KuCoin TH enters Thailand’s crypto market

Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA), a government agency and financial regulator responsible for overseeing banking, securities and exchange, has ordered both Apple and Google to remove specified unregistered crypto exchange apps from the Japanese versions of their app stores.Photo by Louie Martinez on UnsplashFive exchange apps specifiedIt is understood that the request was made at the beginning of this month, with the regulator specifically calling for the removal of the ability of Japanese consumers to download apps related to Bybit, MEXC Global, LBank Exchange, KuCoin and Bitget. In response to a query from The Block, Bitget Chief Legal Officer (CLO) Hon Ng said that the company is “aware of the issue and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused by the temporary removal of the Bitget app from the iOS App Store in Japan." The Bitget CLO went on to state that the company is working with Apple and regulators to resolve the matter. News of the regulator’s request emerged via a report published by Japanese financial media platform Nikkei on Feb. 7.  Apple had removed the apps from its App Store on Feb. 6. Reclassification of digital assets as securitiesA subsequent report by Nikkei on Feb. 10 suggests that the FSA is considering classifying digital assets as financial products akin to securities. The objective of the move is to protect Japanese investors as it would mean increased disclosure requirements from those that offer crypto-related investment products. Last August, FSA Commissioner Hideki Ito told Bloomberg that any decision to approve crypto-linked exchange-traded funds (ETFs) requires “careful consideration.” At the time Ito said that many people believe that digital assets “do not necessarily contribute to the wealth creation of the Japanese people in a stable and long-term manner.” The Japanese have been far more cautious in their approach to virtual assets by comparison with other Asian centers such as Hong Kong, which had approved spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs some time ago. It appears that Japan’s FSA is wary of the volatility of cryptocurrencies and risks associated with the nascent assets. It’s understood that the FSA will announce crypto policy reforms by June 2025. Legislative amendments would then follow in the following parliamentary session in 2026. The change would mean a lifting of the current prohibition related to crypto ETFs. Another aspect likely to be reformed is taxation as it relates to crypto. It’s thought that a reduction from the existing 55% tax rate on crypto to 20% is on the cards. This is not the first occasion when a regulator has leaned on Apple and Google to cut off access to crypto exchange apps. In January 2024 Apple India blocked access to eight exchanges which had been subject of a show-cause notice from India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). Following a seven month ban, access to the Binance app was subsequently restored once it had come back into compliance in India. In April 2024 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the Philippines had ordered both Google and Apple to remove the Binance app from their app stores on the basis that it posed a risk to Filipino investors at the time.

Japan’s largest bank is stepping deeper into digital assets at a moment of political change. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) and its securities arm Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities (MUMSS) have launched a blockchain-based business, according to CoinDesk Japan. The move puts the country’s biggest lender at the center of a fresh push to bring regulated finance onto distributed ledgers while retail investors gain a new way to buy and trade tokenized products. MUMSS has begun offering bond security tokens, marking its formal entry into the security token market. At the same time, the firm introduced ASTOMO, a trading venue for retail investors built with Japanese fintech company Smartplus. The system will debut with real estate-backed security tokens. Individuals can invest from 100,000 yen (about $655) through a smartphone app. Under the partnership MUMSS will select and source the digital securities. Smartplus will run account management and build and operate the trading system using its Brokerage as a Service (BaaS) platform. MUFG also revealed that it has started preparing a public offering of subordinated bonds in token form. The bank intends the instruments to qualify as Tier 2 capital under international rules. The offering is expected to be the first of its kind for Japan’s banking sector. MUFG has submitted an amended securities registration statement to the Director General of the Kanto Local Finance Bureau in advance of the sale.Photo by Asm Arif on PexelsTakaichi’s victory sparks interest in Japan’s crypto pathThe corporate steps arrive as conservative lawmaker Sanae Takaichi rises to lead the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. She won the party election on Oct. 4 and is set to become Japan’s first female prime minister, with lawmakers expected to make the formal choice in the middle of this month.  Several industry voices see her leadership as supportive of digital assets, according to Cointelegraph. Elisenda Fabrega, general counsel at tokenization platform Brickken, said Takaichi’s victory might reshape how Japan perceives and regulates digital assets, reinforcing the country’s commitment to clear and reliable crypto laws. Maarten Henskens, chief operating officer at Startale Group and head of the Astar Foundation, chimed in to say that a looser monetary stance under Takaichi could keep liquidity flowing and drive greater investor interest in alternative assets such as cryptocurrencies. That optimism has already spilled into Japan’s equity markets. The Nikkei index has continued to soar since the leadership vote, reaching a record high of 48,580.44 on Oct. 9. Not all signals point in the same direction. A BeInCrypto report published before the election noted market predictions that Takaichi might also back tighter oversight. The report cited her March proposal to build a framework that lets financial institutions, including crypto exchanges, share information on suspicious transactions. That system would support faster account freezes. Nikkei 225 Index Source: Google FinanceLoose fiscal tone brings new pressures for BitcoinFrom a broader economic view, the picture looks more complex. CoinDesk reported that Takaichi’s preference for easy Abenomics-style policies could weigh on Bitcoin in the short term. Expansionary fiscal measures tend to increase bond supply and drive yields higher, which often curbs risk appetite by raising borrowing costs and making assets like stocks and cryptocurrencies less appealing. Her stance has also reduced expectations for a Bank of Japan rate hike, weakening the yen and strengthening the U.S. dollar. The stronger dollar has cooled Bitcoin’s momentum, while gold has continued to attract investors seeking stability. MUFG’s blockchain venture arrives at a turning point for Japan. The bank’s push into tokenized assets shows how traditional finance is adapting to digital change just as new leadership tests the balance between innovation and control. Whether this marks the start of a broader transformation will depend on how policy, regulation, and investor confidence evolve together in shaping Japan’s financial future. 

