Japan Moves Closer to Allowing Venture Capital Firms to Hold Crypto Assets

CoinDeskPolicyPublicado a 2024-02-18Actualizado a 2024-02-19

Resumen

If approved in parliament, the draft bill could see VCs fund Web3 startups in exchange for crypto assets.

Japan's government approved a bill that allows venture capital firms and investment funds to hold crypto assets.
If passed by parliament, the bill could boost investment in Web3 startups.

83K

Japan's cabinet approved a bill that adds crypto to the list of assets the nation's investment funds and venture capital firms can acquire, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Friday.

Japan has been a global leader in framing a regulatory framework for stablecoins, and has indicated plans to promote Web3 while remaining tough on user protection. In September 2023, Nikkei reported that the country planned to relax rules for VC firms to invest in crypto startups.

Now the cabinet has approved the move, the amended bill will be introduced and debated in the current session of parliament, the Diet.

The revision could see VCs fund Web3 startups in exchange for crypto assets.

The amendment of the Industrial Competitiveness Enhancement Act was passed with the stated objective to "promote the creation of new businesses and investment in industry" and provide "intensive support to medium-sized companies and startups that are the driving force of Japan's economy," the ministry said.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW

Recommended for you:

Edited by Sheldon Reback.

Lecturas Relacionadas

ETH/BTC Ratio Falls Back To Early-2023 Levels As Traders Debate Ethereum Value

The ETH/BTC ratio has fallen back to 0.027, a level last seen in early 2023, and is significantly below its 2021 peak near 0.088. This prompts a key market debate: Is Ethereum (ETH) now a historically cheap contrarian buy against Bitcoin (BTC), or is it in a structural decline? Analyst Woetoe highlighted this question. Simultaneously, ETH's USD chart (ETHUSDT) indicates bearish correction risk. Analysis from SwallowAcademy points to a broken market structure following an aggressive weekly open, with price rolling over below the $1,774 high and a potential pullback toward the $1,660-$1,723 zone. This creates a complex setup. While ETH appears undervalued relative to BTC, its standalone technicals remain weak. The report concludes that for ETH bulls, the immediate priority is not valuation arguments but reclaiming technical strength and beginning to outperform BTC again.

bitcoinistHace 9 min(s)

ETH/BTC Ratio Falls Back To Early-2023 Levels As Traders Debate Ethereum Value

bitcoinistHace 9 min(s)

The Hunter Becomes the Hunted: The Most Profitable MEV Bot Gets Hacked

A well-known and highly profitable Ethereum MEV Bot, Jaredfromsubway.eth, suffered a sophisticated on-chain attack this Saturday, losing over $7.5 million. Analysis by Blockaid and others reveals this was not a conventional phishing or smart contract exploit, but a targeted "counter-MEV honeypot attack." The attacker meticulously laid a trap over several weeks, deploying 66 fake token contracts and liquidity pools disguised as major assets like WETH and USDC. These pools created the illusion of arbitrage opportunities. The MEV Bot's automated system detected these signals, executed trades, and in the process, granted approval permissions to attacker-controlled contracts. These approvals were not revoked, creating a persistent vulnerability. The attacker then exploited this in a single transaction, draining the bot's ETH, USDC, and USDT holdings. Jaredfromsubway.eth is notorious as one of Ethereum's most active and profitable MEV Bots, primarily known for executing "sandwich attacks" to profit from transaction slippage. Estimates suggest it has earned tens of millions in MEV revenue. The incident highlights escalating crypto security threats, demonstrating that even top-tier automated "predators" are vulnerable to novel, logic-based attacks designed to exploit their own operational rules. Following the hack, an unverified X account impersonating Jaredfromsubway.eth emerged, falsely offering a bounty for the return of funds, prompting developer warnings for users to stay vigilant.

marsbitHace 1 hora(s)

