News linked to both this project and an event.
According to DL News, several “revenge intermediaries” in South Korea that accept cryptocurrency as payment have recently remained highly active. These organizations receive orders via Telegram and offer services including intimidation, assault, and even murder disguised as accidents. They require clients to pay a 50% deposit in USDT and promise to send footage of the operation—recorded using body-worn cameras—via Telegram. Although the alleged ringleader was arrested on April 3, related online advertisements continued to appear as recently as April 13. This year, South Korean police have launched investigations into more than 50 such cases and arrested approximately 30 individuals; all cases were confirmed to involve cryptocurrency payments.
According to the Nikkei, Japan’s Cabinet formally approved an amendment to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA) on April 10. This amendment marks the first time that crypto assets (virtual currencies) have been brought under Japan’s financial instruments regulatory framework. It explicitly prohibits insider trading based on non-public information and requires issuers to make annual disclosures. Regulatory authority over crypto assets will thus shift formally from the Payment Services Act to the FIEA; accordingly, registered operators’ official designation will change from “Crypto Asset Exchange Operators” to “Crypto Asset Trading Operators.” Regarding penalties, the maximum term of imprisonment for unlicensed crypto asset sales operations has been increased from three years to ten years, and the maximum fine has risen from ¥3 million to ¥10 million.