UAE signs on to OECD crypto-tax reporting pact, sets 2027 launch

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).

The South Korean government and the ruling party may postpone agreement on a unified proposal for the Digital Asset Basic Act, legislation that would include regulations on stablecoins. The bill represents the second phase of the country’s cryptocurrency regulatory framework, following the first phase that took effect in 2024 to strengthen investor protection.Photo by KS KYUNG on UnsplashAccording to Edaily, the two sides had planned a policy consultation on March 5 to finalize the draft. The meeting was later pushed back to this week but is now unlikely to take place, potentially delaying the government’s plan to complete stablecoin legislation by this month. The Digital Asset Basic Act is a comprehensive bill to regulate the crypto market, including issuance, distribution, disclosure, and listing of virtual assets. South Korea has more than 13 million crypto investors, and market participants see the legislation as a step toward reducing regulatory uncertainty. Meanwhile, the rapid rise of dollar-denominated stablecoins such as USDT and USDC has raised concerns that a slow regulatory response could undermine the country’s monetary sovereignty. Toss eyes dual role in KRW stablecoinsAmid ongoing debate over stablecoin regulation, Viva Republica, the operator of the payments app Toss, is preparing to move into the issuance and distribution of won-denominated stablecoins. At the 2026 Blockchain Meetup Conference last week, Seo Chang-whoon, corporate development director at Viva Republica, said Toss hopes to take on both roles in the stablecoin ecosystem, according to ZDNet Korea. “Toss would like to try serving both as a stablecoin issuer and as a distribution platform,” Seo said. The company is considering joining a consortium to issue a won-based stablecoin, which could include Toss, its financial affiliates, and traditional banks. Toss also plans to expand the token’s use through a dApp store, and indicated it may work with blockchain firms as it develops the business. Global firms are also studying the market potential for Korean won-backed stablecoins. DWF Ventures said in a report last week titled “South Korea’s KRW Stablecoin Opportunity” that a won-denominated stablecoin could offer meaningful benefits to domestic markets. The report argued that such a token could help reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar and curb capital outflows, while improving capital efficiency by allowing reserves to generate yield. With about 98% of South Koreans using digital payments, adoption could come quickly, the report said, adding that the system could also strengthen authorities’ ability to monitor and curb illegal activity. Survey finds modest optimism around BitcoinAmid growing expectations around stablecoin policy, a recent survey of South Korean crypto investors showed cautious optimism about Bitcoin’s price outlook this week. According to a weekly poll conducted last week by CoinNess and Cratos, 27.3% of respondents said they expect Bitcoin to rise or surge this week, up from 24% a week earlier. 32.2% predicted the price would move sideways, up from 28.1% the previous week, while 30.5% expected a decline or sharp drop, down from 47.9% a week earlier. When asked about market sentiment, 37% of respondents said they felt fear or extreme fear, while 32.2% described sentiment as neutral, and 30.8% said they were optimistic or extremely optimistic. Asked why they invest in cryptocurrencies, 33.9% of respondents said they see crypto as the only path to upward mobility. Another 32.5% cited confidence in the long-term value of Bitcoin and blockchain technology, while 25.5% pointed to its role as a hedge against instability in traditional finance. The remaining 8.1% cited volatility and 24/7 trading. According to CoinMarketCap data, Bitcoin was trading at $72,634.39 at the time of writing, up 9.34% over the past week. 

BU Technology to provide digital asset issuance platform to Ret GamesSouth Korean blockchain firm BU Technology has partnered with digital asset management service provider Byffin to supply a digital asset issuance platform built on its distributed ledger core optimization solution, All-in-one DLT Core (ADC), to Seoul-based Web3 gaming studio Ret Games, according to local news platform Financial Review on Thursday.Photo by GuerrillaBuzz on UnsplashElevating gaming dynamicsAccording to the article, the digital asset issuance platform will be on-boarded to Ret Games’ Play-to-Earn (P2E) gaming platform Pomerium, which houses flagship games like Pome Run and Pome Rumble.“This contract can be seen as proof that ADC is the most competitive blockchain solution in the gaming field,” BU Technology said. “The number of companies submitting inquiries about adopting ADC has increased drastically compared to the previous quarter, especially considering the advantages of ADC like blockchain data processing speeds of over 10,000 transactions per second (TPS).”With ADC and the digital asset issuance platform, Ret Games will be equipped with a high-speed blockchain system that can be utilized in games. The gaming company will also be able to receive a portion of the fees that are paid when issuing digital assets such as game items, thereby yielding increased sales and profits.Safeguarding gaming integrityNotably, Ret Games has generated some KRW 18 billion (approximately $14 million) in revenue through the game data verification system developed by Pomerium called “Guardians”, which validates forged and irregular data in the Pomerium ecosystem and distributes token rewards in return.“Ret Games will be able to detect and verify abnormal transactions of off-chain and on-chain game data for users with the Guardians system installed on their PC,” BU Technology explained. “Web3-based business can also be facilitated since users who participate in the validation of game data are rewarded with PMG tokens.” PMG is the governance token for Pomerium.