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Sejong Telecom and Hyosung TNS to Collaborate on Real Estate Security TokensSejong Telecom said Tuesday that it has signed a business deal with Hyosung TNS, the infrastructure and finance arm of South Korean conglomerate Hyosung Group, to boost the profitability of its real estate investment service BBRIC and collaborate in security token offering (STO) services.Photo by Tierra Mallorca on UnsplashIntegrated servicesUnder the deal, Sejong Telecom will integrate the BBRIC platform into NFTtown — Hyosung TNS’ portal service dedicated to providing information, news, and educational content on non-fungible tokens (NFTs). BBRIC aims to expand its user base and modes of marketing by promoting its investment products, events, and services within NFTtown’s fractional real estate investment channel.Furthermore, users can conduct their transactions in a secure and convenient manner through BBRIC without paying intermediary fees. This promotion strategy is expected to ultimately increase profitability, BBRIC said.“Through this deal, we will create an ecosystem where anyone can readily find and compare information on fractional investments and invest accordingly,” said Park Hyo-jin, Head of Sejong Telecom’s blockchain division. “BBRIC will diversify its promotional and sales channels to create real estate financial investment products that are not only stable and reliable but also accessible to a wide range of customers.”Hyosung TNS’ venturesHyosung TNS is a leading player in the automated teller machine (ATM) market both in Korea and overseas. It operates in 46 countries, supplying a variety of financial automation solutions. NFTtown is part of the company’s blockchain endeavors, through which it plans to provide information about various security tokens, including real estate.

Japan’s largest bank is stepping deeper into digital assets at a moment of political change. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) and its securities arm Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities (MUMSS) have launched a blockchain-based business, according to CoinDesk Japan. The move puts the country’s biggest lender at the center of a fresh push to bring regulated finance onto distributed ledgers while retail investors gain a new way to buy and trade tokenized products. MUMSS has begun offering bond security tokens, marking its formal entry into the security token market. At the same time, the firm introduced ASTOMO, a trading venue for retail investors built with Japanese fintech company Smartplus. The system will debut with real estate-backed security tokens. Individuals can invest from 100,000 yen (about $655) through a smartphone app. Under the partnership MUMSS will select and source the digital securities. Smartplus will run account management and build and operate the trading system using its Brokerage as a Service (BaaS) platform. MUFG also revealed that it has started preparing a public offering of subordinated bonds in token form. The bank intends the instruments to qualify as Tier 2 capital under international rules. The offering is expected to be the first of its kind for Japan’s banking sector. MUFG has submitted an amended securities registration statement to the Director General of the Kanto Local Finance Bureau in advance of the sale.Photo by Asm Arif on PexelsTakaichi’s victory sparks interest in Japan’s crypto pathThe corporate steps arrive as conservative lawmaker Sanae Takaichi rises to lead the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. She won the party election on Oct. 4 and is set to become Japan’s first female prime minister, with lawmakers expected to make the formal choice in the middle of this month.  Several industry voices see her leadership as supportive of digital assets, according to Cointelegraph. Elisenda Fabrega, general counsel at tokenization platform Brickken, said Takaichi’s victory might reshape how Japan perceives and regulates digital assets, reinforcing the country’s commitment to clear and reliable crypto laws. Maarten Henskens, chief operating officer at Startale Group and head of the Astar Foundation, chimed in to say that a looser monetary stance under Takaichi could keep liquidity flowing and drive greater investor interest in alternative assets such as cryptocurrencies. That optimism has already spilled into Japan’s equity markets. The Nikkei index has continued to soar since the leadership vote, reaching a record high of 48,580.44 on Oct. 9. Not all signals point in the same direction. A BeInCrypto report published before the election noted market predictions that Takaichi might also back tighter oversight. The report cited her March proposal to build a framework that lets financial institutions, including crypto exchanges, share information on suspicious transactions. That system would support faster account freezes. Nikkei 225 Index Source: Google FinanceLoose fiscal tone brings new pressures for BitcoinFrom a broader economic view, the picture looks more complex. CoinDesk reported that Takaichi’s preference for easy Abenomics-style policies could weigh on Bitcoin in the short term. Expansionary fiscal measures tend to increase bond supply and drive yields higher, which often curbs risk appetite by raising borrowing costs and making assets like stocks and cryptocurrencies less appealing. Her stance has also reduced expectations for a Bank of Japan rate hike, weakening the yen and strengthening the U.S. dollar. The stronger dollar has cooled Bitcoin’s momentum, while gold has continued to attract investors seeking stability. MUFG’s blockchain venture arrives at a turning point for Japan. The bank’s push into tokenized assets shows how traditional finance is adapting to digital change just as new leadership tests the balance between innovation and control. Whether this marks the start of a broader transformation will depend on how policy, regulation, and investor confidence evolve together in shaping Japan’s financial future. 

