Singapore Regulator Awards CMS License to AsiaNext

Cheongju City Targets Cryptocurrency to Recoup Unpaid TaxesSouth Korea’s Cheongju City, located 112km south of Seoul, has announced today that it will tackle local tax delinquents, focusing on the confiscation of their virtual assets.Photo by Karolina Grabowska on PexelsTax debtors owing over KRW 1 millionTo address this challenge, Cheongju City has requested records of cryptocurrency holdings for 8,520 individuals, each owing over KRW 1 million ($747) in local taxes, from seven cryptocurrency exchanges, including Upbit and Bithumb. The city’s plan is to seize and then liquidate these cryptocurrencies to recover the pending tax amounts.This move is facilitated by the amended Act on Reporting and Use of Specified Financial Transaction Information. Under this act, virtual asset service providers (VASPs) must uphold obligations such as confirming the identity of their customers and notifying authorities of dubious transactions. Moreover, the city is keenly monitoring the transfer of virtual assets, focusing particularly on those owned by individuals with unresolved tax dues.Legal groundsIn 2018, the South Korean Supreme Court ruled that virtual assets are recognized as intangible yet legitimate assets, which can be subject to confiscation. It is this ruling that empowers Cheongju City to act against tax arrears by seizing cryptocurrencies.Last year, Cheongju City scrutinized the crypto records of 16,000 individuals and successfully recouped KRW 68 million in taxes from 17 defaulting taxpayers. Cryptocurrencies of those still evading their tax responsibilities remain under confiscation.A city official said that Cheongju will take firm and swift action to collect delinquent payments from those who conceal assets or are repeat offenders.

Mirae Asset Securities Expands Security Token Group with Media CollaboratorsSouth Korean securities firm Mirae Asset Securities announced yesterday the expansion of its security token working group. This development includes the addition of two new media-related companies to the group: Studio Genius, a content production house, and Solaire Partners, a venture capital firm with a specific focus on the media industry. Mirae has chosen to collaborate with these companies to jointly develop security token products centered around Korean films and TV series.Photo by Timothy Ries on UnsplashSynergy between Korean content and financeThe Korean securities company claims that since the Financial Services Commission unveiled regulatory guidelines for security tokens in February, it increased focus on exploring the synergy between Korean content and finance. In support of this, data from the Korea Creative Content Agency indicates that as of 2022, the Korean content market stands as the world’s seventh-largest, experiencing an average annual growth rate of 11%.Studio Genius, established by Yang Woo-suk, the director behind the box office success “The Attorney,” is currently in the process of producing a TV series with a global audience in mind.Meanwhile, Solaire Partners was a key investor in the critically acclaimed movie “Parasite.” This investment company, founded in 2017, is led by Choi Pyung-ho, a seasoned expert in content production. Prior to founding Solaire Partners, Choi held the position at CJ Entertainment (now CJ ENM) as head of its film business.Fractional investment and blockchain techOther participants who are newly joining the group include Treasurer, a luxury goods fractional investment platform, as well as Coinplug and Zkrypto, both technology companies. In collaboration with Treasurer, Mirae intends to discuss the valuation and commercialization of luxury goods, which hold substantial investment potential. Subsequently, they plan to explore various avenues for integrating security tokens into their business strategies.Coinplug is the first company in Korea to commercialize blockchain-based certificates for the financial sector. Positioned as a Web3 technology company, Coinplug boasts a diverse portfolio of blockchain technologies, including decentralized identity (DID), mainnets, wallets, decentralized applications (dApps), and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).Zkrypto stands as a prominent leader in South Korea within the realm of zero-knowledge (ZK) proof technology. This distinction is underscored by its product, which received an innovation award at CES in Las Vegas earlier this year. Mirae holds the belief that ZK-proof technology will play a pivotal role in facilitating enhanced privacy protection and accelerated transaction speeds for security tokens.Another collaborative endeavorIn addition to the aforementioned working group, Mirae is running the Next Finance Initiative, a consortium with the primary goal of broadening the security token ecosystem. Partners in this consortium are the two notable entities: SK Telecom and Hana Financial Group. Mirae will strive to further grow and enhance the reach of this consortium.

CarrieVerse joins Dubai’s DMCC as metaverse service providerWeb3 metaverse platform CarrieVerse has joined the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), the UAE’s largest free-trade zone for a wide array of companies including those in the blockchain and crypto industry. Last month, CarrieVerse received final approval to establish a local subsidiary there, which will serve as a hub to expand its global Web3 ecosystem, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.Photo by ZQ Lee on UnsplashAn ever-growing business hub“DMCC has recently risen as a hub for Web3 companies and investors that is actively supported by the Dubai government and the royal family. As the first Korean Web3 company to officially partner with DMCC, we expect that CarrieVerse will grow into a global company here,” said David Yoon, CEO of CarrieVerse.DMCC is a UAE government agency located in the Jumeirah Lakes Towers district of Dubai and is currently led by Executive Chairman and CEO Ahmed Bin Sulayem. It is home to more than 23,000 companies ranging from startups to large corporations and has been named Global Free Zone of the Year by the Financial Times’ FDI Magazine for nine consecutive years since 2015.Notably, the zone also has a Crypto Centre for blockchain and crypto businesses, including big names like Binance and Bybit. It has been supporting companies by providing funding, incubation, peer-to-peer matching and opportunities for collaboration.According to Zaher El Orm, the Crypto Centre Executive at DMCC, the Crypto Centre also supports businesses in their pursuit of crypto licenses for business activities and regulated virtual assets activities. These include blockchain as a service, metaverse service provider, crypto proprietary trading and crypto mining activities. CarrieVerse revealed that it has officially obtained a license as a metaverse service provider.Promising outlook for CVTXDMCC is now an official partner of CVTX, the platform’s governance token, which is expected to boost the token’s momentum on global exchanges. It has recently been listed on the Singapore-based digital asset exchange BingX. This will further help the platform secure partnerships with more than 1,000 leading global Web3 companies at DMCC.CarrieVerse and DMCC stated that they plan to reveal the roadmap of their partnership in the future.