SBI and TradeFinex establish 'SBI XDC Network APAC'

As South Korea’s cryptocurrency market rapidly evolves, authorities are working to keep the nation's regulatory framework up to speed. Recent initiatives aim to provide clearer guidelines across the sector, encompassing tax policy adjustments, seized assets, and bank-backed digital tokens.Photo by André François McKenzie on UnsplashGovt tightens control over seized cryptoAccording to Yonhap News, the government has approved a new framework for managing roughly 78 billion won ($54 million) in crypto held by the public sector. The move is aimed at imposing clearer controls over digital assets that state agencies hold, including tokens seized or frozen during investigations. Under the new rules, crypto taken from personal wallets must be transferred immediately into agency-controlled cold wallets kept offline. Sensitive access data, including private keys and recovery phrases, must be split among at least two people rather than left in the hands of a single official. That push for tighter custody comes as South Korea also explores new forms of digital money. A bank-issued product known as a deposit token is emerging as a possible middle ground between private stablecoins and a central bank digital currency, or CBDC. Deposit tokens are digital assets backed by bank deposits. They can function like stablecoins in payments, but they are issued by banks rather than crypto firms. The idea is gaining attention as legal uncertainty around stablecoins drags on. South Korea’s central bank has already moved its CBDC pilot, Project Hangang, into a second phase. The Digital Times reported that two more lenders, Kyongnam Bank and iM Bank, have joined the seven banks that participated in the first round: KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, NH NongHyup, IBK, and Busan Bank. In practice, the emerging view is that deposit tokens may not compete directly with a future CBDC so much as complement it, especially in everyday payments and settlement where banks already have distribution, compliance, and customer infrastructure. Tax gaps persist as market expandsEven as the payments debate advances, tax policy remains underdeveloped. South Korea is set to begin taxing crypto assets in January 2027, but the National Tax Service still does not have detailed standards for several common types of crypto income, according to the Herald Business. Those include staking, lending, airdrops, hard forks, NFTs, and decentralized finance. In a written reply to a lawmaker’s office, the agency said it is still collecting overseas legislative examples and expert views on what should count as taxable crypto income and how acquisition costs should be calculated. That gap is especially important for offshore activity. Profits earned through overseas exchanges are difficult to track outside the 56 jurisdictions participating in the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), an OECD-developed international regime for sharing tax information on crypto assets. The result is growing concern over uneven tax treatment and the possibility that capital could shift abroad if enforcement remains patchy. At the same time, global stablecoin issuers are trying to deepen ties with Korean institutions. Tether, the company behind stablecoin USDT, has returned to South Korea again this year after visiting in 2025. The Aju Business Daily reported that it has been in talks with players including KB Financial Group and local exchange Coinone, looking for ways to expand trading activity and circulation. Tether has argued that its network could help broaden Korea’s crypto ecosystem, while also promoting its new dollar-pegged stablecoin, USAT, as compliant and secure. The sector’s operational risks are also still visible at the exchange level. Bithumb has begun legal proceedings to freeze assets as it tries to recover seven Bitcoin that it failed to claw back after an erroneous payout during a promotional event in February. At the time, the unrecovered amount was worth about 700 million won ($483,000). The move points to a likely civil suit. According to an industry source cited by Chosun Biz, some customers refused to return the funds, arguing that the mistake was the company’s fault. Legal opinion in South Korea, however, appears to be broadly in Bithumb’s favor if the dispute ends up in court. 

