Mitsui & Co. and Animoca Brands to Drive Web3 Innovation in Japan’s Digital Landscape

Cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a financial hub in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), entered a new compliance environment on Jan. 12 as updated Crypto Token rules issued by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) came into force. The revised framework bars exchanges from offering certain digital assets.Photo by Christoph Schulz on UnsplashPrivacy tokens restricted to private walletsThe affected assets are privacy tokens like Zcash (ZEC) and Monero (XMR), although the restriction does not prevent Dubai residents from holding those coins in private wallets. The move is aimed at addressing anti-money laundering (AML) and sanctions compliance risks. The exclusion of privacy tokens reflects alignment with global compliance standards, according to Elisabeth Wallace, Associate Director of Policy & Legal at the DFSA. She told CoinDesk that bans of this kind are effectively inevitable if crypto businesses want to align with standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), given that privacy tokens are designed to obscure transaction histories and the identities of holders. The revised rules extend beyond token classifications, preventing regulated firms from deploying or providing tools designed to mask blockchain activity. These include mixers, tumblers, and other technologies that obscure transaction information. At the same time, the DFSA refined its classification of what it terms “Fiat Crypto Tokens,” limiting the category to tokens pegged to fiat currencies and backed by high-quality, liquid assets capable of meeting redemption requests under market stress. Under this definition, algorithmic stablecoins such as Ethena (ENA) would not qualify as stablecoins, though they would still be treated as cryptocurrencies. The update also alters how token eligibility is determined. Rather than maintaining a centralized list of approved assets, the DFSA now requires licensed firms to carry out their own assessments of the crypto assets they offer, document those judgments, and keep them under ongoing review. Thailand enforces crypto travel ruleComparable regulatory tightening is unfolding elsewhere in Asia. In Thailand, during a high-level meeting on Jan. 9, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the Securities and Exchange Commission had been instructed to strictly enforce the travel rule, according to The Nation Thailand. The international standard requires crypto service providers to verify both senders and recipients in wallet-to-wallet transfers. The directive forms part of a broader government initiative to establish a national data bureau, envisioned as a centralized platform for real-time monitoring of suspicious transactions and the development of detailed financial risk profiles. In South Korea, enforcement actions have similarly intensified. According to Dailian, Korbit, the country’s fourth-largest crypto exchange, paid a 2.73 billion won ($1.9 million) fine imposed by the Financial Information Unit (FIU) under the Financial Services Commission (FSC) for violations of anti-money laundering (AML) rules. The payment followed a board decision and was made within a reduced-penalty period, allowing Korbit to receive a 20% discount. Crypto firms comprise 77% of Korean finesA broader review of penalties issued by the FIU since the disclosure of its sanctions guidelines shows that 77% of total fines were levied against virtual asset service providers (VASPs). While an analysis by Digital Asset found that only four of 95 fine cases issued since August 2023 involved VASPs, those cases accounted for a disproportionately large total of 41.8 billion won ($28.4 million). Exchanges fined to date include Delio, Hanbitco Korea, Dunamu—the operator of Upbit—and Korbit, with Dunamu receiving the largest penalty imposed by the FIU to date. The sanctions were linked to alleged know-your-customer (KYC) failures, unreported transactions involving individuals subject to warrants, and shortcomings in systems designed to detect suspicious activity. Separately, the FIU had issued disciplinary measures against Dunamu, including a warning to its chief executive and a three-month partial suspension of operations, which the company is contesting in court. The next hearing is scheduled for February. In overall fine totals, casinos ranked behind crypto firms, underscoring how enforcement against crypto intermediaries has been particularly robust, as oversight patterns continue to evolve. 

