Terraform Labs Co-Founder Indicted in South Korea

Thailand’s capital markets supervisory agency, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is preparing to launch a trading system, built on distributed ledger technology (DLT), to enable securities firms to trade tokenized securities.Photo by allPhoto Bangkok on PexelsTokenized investments gaining tractionThat’s according to a report published on Feb. 3 by Bangkok-based English language newspaper, the Bangkok Post. Jomkwan Kongsakul, deputy secretary-general of Thailand’s SEC, said that tokenized investments are gaining traction. With that, the development will give the regulator experience in supervision of the latest digital-era markets. The move is also seen as an indication to securities firms of the acceptability of DLT-based tokenized trading from a regulatory perspective in Thailand. The regulator plans to sign off on permitting securities firms to trade digital tokens, bootstrapping digital token trading through accessing the large investor bases of these firms. Commenting on the initiative, Jomkwan Kongsakul stated: “The SEC is leveraging technology to enhance efficiency in the capital market by promoting an electronic securities ecosystem,” while “new regulations will be launched to facilitate the issuance of electronic securities and online purchases of debentures.” Debentures are unsecured debt instruments issued by companies to raise funds. Efficient primary & secondary market tradingThe proposed system will incorporate primary and secondary market trading of fully digitized bonds. Other features will include investor registration and multiple blockchain support with the inclusion of blockchain interoperability capabilities. It is as yet unclear which blockchains the platform will be built around. Speaking on that topic, the SEC executive stated: “In the future, there may be multiple chains for trade. Trading through DLT on all systems is connected by a shared ledger, which is expected to be completed soon.” In its preparations to launch the system, the Thai SEC has approved four digital token projects thus far. Two more projects are understood to be at the review stage. The focus is being placed on green tokens and investment-based projects. The regulator believes that through tokenization, greater efficiency and liquidity can be achieved. There’s a delay of between seven and 14 days before bonds, which have been bought on the primary market, can be traded on a secondary market. Tokenization can help to resolve this issue.  Furthermore, where bonds are too expensive for investors or too illiquid, tokenization can help in both cases, broadening access to the range of products available to the investing public. In addition to this latest news, a number of positive signs have arisen from Thailand with respect to digital assets in recent weeks. It emerged last month that the SEC is considering approving spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) within the Southeast Asian nation.  Related to that development, SEC Secretary-General Pornanong Budsaratragoon said that the agency has “to adapt and ensure that our investors have more options in crypto assets with proper protection.” Last month, comments made regarding cryptocurrency by Thailand’s former Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, were quite positive. He called on the SEC to enable the trading of stablecoins. Since then, Thailand’s Minister of Finance, Pichai Chunhavajira, discussed plans to issue a stablecoin that would be based on the Thai Baht and backed by government bonds.