Many Countries Are Welcoming Traditional Financial Institutions Into Crypto — When Will Korea Catch Up?Although overseas traditional financial institutions are gradually expanding their reach into the crypto market by launching related services and products, this remains challenging for institutions in South Korea, where it is difficult for them to even invest in virtual assets.Photo by NASA on UnsplashMajor developments in other countriesAccording to industry sources, traditional financial companies such as Japan’s largest investment bank and brokerage group Nomura Group, and New York-based investment banking company Citigroup are starting to bring new crypto-related services and products to the market.Laser Digital, the asset management unit of Nomura Group, launched a Bitcoin adoption fund targeting institutional investors, according to an official press release from last Tuesday (local time), which will provide institutional investors with direct and secure access to investments in Bitcoin.Similarly, Citigroup’s Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) is piloting its new crypto-based cash management and trade finance service dubbed Citi Token Services, which caters to institutional clients by utilizing blockchain and smart contract technology to provide digital asset solutions. “Digital asset technologies have the potential to upgrade the regulated financial system by applying new technologies to existing legal instruments and well-established regulatory frameworks. The development of Citi Token Services is part of our journey to deliver real-time, always-on, next-generation transaction banking services to our institutional clients,” said Shahmir Khaliq, Global Head of Services at Citi.Earlier this summer, several asset managers in the US, including BlackRock, applied for a spot-traded Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), drawing the interest of the industry as a whole. The SEC has been delaying its decision regarding approval for the ETF and will likely do so until its allotted 240-day review period is over, but industry experts predict that the approval will go through for several reasons including BlackRock’s implicit influence as the world’s biggest asset manager and the SEC’s former court loss against Grayscale for its review of the firm’s spot Bitcoin ETF.These developments are made possible through the commonly held opinion that the involvement of traditional financial institutions in the crypto sphere is beneficial for the industry due to their ability to increase liquidity by moving much larger amounts of capital than the crypto market alone.Moreover, many countries around the world already allow institutions to invest in virtual assets. For instance, the US Nasdaq Stock Market has already listed crypto futures-based ETFs such as Bitcoin and Ether, and there are trust products on the market like Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust that target qualified investors. Countries like Hong Kong have also gradually begun to allow individual investments in virtual assets again, while institutional investment has always been permitted.Roadblocks in KoreaIn contrast, it remains impossible for institutional or corporate investors in Korea to invest in virtual assets, let alone offer virtual asset fund products. Although local asset managers like Mirae Asset Global Investments and Samsung Asset Management have listed Bitcoin-related ETFs in the US and Hong Kong, such products do not exist in South Korea.Korean authorities also banned financial institutions from holding, purchasing, or investing in virtual assets back in 2017 on the grounds that their investment in cryptocurrencies could stimulate investor sentiment. Also, shadow regulation after the enactment of the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information in 2021 practically bars local corporations and institutions from using crypto exchanges, though there is no provision that explicitly prohibits opening corporate bank accounts on crypto exchanges.In response to this situation, an anonymous industry insider highlighted the need for a nationwide drive to support virtual assets and Web3 technology. “This is the time to push emerging industries, and we should not overlook industry trends. The current situation is somewhat frustrating,” they said. “Japan was the most conservative country in this regard, but it has recently opened up and subsequently gained momentum. Korea should also take a more progressive approach.”