METACON 2023 to Explore Innovative Metaverse Business Models

Korean Financial Watchdog to Penalize Bankers Involved in Illegal Foreign RemittancesThe Korean Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) recently completed an investigation into illegal foreign remittances of approximately 16 trillion KRW (~$12,137,718,400) that involved numerous bankers.©Unsplash/Paul FiedlerExploiting the kimchi premiumThe investigation, launched by the Korean financial watchdog last June, found that these lawbreakers sent funds to China, Hong Kong, and other overseas destinations through Korean crypto exchanges, trading firms, and bank branches with an aim of making money through arbitrage by taking the advantage of the kimchi premium, a term used to describe that the higher prices of crypto assets in Korean exchanges compared to their foreign counterparts.Bankers neglecting the KYC ruleSome of these bankers participated in the crime by raising the remittance cap and applying favorable exchange rates to trading companies that had no previous transaction records with banks. By law, bankers in Korea are obligated to follow the “know your customer” rule. It was found that 12 domestic banks and one futures firm were involved in this incident.The FSS has decided to impose strict penalties on these financial institutions, considering they were exploited for money laundering purposes. These entities are likely to have some of their services suspended, with the employees involved being fired.Accountability of top bankersOne key point to watch out for is whether the FSS would be able to hold executives accountable. Some say penalizing top bankers is not easy, given that it has to be proven that the employees’ criminal activities were due to a lack of executives’ internal control.The financial regulator recently announced plans to revise the law governing banks’ governance, but it is expected that such a bill would take some time to pass through the National Assembly.Through a revision of the law, the financial authority aims to hold top executives at financial institutions more responsible for serious financial accidents. It looks forward to bestowing top bankers with the obligation of comprehensive internal control management and making them accountable as an overall manager only in case of critical financial accidents. The term “top executives” in the bill will encompass not only bank presidents but also chairpersons of financial holding companies. More specific revision plans are expected to be revealed by the end of this month.

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. 

Tiger Brokers (Hong Kong) is gearing up to bring its virtual asset trading platform to professional investors in Hong Kong, with plans to extend the service to retail-level investors in the short to medium term. Unified solution for equities and digital assetsTiger Brokers is an online broker, headquartered in Beijing, with an office and operations in Hong Kong. Additionally, the company has been listed (TIGR) on the Nasdaq stock exchange in the United States since 2019. With this latest plan which it outlined in an announcement shared with Cointelegraph, the company will offer professional investors a single solution for the trading and portfolio management of both securities and digital assets.  In merging traditional securities and crypto assets, the firm has partnered with Hong Kong’s HashKey Exchange, allowing access to 18 digital assets. That offering will include Bitcoin and Ethereum. Alongside these digital assets, the company will offer investors traditional financial products such as equities, options, futures and U.S. Treasury bonds. Integrating traditional and digital assets within the one platform eliminates certain complexities that come with managing multiple accounts across distinct brokers and platforms. As a consequence, investors are being extended greater convenience and flexibility in terms of global asset allocation.Photo by Ansel Lee on PexelsExtending service to retailInvestors with a preference for exposure to the recently approved spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) products will be enabled to purchase those ETFs through the platform.  Tiger will become the first technology-led brokerage in Hong Kong to offer an all-encompassing service supporting both traditional securities and virtual assets. The firm has incorporated competitive rates and a 24/7 trading ability into the offering in an effort to gain traction. Additionally, it has waived digital asset custody fees.  Through the Tiger Trade platform, professional investors will be given access to this array of investment options. Initially, availability of the facility will be confined to professional investors in Hong Kong. Hong Kong residents with an investment portfolio valued above 8 million Hong Kong dollars ($1 million) and corporate entities with assets in excess of 40 million Hong Kong dollars ($5 million) qualify within the definition of accredited investors. Once it gains the relevant regulatory approval, Tiger Brokers intends to extend the service to retail investors. The company also outlined that it is considering adding cryptocurrency spot withdrawals and deposits as features within the new service offering. Zeng Qingfei, Chief Financial Officer of Tiger International, expressed the company's pride in leading the charge in virtual asset trading services. He emphasized Tiger Brokers' commitment to meeting the evolving needs of investors by expanding its product portfolio to include diversified investment opportunities. Through this strategic expansion, the company is aiming to equip investors with the tools they need to navigate dynamic market conditions effectively. The company hasn’t confined its efforts to achieve further growth to Hong Kong. In recent days, it has also enabled 24-hour trading of U.S. stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in New Zealand. Through extended trading hours, Kiwi investors will have greater opportunity than ever to participate in the market.