Komainu acquires Singaporean digital asset custodian

Hong Kong Says No to Light Touch RegulationThe CEO of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has said that while the autonomous territory will allow innovation to develop in the crypto space, that will not mean light touch regulation.Photo by Ruslan Bardash on UnsplashLowering guard railsAfter a three year hiatus, the Bloomberg Wealth Asia Summit returned to Hong Kong on Tuesday. Speaking at the conference, Eddie Yue, the CEO of the HKMA, Hong Kong’s regulatory body, outlined that the territory intends to enable innovation relative to crypto businesses that establish themselves in Hong Kong.“We will let the industry develop and innovate, we will let them create an ecosystem here,” he said. However, he added the following caveat: “But that doesn’t mean light touch regulation. If any participant thinks that the regulation is too tight, they’re welcome to go elsewhere.”Yue outlined that over the course of the past three years, guardrails relative to the operation of crypto-related activities were excessively high. Yue alluded to a new approach that sees those guard rails dropped to a level whereby innovation will be enabled in the digital assets space. However, he followed up by underlining the fact that the Authority has no intention of following a light touch regulatory approach.No safeguards not an optionAlthough acknowledging that Hong Kong may have been excessively crypto unfriendly relative to digital asset regulation in the recent past, he believes that Hong Kong has now got it right. “Our guardrails are lower, to a reasonable and sustainable level,” Yue said.The HKMA regulator flagged jurisdictions that provide little or no guardrails at all as the ones that will run into difficulties. “If you look elsewhere, there are no guardrails in some places, the guardrails are very low and there you see problems”, Yue clarified.He cited FTX as a stand out example of a basic lack of internal controls. FTX International was based in the Bahamas. While customers of FTX International find themselves in a difficult position, those of subsidiary companies FTX Japan and FTX Europe are having their funds returned as a direct consequence of much better regulatory safeguards in those regions.“All those wrongdoings by the platforms that we saw in the last one or two years will not happen in Hong Kong,” Yue claimed.A continuing trendWhile many commentators and critics from the conventional world have described bitcoin and crypto as a ponzi or a passing fad, Yue pointed out that digital assets are not going anywhere and that the trend towards digital assets will continue. Expanding further, he articulated that the overarching digital assets sector encompasses much more than just crypto: “Virtual assets or crypto is actually a very broad term. It’s not really about crypto, you’re talking about stablecoins or tokenized assets in the future.”A mere $0.3 trillion of illiquid real world assets have been tokenized thus far. It’s anticipated that this level of tokenization will climb to $16 trillion by 2030.

LINE NEXT, the U.S.-based Web3 subsidiary of LY Corporation, has launched its global stablecoin wallet, Unifi. The service is now publicly available through the LINE messaging app.Photo by Shubham Dhage on UnsplashThe platform consolidates core stablecoin operations—including deposits, storage, payments, and transfers—into a single interface. Users can onboard using existing social logins from LINE, Google, Naver, or Apple. At launch, Unifi only supports USDT, with plans to integrate additional stablecoins in the future. The service currently offers an annual percentage yield of 4% to 5% on deposited assets.  Non-custodial wallet integrates stablecoins into LINEDesigned as a non-custodial wallet, Unifi enables users to retain control over their private keys and manage their own assets. The platform also supports direct fiat conversions. Through a partnership with fintech firm SentBe, Unifi utilizes an off-ramp solution from Triple-A, a Singapore-licensed Digital Payment Token provider, enabling users to convert and withdraw stablecoins directly to personal bank accounts. To expand the wallet's utility, LINE NEXT has integrated its existing Dapp Portal and Mini Dapps into the Unifi ecosystem. This allows users to spend stablecoins across various gaming, social, and content applications, as well as earn rewards through in-app activities. The rollout follows a January memorandum of understanding (MOU) between LINE NEXT and JPYC Inc., the issuer of the yen-pegged stablecoin JPYC, to explore broader stablecoin integration and regional use cases. PayPay seeks U.S. IPO after Binance betLY Corporation is expanding its presence in financial services through another subsidiary, PayPay, which has been moving into the crypto sector. According to a report cited by CoinDesk, PayPay is preparing for a listing on the Nasdaq and is seeking a valuation of more than $10 billion. The company plans to price its shares between $17 and $20 and issue 55 million shares, potentially raising up to $1.1 billion. The proposed ticker symbol is PAYP. In October last year, PayPay acquired a 40% stake in Binance Japan, expanding its presence in the digital asset market. The initial public offering had been scheduled for March 9 but was postponed amid market volatility linked to developments in Iran. Separately, Japanese-listed firm Metaplanet, which has been accumulating Bitcoin, has not purchased additional BTC for eight weeks, according to an X post by SoSoValue. According to its fiscal 2025 earnings report, the Japanese company posted a net loss of 95 billion yen ($605 million) for the year, while generating revenue of 8.9 billion yen ($58 million). The firm currently holds 35,102 BTC at an average purchase price of $107,716 per coin. With Bitcoin trading slightly below $70,000, the holdings imply an unrealized loss of about $1.32 billion, or roughly 35% below the average acquisition cost. 

Senior Gyeonggi Officials Required to Declare Virtual Asset Holdings by Sept 1The Gyeonggi province of South Korea is requiring officials of rank 4 or higher to report their cryptocurrency holdings from today until September 1. This move is in line with the amended Public Service Ethics Act, set to take effect on December 14, which will require senior government officials to declare their virtual asset holdings.Photo by Mathew Schwartz on UnsplashRevised code of conductThe nation’s most populated provincial government announced today the finalization and implementation of revisions to the employee code of conduct. These changes intend to prevent government employees from exploiting their official positions for personal financial gains. Before finalizing these changes, the province had sought public feedback on the amendment until July 25.In May, Gyeonggi Governor Kim Dong-yeon convened a meeting to call for devising a plan that encourages public officials under financial disclosure requirements to declare their virtual assets. He emphasized the importance of proactive measures in this regard.On August 14, the provincial government presented guidelines on virtual asset reporting, detailing the reporting process, content requirements, and penalties for false submissions.A move towards transparencyLee Seon-beom, the Head of Gyeonggi’s Investigation Office, explained that this initiative is designed to alleviate the public’s concerns over virtual assets. It also aims to promote transparency among officials, ensuring they avoid unlawful accumulation of wealth.