Multiple crypto corporate treasury announcements across Asia

Japan is preparing to shift oversight of crypto assets from its payments rulebook to its main securities law, a move that would treat digital tokens more squarely as investment products rather than payment tools, according to a new report from the country’s financial regulator. In a working-group paper on crypto asset regulation released Dec. 10, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) said it plans to bring “crypto assets” under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA) instead of the Payment Services Act (PSA), as reported by local outlet CoinPost. The agency framed the change as an effort to strengthen investor protection as more households buy digital assets for investment purposes.Photo by Alessio Ferretti on UnsplashCrypto distinct from traditional securitiesThe regulatory perimeter itself would not expand. The FSA intends to keep using the PSA’s existing definition of “crypto assets,” while leaving non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and stablecoins outside the scope of the new framework. Under FIEA, crypto assets would be carved out as a distinct class separate from traditional securities, reflecting the fact that they generally do not confer legal claims such as dividends or interest payments. That distinction is already shaping how firms attempt to expand the economic utility of crypto assets. The move toward a clearer rulebook also arrives as market participants look for ways to construct return-generating mechanisms for assets that do not produce steady income on their own. Hong Kong–based Animoca Brands has partnered with Solv Protocol to provide Japanese institutions access to a Bitcoin-backed wrapper, according to Cointelegraph. The product is structured to generate returns in the 4% to 12% range for large holders, effectively layering yield on top of a token that otherwise provides no ongoing income. Rising retail demandThe regulator's report also details how deeply crypto has penetrated Japan’s retail market. As of October 2025, accounts at domestically registered crypto-asset exchanges had climbed past 13 million, with user deposits topping 5 trillion yen (about $32 billion). Roughly 70% of account holders fell into annual income brackets below 7 million yen (around $45,000), and more than 80% of individual accounts held less than 100,000 yen (about $640). The FSA said 86.6% of trading was driven by expectations of long-term price gains, indicating that most users view crypto primarily as an investment vehicle rather than a means of payment. Against that backdrop, the working group concluded that FIEA is a better fit than the PSA, which is geared toward payment services and anti-money-laundering (AML) controls. Shifting to the securities law would give regulators clearer authority to impose disclosure standards, govern conduct in the market, and levy penalties for unfair trading practices, the report said. The proposed framework would place heavier disclosure obligations on token issuances and initial exchange offerings (IEOs). Issuers or the listing exchanges would be required to provide key information to investors, and, in cases where an issuer does not have audited financial statements, offerings would be subject to investment limits. Crypto exchanges would face stronger due diligence requirements, tighter cybersecurity expectations, and broader insider-trading restrictions. Those rules would not only apply to employees at trading platforms but also to issuers and other insiders around listing events. Rules split for CEXs and DEXsCentralized exchanges (CEXs) would be supervised largely in line with securities firms. That would include requirements to maintain reserves or insurance to protect customer assets and expanded oversight of wallet-service providers connected to those platforms. Decentralized exchanges (DEXs), which have no central operator, would not be brought under the same regime. Instead, the FSA is proposing lighter, perimeter-based rules focused on disclosures by wallet providers and interface operators, coupled with efforts to warn users about the specific risks of trading on DEXs.  Industry participants, meanwhile, have raised concerns that licensed exchanges may face higher compliance costs in the near term as they adapt to the new regime.  Moving forward, the FSA is expected to refine the framework with an eye toward submitting a bill to the ordinary Diet session in the new year. 

