South Korea’s messaging app operator Kakao Corp. is considering offering a private placement to attract investors to develop their blockchain subsidiary, Bloomberg reports today, June 28. Kakao Corporation’s blockchain initiative, the Tokyo-based Ground X, was announced at the end of March as part of the messaging app operator’s new Kakao 3.0 business plan aimed at the wider Asian markets. Bloomberg writes that Ground X aims to release a test version in September, with the blockchain platform going live by the end of 2018. Jason Han, Ground X’s CEO, told Bloomberg the blockchain platform may be considering getting capital next month …

Japanese social messaging app LINE will launch a cryptocurrency exchange for 30 coins next month, it revealed Thursday, June 28. In a press release, the company, which counts around 200 million monthly users, confirmed it would offer crypto-to-crypto trading platform BITBOX “globally” excluding the U.S. and Japan. “With the need to trade cryptocurrencies rising around the world, LINE has been preparing to provide opportunities for users to do so securely, and as the secure system is in place now, the company will be offering the service,” the release states. As Cointelegraph reported in January, LINE had been in talks with …

On March 8, 2016, Japan announced Bitcoin as a legal form of payment; its adoption was flourishing and only positive things could be said about the digital currency as the digitally inclined population embraced cryptocurrencies. Japan was a leader in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency innovation and adoption. From ‘Miss Bitcoin’ to the slew of businesses that the island nation received after China’s ban on cryptocurrencies, Japan was becoming a super power of digital currency and happily taken the mantle, headlong. Bitcoin businesses were booming in Japan — especially exchanges — but there came a turning point. Japan’s boom had been down …

Japan’s Minister of Finance thinks that it is doubtful the public would accept a change in the taxation of cryptocurrency transactions, Cointelegraph Japan reports today, June 25. During today’s Upper House Budget Committee meeting, Senator Fujimaki asked Japan’s Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso whether crypto transactions should be taxed via a “separate settlement taxation,” rather than their present classification as “miscellaneous income.” Aso said the prospect was “doubtful” and expressed concern over the public’s reaction due to “tax fairness.” The current tax rate for crypto transactions has a maximum of 55 percent, and changing its category would bring it to …

The two vice-presidents of Japan’s self-regulatory cryptocurrency exchange body have resigned after their exchanges received regulatory warnings, Cointelegraph Japan reports June 25. Just a week after the Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association (JVCEA) produced its first guidelines on industry best practice, Yuzo Kano and Noriyuki Hirosue announced they would be stepping down as vice presidents of the organization. Kano and Hirosuei are CEOs of bitFlyer and Bitbank respectively, both of which received business improvement orders from Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) June 22. Part of an ongoing tightening up of Japan’s cryptocurrency exchange sector, a total of six exchanges will …

The current bear market is not a funeral for Bitcoin (BTC) “whatsoever,” CEO of BKCM LLC investment firm Brian Kelly said on CNBC's Fast Money segment June 22. We tried to have a funeral for #Bitcoin as it fell below $6K, but @BKBrianKelly is still a believer. Here's why he thinks the cryptocurrency will resurrect pic.twitter.com/B8ozbzPsfJ — CNBC's Fast Money (@CNBCFastMoney) June 22, 2018 To back up his statement, Kelly provided three key factors. First, he pointed out that the market sentiment is “approaching lows,” implying that a trend reversal is likely to follow. Bitcoin, trading at $5,881 as of …

The crypto markets are continuing to take a tumble today, June 23, following slew of FUD-like news from the crypto sector in South Korea and Japan. Market visualization from Coin360 Leading South Korean exchange Bithumb was hacked for $30 million, and Japan’s financial regulator FSA has apparently renewed their crackdown on cryptocurrency exchanges after sending out six more business improvement notices this week. Bitcoin (BTC) is edging closer to $6,000, trading for around $6,105 at press time, down less than 1 percent over a 24 hour period. Bitcoin price chart. Source: Cointelegraph Bitcoin Price Index Ethereum (ETH) is slightly down, …

Japan’s financial regulator the Financial Services Agency (FSA) has sent business improvement orders to six major cryptocurrency exchanges, Cointelegraph Japan reports June 22. According to press releases listed on its website, the FSA has demanded a risk management overhaul - centered on anti money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) requirements - from bitFlyer, Quoine, BTC Box, Bit Bank, Tech Bureau and Bit Point. As Cointelegraph Japan reports, bitFlyer, currently the 23rd exchange in the world by trade volume, has already begun remedial measures in response to its order, halting new account registrations and reviewing user identification documentation. The FSA concluded …

The Philippines’ RIZAL COMMERCIAL Banking Corp (RCBC) announced plans to launch blockchain remittances to Japan June 20 in a partnership with two Japanese banks. Quoted by local news media outlet Business World, First Senior Vice-President Manny T. Narciso said the scheme, which will form part of IBM’s global blockchain pilot, aims to serve Filipinos who work in Japan and send money home. “We want to serve the [overseas foreign workers] in Japan through this technology and we’re doing it in partnership with two Japanese banks,” he said. “For the OFWs in Japan, [this service] will make remittance faster and cheaper …

Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) will be issuing business improvement notices to five registered cryptocurrency exchanges by the end of this week, Cointelegraph Japan reports Tuesday, June 19. According to the FSA inspections, crypto exchanges BitFlyer, Quoine, Bitbank, BITPoint Japan, and BtcBox do not have the proper internal management systems, including their measures to prevent money laundering. BitFlyer, Quoine and Bitbank are some of the largest crypto exchanges both in the country and in the world, currently sitting at 27th, 18th and 20th places by trade volume, according to Coinmarketcap data. When asked about the business improvement notices, BITPoint Japan …

Japan’s Virtual Currency Exchange Association (JVCEA) will reportedly be releasing new voluntary rules next week, Cointelegraph Japan reports today, June 18. The official announcement of the regulatory guidelines, set for June 27th, will reportedly include a ban on insider trading, penalizing cryptocurrency exchange employees if they engage in “inappropriate” trading due to their firsthand knowledge. In order to conform to anti-money laundering (AML) regulations, the voluntary regulation proposal will also prohibit the trading of anonymity-oriented cryptocurrencies, such as Monero and Zcash, on exchanges. Formed at the end of April following the $530 mln NEM hack of Japanese crypto exchange Coincheck, …

Japanese prosecutors from 10 prefectures have arrested 16 individuals suspected of involvement in an ongoing criminal case of cryptojacking, local news outlet The Asahi Shimbun reports June 15. Cryptojacking is the practice of using unsuspecting users’ processing power in order to mine cryptocurrency for the attacker. According to the report by Asahi Shimbun, the arrested individuals are suspected of installing malware on victims’ computers in order to mine cryptocurrency in an unauthorized manner. The suspects were allegedly running their own websites to spread the crypto mining malware, including the Coinhive program, that mines Monero (XMR). The case against 16 men …