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Tax agencies are getting serious about crypto

The Japanese tax agency has recently shared some insights into their investigation on income and consumption tax for the fiscal year. They highlighted that they’ve put particular focus on looking into individuals who are dealing with cryptocurrencies. They’ve put increasing effort into crypto, with 584 cases of violations revealed, marking an increase from 444 the previous year. Mostly, these violations were unreported income or other minor neglect on the part of the crypto user. The average undisclosed income amounts to 30 million JPY, roughly $200,000.

On average, violators ended up having to pay an additional 10 million JPY to the tax authority. As tax expert Yuichi Murakami pointed out, 30% of undisclosed income ends up being taxed additionally.

The recent report showcases the increased commitment from the tax authorities to enforce tax compliance in an area not known for it. After all, crypto values tend to overlap quite heavily with libertarian thinking.

Takeaway: Unsurprisingly, the tax authorities are trying to catch potential violators before new regulations will more lightly regulate crypto. The tax agency is expected to continue being proactive in deterring crypto traders from tax violations.

Okasan Securities launching an STO

Okasan Securities, a large securities firm with a marketcap of $1.1 billion and 9 billion in investment trusts, has announced its plans to launch a security token offering for its 100th anniversary. Fittingly, the security token will be its 100th Anniversary bond, and issuance will happen on Progmat. This security token offering is expected to be one of the largest in the Japanese market, with a tentative upper limit of $13.4 million.

This STO marks an inaugural collaboration between five big companies leading the Japanese ST space, including Muizuho Bank and Mitsubishi UFJ. The token will launch on December 20th, and redemption is scheduled for December the year after. Okasan will issue the tokens while Okasan Securities runs underwriting and sales in collaboration with Mizuho Securities. Management an

Takeaway: Security tokens are gaining momentum in Japan, primarily driven by big institutional players. It’s the same institutions that own the issuance platform and are the likely candidates to issue security tokens. While security tokens elsewhere are running at best under the banner of RWAs or not at all, Japanese traditional banks recognize the potential and try to use the technology to their advantage.

Hasport NFT rally

HashPort, in collaboration with JR West Japan, will run a campaign combining NFTs and Japanese love for stamp collection. Throughout, participants can collect NFT stamps in their Expo 2025 wallet app, leaning on the Osaka-Kansai expo.

All the NFTs are issued and managed by PaletteChain, a custom blockchain solution developed by HashPalette, a subsidiary of the tech company HashPort. A major advantage for consumer-facing digital assets issued on PaletteChain is that the protocol offers fee-free transactions.

The Expo 2025 wallet will be the official wallet for the Osaka Kansai Expo scheduled for April - October 2025. It will support not only NFTs but also enable users to pay or access service points with it. The NFT rally will start on November 30th and run until March 24, 2025. During this time, visitors can collect stamps in six different locations initially. In a future phase, the rally locations will be extended to 20 locations.

All the designs were created by local illustrators and artists, allowing them to enhance their visibility while designing unique stamps.

Takeaway: The Osaka Kansai Expo 2025 will draw in 25 million visitors. If only 1% of them start using the wallet app, it’d already be a big win for the team. The only next consequential step is selling all of the tickets as NFTs. Either way, it’s encouraging to see continued interest for NFTs in the Japanese market and a focus on combining it with the local tradition of collecting stamps.

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Japan Fact

There are roughly 80,000 shrines spread all across Japan. Most of them are dedicated to specific gods and kami. The Japanese word for shrine Jinja (神社), literally translates to place of Gods. If you’re in Tokyo, consider a day trip to Nikko to see the Toshogu shrine, considered one of the best to visit. And even better, on your way back, you can make a stop in Utsunomiya for some gyoza.