No Turkish Delight for Crypto Exchange CEO Sentenced to 11,196 YearsIn a landmark ruling, Faruk Fatih Ozer, the 29-year-old Turkish Founder and CEO of defunct Turkish crypto exchange Thodex, has been sentenced to 11,196 years in prison for orchestrating a massive fraud that left investors out of pocket.Photo by engin akyurt on UnsplashExtradited from AlbaniaBloomberg reported on Friday that Ozer, the mastermind behind the Thodex exchange, fled to Albania in 2021, vanishing along with millions of dollars in investor assets as the exchange suddenly crumbled.His arrest in Albania on an Interpol warrant marked the beginning of a lengthy legal battle. Having spent months on the run, he was finally extradited back to Turkey in June, where he faced charges of money laundering, fraud, and organized crime. During the trial in Istanbul, Ozer defended himself, claiming that his actions did not demonstrate criminal intent. He asserted:“I am smart enough to lead any institution on Earth.”“That is evident in this company I established at the age of 22. I wouldn’t have acted so amateurishly if this were a criminal organization,” he added. Nevertheless, the court found him guilty, along with his sister Serap and brother Guven, who faced the same charges.Lengthy jail termThe sentences handed down were notably long, with the defendants sentenced separately for multiple crimes against 2,027 victims. Following the abolition of the death penalty in 2004, lengthy prison sentences are quite common in Turkey.Prosecutors had initially sought a jaw-dropping 40,562-year prison sentence for Ozer, although the difference would have been purely symbolic when compared with the sentence which was ultimately handed down. The Thodex exchange, founded in 2017, quickly rose to prominence as one of Turkey’s largest cryptocurrency platforms.Ozer’s financial acumen earned him national recognition, and he even cultivated ties with influential pro-government figures. However, the sudden implosion of the Thodex exchange in April 2021 shook the cryptocurrency world. Investor assets vanished, and Ozer went into hiding.Reports initially indicated that Ozer had fled with assets worth $2 billion, but the prosecutor’s indictment put the total losses to Thodex investors at 356 million Turkish liras. The depreciation of the lira and rampant inflation since the exchange’s collapse means that this amount is now equivalent to around $13 million on the international markets.Lagging regulationThe Thodex case serves as a stark reminder of cryptocurrency market risks, given its immature state and the lag in regulators responding to the innovation in order to ensure a safe marketplace for investors.Despite this setback in the development of the crypto ecosystem within Turkey, interest in crypto is stronger than ever. A recent report produced by Seychelles-based crypto exchange KuCoin found that there has been a significant increase in crypto market participants in Turkey over the course of the past 18 months. It’s likely that runaway inflation of the Turkish lira is providing Turks with the motivation to investigate crypto as an alternative.

Maple Finance Secures $5 Million to Fund Asia ExpansionMaple Finance, a crypto capital network focused on institutional business, has recently concluded a funding round that raised $5 million, with a view towards using the funds to finance an expansion into the Asian market.Maple Finance operates as a platform that empowers lending pool delegates and credit professionals to establish their own credit facilities on the blockchain. These facilities cater to different borrowers who can draw from these pools.Notably, Icebreaker Finance initiated a $300 million lending pool on Maple to assist Bitcoin miners in 2022. Maple Finance functions as the infrastructure atop which these lending pools are built, with pool delegates and lenders independently evaluating and verifying their risk.Photo by Monstera on PexelsMaple Direct lendingThe capital infusion was led by Blocktower Capital and Tioga Capital, with participation from supporters including GSR Ventures, Cherry Crypto, Veris Ventures, and Spartan Capital. This funding will not only facilitate Maple Finance’s expansion endeavors but will also fuel the growth of its newly introduced pure-play lending division, Maple Direct.Maple Finance has spotted an opportunity that has opened up due to the collapse of lending giants like Genesis Lending, BlockFi, Voyager, and Celsius in the institutional lending space. In addition to its role as a platform for facilitating third-party pool creation, Maple Direct was launched in June. It offers overcollateralized loans secured by Bitcoin, Ethereum, and staked Ethereum as collateral.Sydney Powell, the firm’s Co-Founder and CEO explained that Maple Direct is designed to offer an over-collateralized lending product transparently on-chain, providing a differentiated approach in the market. Unlike other platforms, borrowed collateral isn’t rehypothecated for yield generation; instead, it is securely held with a qualified custodian. This strategy positions Maple Finance to cater to market demand while minimizing risk.Strategic expansionPowell told TechCrunch: “I think now is the time to do that because all the other competition exited, and so that’s created this opportunity for us to step in and offer a product.” He expanded further on how the company is thinking strategically, relative to the expansion of the services it is now offering: “Other players try to focus on just trying to build the technology, kind of like Uber and Airbnb. What we’ve tried to do is to act as an underwriter so we need to show credit expertise. I think it gives us a little bit more control over the outcome and it’s a little bit closer to Apple in that it’s more vertically integrated.”Pushing into AsiaThe newly raised funds are earmarked for global expansion, with a particular focus on the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. This is a strategic move, considering that several jurisdictions in APAC, such as Singapore and Hong Kong, have adopted pro-crypto regulations.“In Asia, you have regulatory clarity, or rather, regulatory support, both coming out of Hong Kong and Singapore in terms of new legislation that’s come through, and you already have a very heavy trading focus over there,” Powell stated.Maple’s product development is ongoing. Earlier this month, the company launched a Treasury Bill Pool that provides accredited investors with access to US Treasury Bills with what it claims is a “risk-free rate” of return, given that the pool generates a yield of 4.67%.