Hunter Becomes the Hunted: The Most Profitable MEV Bot Gets Hacked

The prominent Ethereum MEV bot address Jaredfromsubway.eth suffered a targeted on-chain attack, losing over $7.5 million. The incident was identified as a "counter-MEV honeypot attack," where the attacker deployed numerous fake token contracts and liquidity pools over several weeks, mimicking mainstream assets like WETH and USDC to create seemingly profitable arbitrage opportunities. The MEV bot, designed to automatically detect and execute such trades, interacted with the malicious setup. During the process, it granted approvals to attacker-controlled contracts, which were not promptly revoked. The attacker later exploited these persistent permissions in a single transaction, draining the bot's holdings of ETH, USDC, and USDT. Jaredfromsubway.eth is known as one of Ethereum's most active and profitable MEV bots, primarily executing "sandwich attacks" to extract value from user transactions. Its operations have been linked to a majority of such attacks on the network. This event highlights the evolving security threats in crypto, demonstrating that even sophisticated, rule-exploiting systems can become targets of carefully designed behavioral traps. Following the theft, an impersonator account on X falsely claimed to offer a bounty for the return of the funds, prompting warnings from developers.

Odaily星球日报Hace 1 hora(s)

Hunter Becomes the Hunted: The Most Profitable MEV Bot Gets Hacked

Odaily星球日报Hace 1 hora(s)

The Reality of Payments in Latin America Is Not What You Think

The payment landscape in Latin America is undergoing a fundamental shift, driven by on-the-ground realities that challenge common perceptions. Based on over 500 hours of field research across the region, key insights emerge. Firstly, QR code payments, like Brazil's Pix, are becoming the dominant payment method in most emerging markets, overtaking cards. However, these domestic instant payment systems lack international interoperability, creating a significant gap for cross-border users. Secondly, the narrative around crypto cards is often misunderstood; their primary volume comes from high-net-worth professionals using them for salary conversions (e.g., USDT to local currency via Pix), not retail micro-payments. Competition in payments is shifting from customer acquisition to controlling the settlement layer, leading fintechs to acquire banking licenses for efficiency. Thirdly, treating "Latin America" as a single market is a mistake. Countries like Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico have distinct economic realities, user segments, and regulatory approaches. Brazil alone has at least five distinct user segments with different financial flows. Overlooked markets like Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador (the "forgotten five") offer high remittance volumes with lower competitive density. Finally, regulation in Latin America is often ahead of the US, with clearer frameworks for digital assets and a pragmatic approach from regulators focused on safety rather than obstruction. The margin on stablecoin forex is rapidly compressing toward zero, meaning future winners will be those building value-added services on top of the infrastructure, not just the cheapest exchange.

marsbitHace 1 hora(s)

The Reality of Payments in Latin America Is Not What You Think

marsbitHace 1 hora(s)

Making Music in a Bear Market: The Survival Experiment of a Bitcoin Band

"Orange Pill Jam: A Bitcoin Band's Survival in the Bear Market" Orange Pill Jam is a musical group exploring themes of financial sovereignty and privacy, born from the Bitcoin community. Formed after singer Mermaid performed her song "Dollar Apocalypse" at a 2022 conference, the band creates music intended for both Bitcoin enthusiasts and general audiences. Their creative process involves Mermaid writing lyrics and melodies, which producer/multi-instrumentalist Michi then shapes with a precise, rhythm-focused approach, often demanding numerous retakes to achieve his unique standard of timing. Their songs, like "Cypherpunks' Manifesto" and "Fire of Freedom," tackle concepts of digital privacy, the pitfalls of "free" services, and personal sovereignty, influenced by experiences in places like El Salvador. Despite operating in a crypto bear market with a Copyleft model (offering music for free sharing/remixing and accepting optional Bitcoin donations), they face practical challenges. Their growth is slow on platforms like YouTube and Spotify, which aren't optimized for their niche content. The band also navigates the rise of AI-generated music. While acknowledging AI's efficiency for certain tasks, they believe human creativity occupies a unique space that algorithms cannot replicate—the ability to create new genres and capture intangible rhythmic feeling. For Orange Pill Jam, the core argument for both Bitcoin in a downturn and human artistry in the AI age lies in this irreplaceable, intentional, and imperfectly human creative process. Their project persists as an anti-algorithm experiment, valuing the unquantifiable impact of music over scalable metrics.

marsbitHace 1 hora(s)

Making Music in a Bear Market: The Survival Experiment of a Bitcoin Band

marsbitHace 1 hora(s)

Trading

Spot

Futuros