Japan plans to require cryptocurrency exchanges to maintain reserves to cover potential losses from hacking incidents, according to a Nov. 24 Nikkei report cited by local outlet New Economy. The measure is designed to ensure that service providers can compensate users in the event of a breach. Authorities are expected to set the reserve level after reviewing past hacking cases and examining how much traditional securities firms set aside. While crypto exchanges are currently required to store customer assets in cold wallets, they are not obligated to maintain any dedicated pool of funds for compensating losses, and the proposed framework is intended to close that gap.Photo by Jen Titus on UnsplashReserve rules mirroring brokerage standardsThe Financial System Council, which operates under the Financial Services Agency (FSA), will finalize a report on the proposal and draft a bill for submission to next year’s regular Diet session. The legislation would amend the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA). The FSA is turning to the FIEA because the reserve framework is modeled on existing rules for securities companies, which must maintain designated reserves to compensate clients for losses stemming from errors or other improper activities. These measures follow earlier reports that similar requirements are being considered for third-party custody providers that hold crypto assets on behalf of exchanges. These external custodians have not been directly overseen, but the FSA now plans to require them to report their activities in advance. The push to reinforce customer protections comes as Japan’s crypto market continues to expand. In a sign of that growth, mobile payment platform PayPay last week enabled transfers between PayPay Money balances and Binance Japan. The new feature allows deposits from 1,000 yen, with limits of 1 million yen per 24 hours and 2 million yen per 30 days. Until now, funding or withdrawing from Binance Japan’s spot trading services was limited to yen bank transfers or transactions through external exchanges and wallets. Accumulation grows amid market pullbackJapanese companies have also continued to accumulate Bitcoin. According to Decrypt, Metaplanet, a former hotel operator that now positions itself as a Bitcoin treasury firm, said on Nov. 25 that it plans to use its Bitcoin holdings as collateral for a $130 million loan to purchase additional Bitcoin. The Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed firm currently holds 30,823 BTC and aims to expand its position to 210,000 BTC by 2027. Another publicly traded company, nail-salon operator Convano, has taken a similar approach, recently adding 97.67 BTC to bring its total to 762.67 BTC, according to BitcoinTreasuries.NET. This accumulation has continued despite Bitcoin’s recent decline. The cryptocurrency has fallen nearly 20% over the past month and is now trading just below $92,000. Citing analysis from 10x Research CEO Markus Thielen and Nansen research analyst Nicolai Søndergaard, Yonhap Infomax pointed to several factors behind the pullback. Thielen highlighted $3.5 billion in outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs this month and roughly $800 million in stablecoins leaving the market. Søndergaard noted that long-term holders have been selling, adding that such activity has historically appeared early in Bitcoin’s four-year market cycle. Bitcoin’s most recent halving occurred on April 20, 2024, roughly 19 months ago. Market watches upcoming policy movesFrom a broader macro perspective, Reuters reported that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) could raise interest rates as early as next month amid pressure from a weakening yen. The timing remains uncertain, with the decision seen as hinging in part on the U.S. Federal Reserve, which sets policy one week before the BOJ. According to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, markets currently assign an 84.9% chance of a 25-basis-point Fed rate cut in December. A Fed hold or a more hawkish tone could lift the dollar, further weaken the yen, and increase pressure on the BOJ to act sooner. A Fed cut, by contrast, could ease that pressure but raise questions about the U.S. outlook and the trajectory of future BOJ hikes. Monetary decisions in the coming weeks are expected to influence crypto markets, as lower interest rates generally support demand for risk assets such as Bitcoin. With both the Fed and the BOJ poised to set policy in December, market participants are watching for how shifts in liquidity and currency moves could shape the next phase of digital asset prices. 

NEOPIN and Finschia Foundation to jointly launch Finschia’s first decentralized exchangeCentralized decentralized finance (CeDeFi) protocol NEOPIN and blockchain developer Finschia Foundation have teamed up to launch Finschia Network Swap (FNSwap) — the first automated market maker (AMM) decentralized exchange on Finschia’s public blockchain — in the first quarter of next year, according to an announcement on Finschia’s official website last Friday (KST).Photo by Chris Liverani on UnsplashRevolutionizing DeFiNEOPIN has taken over the development of FNSwap, which will employ a pricing algorithm as an AMM decentralized exchange to set the prices of assets, thus increasing liquidity in liquidity pools. The platform will support crypto deposits, including those made in FNSA and NPT — Finschia and NEOPIN’s respective governance tokens — along with other stablecoins. The list of supported cryptocurrencies will be expanded later on as the mainnet grows, Finschia said.“As Finschia’s first decentralized exchange, Finschia Network Swap is expected to make it more convenient for many users to use crypto services,” said Kim Yong-gi, CEO of NEOPIN. “We plan to actively expand the number of cryptocurrencies supported on the platform in line with the expansion of the Finschia ecosystem.”Ecosystem expansionFNSwap will also be centered around its community of users, providing lucrative DeFi products and incentives like token swapping, staking and rewards, thus establishing a secure and convenient blockchain ecosystem.The two firms committed to exploring other endeavors as well, such as discovering promising Web3 projects through events like hackathons; facilitating interaction between their respective partner firms; and conducting joint promotional campaigns to expand the Finschia ecosystem.“We are pleased to work with NEOPIN to launch the first decentralized exchange of the Finschia ecosystem,” said Ko Young-soo, Chairman of the Finschia Foundation. “We will consistently provide the technical support that NEOPIN needs to successfully launch the Finschia Network Swap.”