June 25 (Cointime) - The National Tax Agency in Japan has revised a law that exempts token issuers from paying corporate taxes on unrealized cryptocurrency gains. The tax exemption was approved by the Japanese government six months ago, but the tax authority has only given final approval this week. Under the new rules, Japanese firms issuing tokens are exempt from paying a set 30% corporate tax rate on their holdings, making it easier for various companies to do business that involves issuing tokens. Japan's crypto regulations are among the strictest in the world, and the country has been enforcing stricter Anti-Money Laundering measures since June 1.

June 22 (Cointime) - A government study by the Research Office at Hong Kong's Legislative Council has recommended that Hong Kong should learn from Japan and Singapore in its efforts to develop and embrace Web3 technologies and crypto.

June 20 (Cointime) - Japan, which has faced competition from Silicon Valley and China in recent years, has found a new opportunity in blockchain gaming. Japan's Web3 market, driven by gaming content and intellectual property-related businesses, is outpacing the global average and attracting attention from the global blockchain community.

June 20 (Cointime) - Japan’s crypto exchanges are pushing for a relaxation of curbs on margin trading, unbowed by last year’s global digital-asset market crash. Many people in the industry want permitted leverage for retail investors of four to 10 times whereas currently customers can at most double exposure via borrowing, according to the Japan Virtual & Crypto Assets Exchange Association. 

June 19 (Cointime) - Animoca Brands, a Hong Kong-based company focused on digital property rights for gaming and the metaverse, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Mitsui & Co. to create new businesses that contribute to the adoption of Web3 in Japan. Mitsui, one of the largest Japanese trading companies, will leverage its extensive assets and networks to support the partnership's mission.

Japan is exploring the use of the metaverse to tackle socio-economic issues such as repopulating rural areas and helping those with extreme social withdrawal. However, the development of the metaverse has been slow due to insufficient funding and a lack of agreement on where to allocate resources.

Japan has made a decision that could have a significant impact on both the art and AI communities worldwide. The country has declared that using datasets to train AI models does not violate copyright law, meaning that model trainers can gather publicly available data without having to obtain permission from data owners. While some argue that AI art is a violation of copyright, others believe that each AI piece is unique and impossible to perfectly replicate an original work. Japan's decision has set a precedent, giving AI artists the freedom to explore their creativity without the shadow of copyright looming over their virtual brushes.

The absence of clear regulations in the US is hindering the issuance of stablecoins by institutions, unlike in Japan where a legal framework for stablecoins was established in June 2022. The law mandates stablecoins to be pegged to the yen or another legal tender and only issued by licensed financial institutions. This move will ultimately benefit everyone by bridging the gap between traditional finance and decentralized finance. However, proposed bills on stablecoin regulation in the US are still uncertain, and large US banks may be slow to adopt stablecoins as they want customers to continue paying wiring fees. The market capitalization of USD Coin ($USDC) was just under $29 billion on Thursday, and Tawil believes that the US may only take action on stablecoins when it feels threatened by other countries. Stay informed on crypto news by subscribing to Blockworks' free newsletter or joining their Telegram group and following them on Google News. For more comprehensive analysis and trade ideas, check out Blockworks Research's Daily Debrief.

Binance is creating a specialized local platform for Japanese users of its international crypto exchange to comply with local regulations. The new platform will be available this summer and will only support 30 crypto trading pairs, compared to the 600 available on the main branch. Japanese users will gradually lose access to spot trading services until November 30, after which they can fully access the local Japanese platform. Binance's Japanese entity is licensed by the Japan Financial Services Agency and will be the company's first compliant entity in East Asia.

Japan is making progress in its efforts to adopt digital currency, with the Bank of Japan (BOJ) completing the second phase of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) proof-of-concept (POC) experiment and moving into the pilot phase in April as planned. During the second phase, the BOJ tested various technological applications for setting upper limits on CBDC holdings, with a focus on user experience and stability in the digital financial landscape. The results of the POC were successful, and Japan's pursuit of a digital yen represents a pivotal step in the realm of digital currency, positioning the country at the forefront of the next revolution in financial technology. The BOJ has committed to making its final decision on CBDC issuance by 2026, with a CBDC Forum established to solicit insights from private enterprises.