Founders Exit Following Overhaul of NFT Startup RarioPolygon-based NFT platform Rario, specializing in cricket-related non-fungible tokens (NFTs), is experiencing a major transformation, with its founders, CEO Ankit Wadhwa and CTO Sunny Bhanot, departing the company after a two-year tenure.Investors in the startup are taking on a more prominent role in steering the direction of the Indian startup, according to a report from TechCrunch on Friday.Photo by Alessandro Bogliari on UnsplashDream11Dream11, a prominent Mumbai-based fantasy sports platform and one of Rario’s primary backers, alongside other investors, is said to be exerting pressure to gain greater control, resulting in the ousting of the firm’s founders. The development comes amid other significant shifts in Dream11’s leadership.Additionally, Rario is undergoing a broader restructuring effort that includes the elimination of various roles, according to sources who were cited by TechCrunch as being familiar with the matter.This recent upheaval coincides with reports of Dream11’s parent company, Dream Sports, taking measures to reduce operational costs. TechCrunch noted that Dream Sports is actively renegotiating several licensing agreements previously inked by Rario as part of cost-cutting measures.High profile investorsRario boasts a roster of high-profile investors, including global investment company Alpha Wave Global and cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar. In April 2022, the cricket NFT platform made waves by securing $120 million in a Series A funding round, asserting its dominance in the cricket NFT rights arena with over 900 cricketers on board at that time. It’s not clear what valuation the firm had at the time of the Series A funding round but in a prior round, Rario had been valued at $250 million.Founded in 2021, Rario set out with a mission to create digital cricket collectibles and foster an online community for passionate fans. By April 2021, the company had successfully sold 50,000 NFTs to sports enthusiasts spanning 20 countries.Cricket world partnershipsCricket is the second largest sport in the world with in excess of 1.5 billion fans worldwide. That leaves a lot of scope for Rario to harness NFTs to bring about new forms of engagement.Among Rario’s notable partnerships are agreements with cricket leagues such as Cricket Australia, the Australian Cricketers’ Association, the Caribbean Premier League, the Lanka Premier League, and the Abu Dhabi T10 League Legends League Cricket.Polygon changesPolygon Labs, the developer of the Ethereum-centric layer two scaling network upon which the Rario platform runs, also features India in its origin story. It too has seen upheaval at a managerial level recently. In July, the firm announced a number of senior positional changes. Its former Chief Legal Officer (CLO) was elevated to the position of CEO. Those changes saw Polygon Labs’ Indian Co-Founder Sandeep Naiwal transition to the role of Executive Chairman.Rario’s ongoing evolution reflects the dynamic nature of the NFT space, where startups must adapt to changing investor interests and market conditions. With its investors taking the reins, Rario faces a pivotal juncture in its journey to redefine how cricket fans engage with the sport through the exciting world of NFTs.

XPLA Welcomes Mobile Game Idle Ninja Online on Its MainnetSouth Korean game developer Com2uS has revealed that its blockchain gaming platform, XPLA, will be launching Idle Ninja Online, an AFK MMORPG, on its mainnet. AFK MMORPG is an acronym for away from keyboard massively multiplayer online role-playing game.Photo by Rodion Kutsaiev on UnsplashGameplay and featuresIdle Ninja Online offers players the opportunity to level up their characters by battling monsters that pose a threat to the ninja village. The game’s idle gameplay element ensures accessibility for all players. Its charming graphics, unique dungeons, and various bosses captivate players’ attention. A noteworthy feature is the ability for players to strategically combine tens of thousands of in-game items to create custom decks for engaging in battles. With availability in multiple languages, including English, Japanese, Thai, and Spanish, the game has garnered continued interest from gamers across the globe.P2O system next monthNext month, Idle Ninja Online is set to introduce a play-to-own (P2O) system that will utilize its native token, NINKY, which is compatible with the Ethereum virtual machine. Players will be able to earn NINKY tokens through gameplay, which can then be traded for XPLA, the native token of the XPLA ecosystem.Paul Kim, CEO of XPLA, extended a warm welcome to Puzzle Monsters’ acclaimed Idle Ninja Online as it joins the XPLA ecosystem. He said that the close collaboration between the two entities will showcase creative and entertaining content to Web3 gamers on a global scale.XPLA is a global blockchain mainnet encompassing an NFT marketplace, a metaverse, and various entertainment services. In July, it introduced well-regarded titles like action RPG Summoners War: Chronicles, casual game MiniGame Party, and fishing game Ace Fishing: Wild Catch. The XPLA mainnet has established partnerships with renowned Web3 projects, including Japanese gaming blockchain Oasys, Hong Kong-based blockchain gaming developer Animoca Brands, decentralized gaming guild Yield Guild Games (YGG), and blockchain infrastructure platform Blockdaemon.