Circle President visits Seoul for stablecoin talks with exchanges and central bank

Sega Curbs Interest in ‘Boring’ Blockchain GamingJapanese video game behemoth Sega Corp., once an advocate for blockchain gaming, is reevaluating its involvement in the sector as the global crypto industry continues to face challenges.In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Shuji Utsumi, the Co-Chief Operating Officer of Sega, revealed that the company will withhold its major franchises from third-party blockchain gaming projects to protect the value of its content.Photo by Pat Krupa on UnsplashHalting blockchain game developmentAdditionally, Sega is temporarily halting the development of its own blockchain games. These decisions mark a significant shift for the 60-year-old gaming studio, which previously joined other industry players in exploring the potential of blockchain technology to enhance game appeal. However, the recent collapse of the digital currency market has dampened enthusiasm for such initiatives.While Sega withdraws from blockchain gaming, it does plan to allow external partners to utilize its lesser-known characters, such as those from Three Kingdoms and Virtua Fighter, for non-fungible tokens (NFTs). NFTs serve as digital asset ownership certificates.Sega’s intention to venture into the NFT community drew criticism from some gamers who viewed crypto technology as environmentally harmful. Utsumi emphasized the importance of creating enjoyable gaming experiences and expressed his skepticism about the “play-to-earn” model associated with blockchain games, describing such games as “boring.”Reservations on Web3 adoptionIn addition to the uncertainties surrounding blockchain gaming, Utsumi expressed reservations about the adoption of Web3 technology in Sega’s upcoming “super game” initiative. This initiative involves the release of high-budget online multiplayer games starting in 2026. Sega is currently assessing whether the technology will gain traction in the gaming industry before committing to its implementation.Sega’s strategic shift reflects a broader cooling trend relative to the Web3 concept, which implicates an internet built on blockchain technology. Despite attracting significant investments in the past, Web3 has faced criticism and diminishing interest from major players like Ubisoft.However, Sega will continue to offer its lesser franchises to several blockchain games that will be announced later this year. The company also plans to invest hundreds of millions of yen in related projects, as the technology still holds value in enabling the transfer of characters and items between different games. Sega remains open to further involvement in blockchain gaming as the technology matures.Big brand cautiousnessUtsumi acknowledged that the views expressed by blockchain advocates may seem extreme to many in the video game industry. Nevertheless, he recognized the importance of risk-takers who pioneer new technologies, referring to them as the “first penguins” who should not be underestimated.Sega’s cautious approach reflects the need to strike a balance between innovation and maintaining the core aspects of enjoyable gaming experiences, while closely monitoring the evolution of blockchain and Web3 technologies in the industry.It’s also likely that the gaming sector’s most coveted brands will remain cautious on blockchain gaming while newcomers like Animoca Brands can better afford to be the risk takers that drive blockchain gaming forward. Earlier this week, Animoca’s Co-Founder Yat Siu said that he was bullish where blockchain gaming is concerned.

Japan's parliament passed landmark legislation on July 15 reclassifying cryptocurrencies as financial products under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, removing them from the Payment Services Act framework that had treated them as a means of settlement. According to CoinPost, the reform introduces insider-trading rules to the sector for the first time, raises penalties for unregistered dealing, and clears the way for domestic crypto ETFs. Under the changes, crypto exchange operators will be redesignated as "crypto asset trading businesses," and unregistered sales will carry prison terms of up to 10 years and fines of up to 10 million yen ($61,000), up from three years and 3 million yen. Gains will move from comprehensive taxation (where combined income and residence taxes can reach 55%) to a separate flat tax of around 20%, with losses eligible for a three-year carryforward, though those tax measures take effect only once the amended law is in force. If enforcement falls in fiscal 2027, the new rate would apply from Jan. 1, 2028.Photo by Kanchanara on UnsplashWeak yen drives crypto adoptionThe overhaul lands as Japanese companies increasingly turn to cryptocurrency as a treasury asset, with the yen's prolonged weakness pushing them to diversify their cash strategies, SBI VC Trade, the crypto exchange arm of financial conglomerate SBI Holdings, said. The exchange said it is seeing greater uptake of SBIVC for Prime, its service for corporate and large-lot clients, from companies looking to hold and use crypto. It is also fielding more business from listed firms that distribute Bitcoin (BTC) or XRP to shareholders through benefit programs, a practice the company said is spreading in Japan. The comments accompanied SBI VC Trade's announcement that its registered accounts topped 2 million as of July 6, double the 1 million it reported in 2025. The Tokyo-based firm attributed the growth in part to its April 2026 merger with fellow SBI Group exchange BitPoint Japan and to its stablecoin business. SBI VC Trade is Japan's only registered electronic payment instruments trading firm, the license category covering stablecoins. The company began offering USDC, the first U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoin available in Japan, in March 2025. In June 2026 it added JPYSC, which it describes as the country's first yen-denominated trust-type stablecoin, along with Ripple's dollar-pegged RLUSD, and launched a stablecoin lending service. The exchange plans to merge its two service brands around the end of December 2026. Separately, SBI Crypto, the group's mining unit, said it will shut down its mining pool on July 31. The pool will stop accepting mining shares at 7 a.m. Japan time, and the company urged customers to keep directing hashrate to the pool until the cutoff so that all eligible shares are included in the final payout. SBI Crypto said it has held discussions with other pool operators, some of which may offer preferential terms to migrating clients. Metaplanet expands into securitiesIn another sign of crypto's deepening ties with Japanese finance, Siiibo Securities, an online platform for privately placed corporate bonds, has changed its name to Metaplanet Securities after joining the Metaplanet group, the Tokyo-listed company known for its large BTC treasury. Siiibo, which holds a Type I financial instruments business license, said it plans to build a platform combining BTC and finance, developing products for retail investors that draw on its new parent's BTC management expertise while continuing to serve yield-seeking investors. Remixpoint discloses crypto yieldsListed energy and crypto firm Remixpoint, meanwhile, disclosed returns on its digital asset holdings as of the end of June. The company said it has earned a cumulative 9.95 BTC, worth roughly 108 million yen based on monthly average rates, from lending its BTC. Staking of altcoins has generated about 27.9 million yen in total, comprising roughly 10.1 million yen from ETH and 17.8 million yen from SOL, the company said, adding that it will continue building a financial structure that generates recurring income. 

