virtual

According to Digital Asset, Park Soo-young, a member of the Korean National Power Party, criticized the government's plan to tax virtual asset gains, stating that it is "a threat of a tax bomb if one does not invest in the domestic stock market," and demanded an immediate withdrawal.Member Park Soo-young stated on her YouTube channel: "I hope this punitive tax plan that puts 13 million digital asset users in danger can be withdrawn immediately." She added, "This does not mean that people will invest in domestic stocks; on the contrary, it will only accelerate the outflow of national wealth." She cited that approximately 124 trillion won flowed into overseas digital asset exchanges from January to September last year.

A man in Anshun, Guizhou, used the name of a virtual currency airdrop project as a pretext to lure friends into investing with the bait of guaranteed high returns, ultimately crossing the legal red line. The People's Procuratorate of Pingba District, Anshun City, Guizhou Province, filed a public prosecution, and the court sentenced Zhao to seven months in prison for fraud, along with a fine of 5,000 yuan.Zhao had been paying attention to the field of virtual currency investment for many years and had long been posting investment insights and financial management tips on social media platforms. Zhang was also a virtual currency enthusiast, and the two met on a social platform due to their common interests, gradually becoming friends and frequently discussing investment strategies online. Through long-term communication, Zhao gained Zhang's trust with seemingly professional investment analysis. Subsequently, Zhao proposed a joint investment, to which Zhang agreed. However, after a period of investment, Zhang experienced significant losses and expressed his intention to stop further investments.On August 23, 2025, Zhao claimed that a certain app had launched an airdrop project (to promote a new project, encourage user participation, or reward loyal users, distributing native tokens of the project for free to eligible users), persuading Zhang to invest the remaining funds in his account into this project, promising a return of 100 to 200 U coins (virtual currency) within two days. Zhao also guaranteed that if there were any losses during this period, he would bear the responsibility. To further alleviate Zhang's concerns, Zhao claimed that all investment funds would be transferred to a public chain (the public address of the virtual currency). Believing Zhao, Zhang exchanged 1,757 dollars in his account for Ethereum and completed the transfer according to the wallet link provided by Zhao. In reality, the wallet corresponding to that link was a personal account registered using his girlfriend's identity information, not a public chain. The agreed time for the return of funds had passed, but Zhao had not fulfilled his promise. Zhang urged for repayment multiple times, but Zhao evaded responsibility with excuses such as sending the wrong link and needing time to track it down. On September 7 of the same year, Zhang reported the situation to the police after noticing something was wrong.On April 2 of this year, the Pingba District Procuratorate filed a public prosecution against Zhao for suspected fraud. The procuratorial agency believed that Zhao deceived others out of property by concealing the truth, with a significant amount involved, constituting the crime of fraud. Given that Zhao truthfully confessed to the criminal facts after being apprehended, showed signs of remorse, and had fully compensated the victim for their losses while voluntarily admitting guilt, he could be punished leniently according to the law.

According to Qilu Evening News, a new type of virtual currency "staking mining" scam has recently emerged. Scammers create a perfect persona through long-term friendships on social platforms, chatting with victims for one to two months to build trust. They then guide victims to switch to overseas private communication software such as WhatsApp and Discord, inducing them to download fake mining platforms and sign contracts for authorization. Using the asset transfer permissions from the contracts, they quietly transfer funds from the victims' accounts in the background.The scammers never mention sensitive words like "investment" or "financial management," packaging the scam as "idle computing power staking mining," claiming zero risk and stable returns, and using small rebates to entice victims to increase their investments. Currently, most victims are young people with side job needs, with known losses exceeding 3 million yuan, and the highest individual loss exceeding 300,000 yuan. Victims are spread across many regions of the country. Lawyers remind that virtual currency transactions are not protected by law, and any strangers on social platforms inducing a switch to overseas software or requesting wallet authorization for unfamiliar contracts should be regarded as scams. Do not make secondary transfers.

According to SBS, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) of South Korea has begun a comprehensive reform of its system to address compensation issues related to financial fraud, including voice phishing involving virtual assets. The FSS launched the "Financial Fraud Loss Compensation System Improvement Project" on August 6. This project aims to reform the existing compensation calculation system centered on the Korean won, in preparation for including virtual asset losses in the compensation scope starting in October this year.The current system primarily calculates compensation amounts based on losses valued in Korean won, but after the reform, a compensation ratio will be adopted, taking into account the type and quantity of virtual assets involved. Additionally, during payment suspensions, the Korean won exchange value of virtual assets will also be included in the calculations.

According to a report by CNBC, the latest research published in the academic journal "Review of Accounting Studies" shows that among U.S. taxpayers holding virtual currencies, the actual proportion of those reporting transactions to the federal government is only 32% to 56%.As the IRS will require intermediaries to submit virtual currency tax forms "Form 1099-DA" starting in 2025, discrepancies between reports from businesses and taxpayer filings will be more easily identified by authorities. In the first year, the form only needs to report total earnings, while the obligation to report cost basis will officially be included starting in 2026.

