50K investors fight Korean crypto tax, Singapore cancels Bsquared: Asia Express

Everything that happened in crypto news in Asia over the past seven days: Asia Express.

In this edition:

1. Ether-linked ETF losses rattle South Korea’s funeral industry
2. South Korea crypto tax petition clears 50,000 signatures
3. Polymarket and Kalshi face regional access blocks
4. Japan lays out AI and onchain finance strategy
5. JPYC raises $31.4 million for AI and stablecoin growth
6. Singapore pulls Bsquared crypto license
7. Crypto trails headline cross-border scam crackdown
8. Hong Kong pushes OECD crypto reporting rules

Ether-linked ETF losses rattle South Korea’s funeral industry

South Korean funeral service company Bumo Sarang is sitting on roughly 49.3 billion won ($32.7 million) in unrealized losses after investing customer funds into crypto-linked exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

The company placed about $40 million into a leveraged ETF tied to Ether treasury company Bitmine, according to its 2025 audit report.

The paper losses put South Korea’s funeral mutual aid industry back under the microscope. Such companies collect prepaid customer funds but fall under consumer and competition protection regulator’s oversight instead of financial regulators.

Korea Economic Daily reported that roughly 43% of funeral service providers held fewer assets than customer advance payments, meaning some firms could struggle to repay customers if cancellation requests rise sharply.

South Korea’s funeral mutual aid industry extends beyond traditional funeral-home services. Companies typically operate through prepaid contracts in which customers make monthly payments over several years.

South Korea crypto tax petition clears 50,000 signatures

A public petition calling for the abolition of South Korea’s planned cryptocurrency tax crossed 50,000 signatures on Thursday, triggering a formal review in the National Assembly.

The petition argues that taxing digital assets while easing or withdrawing taxes on other investment products creates fairness concerns.

Under South Korea’s parliamentary petition system, proposals that surpass the threshold within 30 days are referred to a relevant committee for examination.

South Korea plans a 22% tax on crypto gains exceeding 2.5 million won ($1,800) beginning Jan. 1, 2027. The proposal has already been postponed multiple times and still faces political opposition.

Polymarket and Kalshi face regional access blocks

Prediction markets are facing new access restrictions across parts of Asia.

Indian authorities reportedly ordered internet providers to block access to Kalshi and Polymarket, classifying them as prohibited online money gaming services.

In the Philippines, Globe Telecom users were redirected from Polymarket to a government restriction page citing licensing requirements from gambling regulators, local outlet BitPinas reported.

Indonesia has announced its own ban on Polymarket.

Japan lays out AI and onchain finance strategy

Japan’s ruling party approved a proposal to develop AI-powered financial infrastructure using blockchain technology.

The initiative calls for AI capable of autonomously carrying out economic activity and greater legal clarity around yen-pegged stablecoins.

The proposal also envisions blockchain-based payment and settlement infrastructure across both retail and wholesale financial systems.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government has pursued several digital asset initiatives in recent months, including changes to crypto regulation and discussions around digital asset-linked ETFs.

JPYC raises $31.4 million for AI and stablecoin growth

Japanese yen stablecoin issuer JPYC raised roughly 5 billion yen (about $31.4 million) across its Series B funding round as it pushes to expand real-world adoption of its digital currency.

The company said Friday that the funds will support AI payments infrastructure, ecosystem expansion, strategic investments and hiring.

Its AI plans include machine-to-machine payments and broader blockchain integration, aligning with the government’s onchain finance strategy.

The company said its stablecoin has surpassed 35 billion yen in transaction volume, with 18,000 accounts and more than 2.5 billion yen in cumulative issuance.

Singapore pulls Bsquared crypto license

Singapore has revoked the crypto payment license of Bsquared Technology after an inspection uncovered risk management failures, outsourcing breaches and false disclosures.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore said the company provided misleading information on multiple occasions, from its license application through the inspection process.

Bsquared received approval to offer digital payment token services 16 months ago under Singapore’s Payment Services Act.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore has granted only 37 digital payment token licenses so far. Revocations have been uncommon so far.

Crypto trails headline cross-border scam crackdown

A Singapore-based company lost $36.3 million after scammers posing as the chairman of its parent firm convinced the CEO to fund a fake acquisition project, according to police.

More than $11 million was later recovered from Hong Kong bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets through cross-border cooperation involving Singapore and Hong Kong authorities.

The case was one of several uncovered during a two-month international anti-scam operation spanning ten jurisdictions.

Authorities said the operation led to more than 3,000 arrests, investigations into over 138,000 scam cases and the seizure of more than $161 million in illicit funds.

Hong Kong pushes OECD crypto reporting rules

Hong Kong will introduce a bill to implement the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, bringing crypto firms into a new tax reporting regime.

The legislation would require crypto-asset service providers with a reporting nexus to Hong Kong to register with tax authorities and comply with due diligence and reporting requirements.

Authorities plan to implement the framework next year and begin automatically exchanging crypto tax information with partner jurisdictions from 2028.

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Yohan Yun

Yohan (Hyoseop) Yun is a Cointelegraph staff writer and multimedia journalist who has been covering blockchain-related topics since 2017. His background includes roles as an assignment editor and producer at Forkast, as well as reporting positions focused on technology and policy for Forbes and Bloomberg BNA. He holds a degree in Journalism and owns Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana in amounts exceeding Cointelegraph’s disclosure threshold of $1,000.