CityLabs Secures 8.55% Stake in GopaxCityLabs, a company listed on the KOSDAQ stock exchange, has stepped in as a rescue investor for the South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Gopax.The company announced last Friday that it has acquired a total of 76,308 shares of Streami, the operator of Gopax, securing an 8.55% stake in the company. The investment amounts to a total value of KRW 5.4 billion (approximately $4 million).Photo by Precondo CA on UnsplashGopax’s turbulent historyGopax has recently been facing public and regulatory scrutiny due to its internal struggles, such as undergoing major changes in leadership earlier this year following its acquisition by Binance, with Lee Jun-haeng resigning and Binance’s Asia Pacific Head, Leon Sing Foong, taking over.After this event, Streami submitted reports to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the Financial Services Commission (FSS) in line with requirements to inform the regulatory body about such changes. However, due to delays in the FIU’s approval process likely influenced by Binance’s various legal and regulatory challenges, there was yet another leadership transition — Foong stepped down, and Lee Joong-hoon, Gopax’s former Vice President, took over. Notably, Foong recently left Binance altogether amid regulatory crackdowns.During this process, Gopax also struggled to make principal and interest payments on its own decentralized finance (DeFi) service, GOFi, in the wake of last year’s FTX collapse. The amount of customer funds locked in GOFi totals KRW 56.6 billion, according to an announcement made by Gopax in April. Binance acquired a stake in Gopax on the condition that it would inject enough capital into Gopax to repay this amount in full.CityLabs steps inAs a result, there have been speculations that a Korean company would invest in Gopax and deliver the exchange from its woes. Some even predicted that this company might become a major shareholder, although CityLabs has acquired only an 8.55% stake due to the fact that the funds required to do so far exceed CityLabs’ annual revenue.Last year, CityLabs reported a consolidated revenue of KRW 28.4 billion and an operating loss of KRW 6.1 billion. Although its revenue increased by 2% compared to the previous year, operating losses grew by 46.9%. While the company may not have sufficient funds at present to become a major shareholder, there lies the possibility that it may increase its stake in the future.The acquisition seems to be driven by CityLabs’ interest in blockchain businesses and the crypto market. While it currently specializes in intelligent transportation systems (ITS), it was formerly Dayli Blockchain, which was affiliated with the crypto exchange Coinone and Dayli Financial Group (now known as Gowid). In 2017, Yellow Mobile became the largest shareholder of Dayli Financial, and in February 2018, it became the largest shareholder of DailyBlockchain, making Dayli Blockchain its subsidiary. Coinone was also a subsidiary of Yellow Mobile at the time. All of these ownership relations have now been restructured.CityLabs has thus been involved in the blockchain industry for some time now with previous connections to cryptocurrency exchanges while also offering decentralized identity (DID) and blockchain as a service (BaaS) products. Observations point to the possibility that its history has influenced its decision to invest in Gopax.“We acquired shares to secure an entry point into the crypto market and position ourselves as a major player,” the company said in a statement.Meanwhile, financial authorities are considering plans to examine the eligibility of major shareholders when reviewing applications from crypto businesses.