.28 million), inclusive of penalties and interest. In the case of WazirX, CoinDCX and CoinSwitch, the exchanges have had to pay an additional 21%, 24% and 37% respectively in fees and interest over and above their original tax liabilities.Photo by Naveed Ahmed on UnsplashPrevious tax and regulatory issuesTo date, the Finance Ministry has recovered 122.3 crore rupees ($14.4 million) as part of these investigations. Binance has as yet not paid the funds demanded by the authorities. It emerged in August that India’s Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI) had imposed an $86 million tax demand on the company, with Binance contesting the assessment. The global crypto exchange platform had previously paid a $2.5 million fine for having engaged with Indian customers despite not having been approved by the authorities to trade within the country. After a number of months during which it didn’t trade within the Indian market, in August Binance regularized its standing and gained approval to trade. In a request for comment on the matter from Cointelegraph, a Binance representative stated: “We continue to work closely with regulatory authorities and attend necessary hearings to address any concerns and questions. Binance remains responsive and cooperative and is committed to addressing all necessary tax inquiries.” The company recently hired UK-based accounting and business advisory firm Grant Thornton to assist with accounting, tax and audit preparedness. In the case of WazirX, a spokesperson said that “GST law on cryptocurrencies was not clear in India,” and that on this basis, the company found itself being assessed for non-payment of the applicable taxes.