Binance collaborates with Indian authorities to dismantle scam app

Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) plans to ban insider trading in the cryptocurrency market, according to an Oct. 15 report in Nikkei, cited by CoinPost. The forthcoming rules would amend the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act to explicitly bar trading based on nonpublic information, with violators subject to administrative fines.Photo by Louie Martinez on UnsplashTightening oversight through the SESCThe FSA intends to hammer out the details through a working group by year’s end and aims to submit a bill amending the securities law during the 2026 ordinary session of the Diet. Under the proposal, the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC) would gain authority to investigate suspected violations and could recommend fines or criminal charges in cases of alleged insider trading. Experts say Japan’s system of self-regulation, led by cryptocurrency exchanges and the Japan Virtual and Crypto Assets Exchange Association (JVCEA), lacks sufficient data monitoring. The government hopes that granting the SESC oversight of crypto transactions will help ensure fairer trading and make the market more attractive to investors. The new rules would target the use of confidential information, such as advance knowledge of a token listing or a major security flaw. Yet applying insider-trading standards to crypto may prove difficult. Many tokens have no clear issuer, making it harder to determine whose information could move markets or who should be held accountable. Crypto investing has surged in Japan, with domestic trading accounts quadrupling in five years. The FSA now aims to update its rules to reflect that digital assets are traded mainly as investments, not as payment instruments. Leadership transition brings policy uncertaintyJapan’s plan to strengthen oversight of cryptocurrencies coincides with a period of political transition. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has announced his intention to step down but remains in office for now. According to CNBC, Sanae Takaichi, newly elected president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), would typically be expected to assume the premiership, but the coalition’s collapse has upended what would otherwise be a routine transition. The parliamentary vote to choose Japan’s next leader, initially slated for Oct. 15, has been postponed to Oct. 21. In the wake of the split, the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) is reportedly seeking Komeito’s support for a joint prime ministerial candidate. Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People (DPP), is seen as a potential consensus choice. The ruling LDP currently holds 196 seats in the lower house, but a united opposition could command a larger bloc. Tamaki has also drawn attention in crypto circles. About a year ago, he proposed cutting taxes on cryptocurrency gains to 20%, a flat rate similar to that on stock profits, during his campaign against Ishiba. At present, crypto gains in Japan are classified as miscellaneous income and taxed at progressive rates that can exceed 50% when local levies are included. Metaplanet’s Bitcoin strategy tested amid market shiftsAgainst that backdrop, Metaplanet, often dubbed Japan’s answer to the U.S. firm Strategy for its aggressive Bitcoin (BTC) accumulation, is under pressure as its valuation slips below the value of its crypto holdings. The company’s market-to-BTC net asset value (mNAV) ratio fell to 0.99 on Oct. 14, dropping below 1 for the first time. The metric compares the company’s market value with its BTC holdings, and a reading below 1 means the stock is trading at a discount to its BTC reserves. The decline comes after Metaplanet paused BTC purchases for the past two weeks. As of Oct. 1, the company held 30,823 BTC on its balance sheet. 

Korean Crypto Exchange Group Installs Separate Division to Prevent Money LaunderingThe Digital Asset Exchange Alliance (DAXA), a group of five major Korean crypto exchanges, announced yesterday that it has installed a division to prevent money laundering.©Pexels/Anna TarazevichAML division’s roleThe anti-money laundering (AML) division will devise suspicious transaction report types, create guidelines to assess risks at virtual asset service providers, and hold various seminars.With the new AML division installed, DAXA now has five divisions, the other four of which are responsible for trading support, market monitoring, compliance monitoring, and education.Improving listing and delisting guidelinesDAXA also plans to improve listing and delisting guidelines that exchanges can share.DAXA vice chairman Kim Jae-jin said long-term efforts are required to build a healthy virtual asset ecosystem, calling for exchanges’ stronger voluntary compliance.

Lion Group Holding Ltd (LGHL), a Nasdaq-listed financial services firm that provides an all-in-one platform for traders, has announced that it has secured $600 million to fund a Hyperliquid (HYPE) treasury. In a press release published by PR Newswire on behalf of the firm on June 18, the company outlined that a $600 million funding facility has been put in place by ATW Partners, a New York-headquartered investment firm that manages a number of private equity funds. Global investment bank Chardan Capital acted as the placement agent in facilitating the funding, with the first closing of $10.6 million, as per the subscription agreement.Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashCorporate treasury strategyLion Group will use that money to launch a new corporate treasury strategy built around Hyperliquid’s HYPE token. Hyperliquid is a decentralized exchange (DEX) which was created by Hyperliquid Labs, a startup founded by Jeff Yan.  The HYPE token is the native token of the Hyperliquid platform. It’s used to secure the network through staking and for project governance. The token is also used to provide transaction incentives, while the Hyperliquid platform buys back HYPE tokens using trading fee revenues. Lion Group’s platform offers its users access to contract-for-difference (CFD) trading, total return swap (TRS) trading, over-the-counter (OTC) stock options trading, while also acting as a futures and securities brokerage. Up until 2022, the firm was based in Hong Kong, opting to relocate to Singapore at that point. Primarily, the company serves corporate clients, individual professional investors and retail investors located in China and throughout the Southeast Asian region. Future of trading is on-chainIn explaining its rationale for pursuing a HYPE treasury strategy, the company’s CEO, Wilson Wang, stated: “Hyperliquid represents a natural extension of LGHL's existing derivatives business into decentralized markets, and reflects our conviction that decentralized on-chain execution is the future of trading." Going forward, the company will pursue a strategic accumulation of HYPE, with the token serving as the firm’s primary reserve asset. In addition to HYPE, Lion Group outlined that it may also allocate funds to purchase Solana (SOL) and Sui (SUI), with these tokens to be staked and custodied with institutional-grade digital asset custodian, BitGo. Lion Group asserted that both of these assets would form “key pillars” of a treasury strategy “focused on execution-first protocols.” Wang added that the company views “protocols like HYPE, with decentralized sequencing, as foundational to building scalable DeFi systems.” The company is not the first mover in terms of launching a HYPE-based corporate treasury. On June 17, Eyenovia, Inc. (EYEN), a Nasdaq-listed ophthalmic technology firm, announced that it had entered into a securities purchase agreement with a view towards financing a $50 million HYPE treasury. Additionally, the firm plans to change its name to Hyperion DeFi and its stock ticker to HYPD later this week to reflect its new HYPE-based reserve strategy. Shares in Eyenovia closed at $4.83 on June 18, down 30.7% over the course of 24 hours. Lion Group shares closed at $3.33, up 19.78%.