GRVT, a hybrid cryptocurrency exchange platform that bases its operations in Singapore, has secured a trading license in Bermuda which the project claims, makes it the first regulated decentralized exchange (DEX).  In a press release published on the project’s behalf by PR Newswire on Dec. 6, the project, which aspires to be “Goldman Sachs on blockchain,” announced the acquisition of a Class M Digital Asset Business License from the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA). Photo by GuerrillaBuzz on UnsplashAiming for further licensingThe license puts the firm on a path to operate as a fully regulated DEX. Securing this Class M license isn’t the end of the project’s regulatory compliant endeavors, however. Class M confers a “modified” exchange license under the Bermuda Digital Asset Business Act (DABA). Class M covers pre-operational activities while the service remains within a sandbox environment. The company hopes to have acquired Class F or “Full” licensing designation by mid-2025. At that point, GRVT will be in a position to take its service from a sandbox environment to full launch of its institutional-grade perps DEX in a regulatory compliant manner. On X GRVT suggested that this licensing is pivotal in the movement of decentralized finance (DeFi) towards mainstream adoption. “With this milestone, DeFi evolves - safer for users and institutions alike,” the project wrote. Hybrid approachAs a hybrid DEX, GRVT combines the decentralization of DeFi with the structure and compliance required for the participation of institutional investors. Commenting on this latest development, GRVT CEO Hong Yea stated:”We've always believed compliance should be the foundation for crypto and DeFi, not an afterthought. Without it, earning institutional trust—and bringing revolutionary technologies to the mainstream—becomes nearly impossible." Yea told Cointelegraph that in two weeks time, the project will officially launch its mainnet to all users. “Our trading volume will then be available through major external data providers,” he added. In preparation for that mainnet launch, the project announced in September that it had partnered with 16 market makers including Galaxy Trading, Amber Group, QCP and others, in order to ensure that the platform has sufficient liquidity in place to enable a smooth launch. Users have been testing the platform following its Open Beta Testnet launch in August. The GRVT CEO believes that the project can “unify cryptocurrency and mainstream finance, creating a system where assets move freely and all forms of value coexist in one integrated ecosystem.”   A regulated yet decentralized offeringReferring to the two main components baked into the GRVT offering, he said that “decentralization distributes control away from central authorities, promoting transparency, security, and user empowerment.” Meanwhile, “regulation establishes standards to protect users, ensure market integrity and promote fair practices.” In successfully pursuing licensing in Bermuda, GRVT joins a list of more than 30 firms in the digital assets sector who have obtained licensing in the British overseas territory. In October global cryptocurrency exchange platform Kraken launched a Bermuda-based derivatives trading business having obtained licensing from the BMA. USDM stablecoin issuer Mountain Protocol received a Class F license from the BMA in July. Other entities successfully licensed by the BMA include Coinbase, HashKey, Circle, Bittrex and Zero Hash.

American crypto exchange and custodian Gemini announced via its blog on Oct. 29 that it has been awarded in-principle approval for a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). In an X post on Oct. 23, Dan Clarke, who worked for Gemini in Singapore in an International Marketing & Operations role in 2021, outlined that back then the company ran the first crypto-related full page ad in the Straits Times with the slogan “We’re in Singapore. For Good.” Fast forward three years and it appears that Gemini is making good on that commitment through this latest regulatory-compliant milestone.Photo by Swapnil Bapat on UnsplashSingapore to play a crucial roleThe MPI license will enable Gemini to offer digital payment tokens and cross-border money transfer services in Singapore. Gemini’s Asia-Pacific (APAC) business is headed up by Saad Ahmed. Ahmed commented that Singapore has been at “the heart” of its operational expansion within the APAC region. Expanding on that further, he stated:“While the United States remains our largest market and global headquarters, Asia and Singapore in particular play a crucial role in our global strategy.”  Ahmed outlined that Singapore represents the company’s second-largest market, with plans to double its current Singaporean workforce and move to a larger office space. The Gemini executive believes that this in-principle licensing approval takes the company one step closer to offering services that cater to the needs of residents of the city-state.  Serving users across the APAC regionIn its blog announcement, the firm said that “since establishing our regional headquarters in Singapore, we’ve focused on expanding our footprint, ensuring that we bring a localized, secure, and compliant trading experience to users across the region.” With the regulatory environment in its home market being currently hostile to crypto, Gemini has pursued a strategy followed by many of its peers in looking for growth opportunities overseas instead. In April of last year, the company announced that it was in the process of opening an engineering center in India.  In June 2023 the company publicized its intention to pursue a crypto trading license within the United Arab Emirates (UAE). At the time the company’s co-CEOs, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, referred to the “hostility and lack of clarity” when it came to the regulatory environment within the United States. Regulatory clarity to drive growthAhmed believes that regulatory clarity in Singapore will be a driver of growth, leading to greater adoption across the region. With regard to the U.S., he has the expectation that the crypto industry will grow regardless of whether former U.S. President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris wins the upcoming presidential election.  Notwithstanding that, Gemini’s Winklevoss twins have donated over $2 million to Trump’s campaign, while also contributing funds to a super political action committee (PAC) supporting John Deaton, a Republican challenger to the Senate seat of fierce crypto critic Senator Elizabeth Warren.  Regulatory conditions in Canada have proven to be too much to handle for the company. At the end of September, Gemini announced that it would close all customer accounts in Canada by December 31 as a direct consequence of new regulations which have been introduced by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA).