United Nations report cites popularity of USDT for fraud in Southeast Asia

Upbit Accidentally Accepts Counterfeit APT Tokens, Initiates Retrieval EffortsUpbit, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is reported to have accepted deposits of counterfeit Aptos (APT) tokens, mistaking them for their legitimate counterparts. The exchange has been reaching out to the sellers of these tokens by phone, requesting their recovery. This news has been circulating in several online crypto communities since the afternoon of September 24 (Korea Standard Time).Photo by Kenny Eliason on UnsplashUpbit’s responsesOn September 24 at 15:47 KST, Upbit announced a temporary suspension of deposit and withdrawal services for APT due to maintenance on the APT wallet. Following this, at 22:32 KST on the same day, Upbit explained that system maintenance was undertaken after identifying an unusual attempt linked to APT deposits. The crypto exchange went on to announce that the deposit and withdrawal services for APT would resume at 23:00 KST on the same day.DeFi degenerates’ insightsIn relation to this incident, Definalist, a group of DeFi degenerates based in Korea, shared insights on X (formerly Twitter). The group stated: “It seems that during the process of reflecting $APT coin deposits, there was a failure to check the type arguments, and all same functions transfers were recognized as the same APT native token. … If all APT ecosystem tokens were sent to Upbit’s wallet, they would have been mistakenly treated as APT native coins.”Decimal place differenceDefinalist also remarked on the fortunate nature of the counterfeit APT token having six decimal places, in contrast to the authentic APT token’s eight. They noted that if the deceptive token had mirrored the genuine token’s decimal places, the market disruption could have amplified a hundredfold. Meanwhile, the value of the counterfeit APT tokens deposited into Upbit is estimated to be about KRW 20 million (approximately $15,000).

Sony Bank, a Japanese neobank headquartered in Tokyo, has applied to the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a new trust bank, Connectia Trust, as part of a broader expansion into digital assets. According to Sony Bank’s application, if approved, Connectia Trust would issue U.S. dollar–pegged stablecoins and manage the corresponding reserves. The entity would also offer non-fiduciary custody of digital assets and provide fiduciary asset-management services for certain affiliates.Photo by P. L. on UnsplashSony among 11 crypto applicants to the OCCSony Bank’s filing is among 11 crypto-related applications before the OCC, alongside efforts by Coinbase, Nubank, Paxos, BitGo, Ripple, and others. To date, only two banks have advanced through the agency’s charter approval process. In 2021, the OCC conditionally approved the conversion of Anchorage Trust Company into Anchorage Digital Bank, granting it a national trust bank charter. More recently, last week, Erebor Bank, backed by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, received preliminary conditional approval for its de novo charter. The initiative reflects Japan’s growing openness to cryptocurrencies, underscored by the government’s recent regulatory approval of the country’s first yen-denominated stablecoin. Fintech firm JPYC Inc. plans to launch “JPYC” this fall, pegged at 1 yen per token and designed for person-to-person transfers and retail payments, with plans for point-of-sale integration. The issuer targets up to 10 trillion yen ($66.7 billion) in circulation within three years. There are no limits on holdings or wallet transfers, while redemptions are capped at 1 million yen ($6,700) per user per day. Sony Bank has been building its Web3 capabilities this year. Its board approved a new subsidiary for blockchain initiatives in May, later renamed BlockBloom in August. Now operational, BlockBloom aims to connect fans and artists and bridge digital and physical experiences, as well as fiat and digital assets. Its ultimate parent, Sony Group, launched a blockchain mainnet called Soneium in January through Sony Block Solutions Labs, S.BLOX, and SNFT. Built as an Ethereum layer-2 network powered by Optimism’s Superchain technology, Soneium recently announced support for meco.fun, a SocialFi platform that enables creators to earn through memes, content, and NFTs. MUFG’s blockchain initiatives at home and abroadJapan’s top traditional banks are also expanding their involvement in digital assets, with a growing focus on stablecoins. An Oct. 17 Nikkei report, cited by CoinDesk, said Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, and Mizuho Financial Group aim to develop a unified system to issue and transfer stablecoins among corporate clients. Their first rollout will focus on yen-pegged tokens, followed by a potential dollar-based offering. According to an earlier report from Reuters, MUFG and nine other major international banks, including Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, and UBS, are collaborating on stablecoins tied to G7 currencies. MUFG has additionally rolled out a blockchain-based business with Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities (MUMSS), which is offering bond security tokens and operating ASTOMO, a trading venue for retail investors that has debuted with tokens backed by real estate. The platform lets users invest from 100,000 yen (about $667) on their phones. In summer, MUFG’s trust unit, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking, acquired a high-rise building in Osaka for more than 100 billion yen ($667 million), with plans to issue digital securities tied to the asset. The tokenization strategy would offer fractional ownership to retail investors long excluded from major real estate opportunities. Taken together, Sony Bank’s OCC application and Japan’s accelerating tokenization efforts signal a race among major financial and technology players to build compliant, scalable infrastructure for digital assets—both at home and abroad. 

SK Securities introduces fractional investment service with three partnersSK Securities, a major South Korean securities firm, announced on Friday (local time) that it has launched a service aimed at enabling fractional investments.Photo by Mathieu Stern on UnsplashReal estate, artworks and luxury goodsThis service involves three fractional investment companies: real estate platform Funble, online art auction house Seoul Auction Blue and luxury goods platform Treasurer.This offering represents the first phase of the fractional investment alliance, delivering a wide array of investment insights from these platforms. Funble presents details on housing subscriptions, special housing supplies and key real estate market indicators. Seoul Auction Blue provides analyses of the art market along with information on individual artworks. Additionally, Treasurer offers insights into an assortment of luxury collectibles, including fine wines. Customers of SK Securities can easily access this service through the company’s mobile trading system called Frequency 3.0.Second phase in H1 2024As part of the second phase, SK Securities is developing an API-integrated system designed to link with assets on these fractional investment platforms. This system is slated for launch in the first half of the upcoming year.An SK Securities spokesperson explained that the firm has rolled out this novel service to guide its clients through the emerging arena of fractional investments, while also enriching their investment options. Beginning with this offering, SK Securities aims to broaden its collaborative efforts with fractional investment entities. Furthermore, the firm is committed to advancing the security token ecosystem, which will involve channeling investments into blockchain startups and participating in security token consortiums.On a related note, SK Securities inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Woori Bank and Samsung Securities in September, targeting the development of business models for security tokens within the bounds of regulatory compliance.