GRVT (Gravity), a self-custodial hybrid crypto exchange, has received $5 million in funding from Abu Dhabi-based venture capital firm Further Ventures. That’s according to a report published by The Block on Jan. 21. GRVT seeks to blend the benefits of both centralized exchanges and decentralized exchanges in a hybrid model built using ZKsync’s Validium ZK Chain. The platform offers off-chain order matching paired with on-chain settlement at a rate of 600,000 transactions per second (TPS). Settlements are secure and verifiable on the blockchain, while the user maintains custody of his/her assets, and the order book infrastructure is nevertheless centralized.Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashEquity-based funding dealThis latest equity-based funding round ran from October until it was closed out in December. Further Ventures, an entity that specializes in early-stage startup funding, led the round, making this its latest investment into a crypto-sector startup.  Earlier this month, the venture capital firm led a funding round into Paris-based crypto wallet technology firm Dfns. Last year, it collaborated with Singapore-headquartered crypto trading firm QCP Capital, in facilitating its expansion in Abu Dhabi.  Other crypto-related investments include staking services provider Twinstake, crypto custodian Tungsten, blockchain infrastructure platform Fuze and crypto derivatives platform Kemet Trading.  Further Ventures counts ADQ, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, among its investors. In 2022, it established a $200 million fund, which was earmarked for investment into early-stage startups in the fintech, digital assets and supply chain sectors. In the past, Hong Kong-based GRVT has held pre-seed and seed funding rounds that involved GRVT token warrants. On this occasion, the funding deal was structured as equity. GRVT CEO Hong Yea explained that equity was chosen as it was felt that the GRVT token should be held in reserve for the community. Additionally, structuring the funding round around equity means that the holding company has the freedom to pivot or expand into alternative business lines in the future. $14.3 million in funding to dateBack in October 2023, the project raised $7.1 million in funding based on a $39 million valuation. That round was co-led by Matrix Partners alongside Delphi Digital, with further participation by Susquehanna Investment Group, CMS Holdings, ABCDE and Hack VC. Matter Labs, the developer of the ZKsync scaling network that GRVT runs on, was also a participant.  This latest funding round brings GRVT’s total capital raised to $14.3 million. In March of last year, the firm had raised $2.2 million from a private token sale. Expanding spot & options tradingIt’s understood that the new funding will be used to expand the platform’s crypto spot and options trading. Furthermore, the firm has plans to acquire an upgraded full Class F license from the regulator in Bermuda. Currently, the Bermudan authorities have issued the company with a modified Class M crypto business license. In an effort to unlock its offering to a broader global market, the company also has plans to pursue a Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) license within the European Union and a virtual assets service provider (VATP) license from the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) in Dubai.