According to MBN, South Korea's People Power Party member Jeong Seong-guk plans to propose a bill to postpone the implementation date for taxing virtual asset income by three years, from January 1, 2027, to January 1, 2030. The member pointed out that by delaying the implementation date until a comprehensive review of related systems, including the taxation of virtual assets, is completed, a safeguard can be established to enhance taxpayer expectations and prevent system chaos.According to current regulations, starting from January 1 of next year, income generated from the transfer or lending of virtual assets will be classified as "other income" and will be subject to income tax. Therefore, the portion of annual profits exceeding 2.5 million won will be taxed at a rate of 22%, which includes 20% for other income tax and 2% for local income tax. Amid recent stock market turmoil and soaring real estate prices triggering public attacks on the government and ruling party, the People Power Party seems to be trying to gain public support by actively proposing legislation aimed at protecting the interests of virtual asset market investors. The People Power Party has consistently opposed the government, advocating for the abolition of this tax.

According to the Dongguan Release public account, the Dongguan Hengli police successfully intercepted a virtual currency investment fraud case, preserving 1.1 million yuan in cash just 5 minutes before the victim's offline transaction with the fraudster, thus avoiding significant economic losses.It is understood that the victim, Ms. Li (pseudonym), previously met an unfamiliar online acquaintance who lured her with "internal investment channels for virtual currency," promising low thresholds and high returns, and created a false impression of investment profits through forged profit screenshots. Subsequently, the fraudster induced Ms. Li to withdraw 1.1 million yuan in cash under the pretext of "needing to exchange cash for USD recharge" for payment. After discovering risk clues, the Dongguan police quickly activated the early warning interception mechanism, organized police forces to rush to the bank to dissuade her, and ultimately successfully prevented the fund transfer before the transaction.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission has announced that Polar Tensor has been included in the list of suspicious virtual asset trading platforms, and 17 related websites have been listed.The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission reminds that Polar Tensor and its website are not licensed by the Commission to conduct regulated activities in Hong Kong.

The Korean National Police Agency has selected Upbit's parent company, Dunamu, through public bidding to be responsible for the custody of seized virtual assets, with a contract period of 1 year.The confiscated digital assets will be managed through the digital asset custody service Upbit Custody, responding in real-time to regulatory infrastructure and conducting custody and management within 365 days. This service employs 100% offline cold wallets, 24/7 monitoring, and introduces MPC, DKG multi-key management, and multi-signature technology to ensure asset isolation and security.

The Shanghai headquarters of the People's Bank of China held a work meeting for the second half of 2026, during which it emphasized the need to firmly uphold the bottom line of preventing systemic financial risks. It will continue to strengthen the assessment and verification of bank institution ratings. Monitoring and analysis of systemically important financial institutions will be enhanced.There will be ongoing prevention and handling of risks related to speculative virtual currency trading. Efforts will be made to actively promote the standardization of financial product online marketing behaviors by local institutions. The mechanism for preventing and resolving systemic risks will be continuously improved. There will be a strengthened crackdown on illegal financial activities. The framework for macro-prudential management will be continuously refined. The level of cross-border financial risk monitoring will be comprehensively enhanced.

According to Hong Kong 01, the Hong Kong police updated information regarding the virtual currency Fun Coffee scam, revealing that as of August 5, a total of 255 related reports had been received, an increase of 30 from earlier, with total losses rising to approximately HKD 104 million. In addition, the Macau police arrested two women involved in 9 cases amounting to about 3.6 million Macau patacas.Regarding TVB artists who have hosted activities related to the Fun Coffee scam, the Hong Kong police stated that during the investigation, they would definitely contact the victims and relevant individuals to identify the mastermind behind the scam and their roles. Fun Coffee claims to be a large coffee investment enterprise in Phu Quoc, Vietnam, with a capital scale exceeding USD 1 billion. It entered the Hong Kong market by the end of 2025, packaging its image through marathons, banquets, social events, distributing flyers, and inviting artists to promote it, while registering a company, opening offices, and stores in Hong Kong. The actual operation was to lure citizens into downloading the app to complete tasks under the guise of investing in high-tech coffee equipment, gene optimization technology, and agricultural equipment, using Tether (USDT) and other cryptocurrencies for deposits. The platform promised annual returns of up to 197%--278%, with higher returns for larger amounts and longer deposit periods, and set up a commission structure to encourage recruitment. In July 2026, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission listed it as a suspicious investment product. In late July of the same month, the app suddenly ceased operations, withdrawals became impossible, customer service went offline, and the offices and stores were vacated, leading to the collapse of the scam.

According to Yahoo Finance, the "Financial Supervisory Commission" of Taiwan has announced that starting from October 2026, virtual asset service providers (VASP) in Taiwan must implement the Travel Rule when transferring virtual assets. For transfers exceeding 30,000 New Taiwan Dollars, the transferring party must not only provide basic transaction information but also additional details such as the customer's date of birth and residence for the receiving party to verify identity.This measure will be implemented in phases—starting in October this year, transfers between VASPs within the region will be prioritized, while transfers between VASPs at other addresses are expected to be implemented by the end of 2027. If operators fail to incorporate the relevant processes into their internal control systems or do not implement data transmission, they may face fines ranging from 500,000 to 10 million New Taiwan Dollars under the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

According to the Hong Kong Wen Wei Po, the Hong Kong Police Commercial Crime Bureau, together with the Macao Judiciary Police, launched a cross-border joint law enforcement operation codenamed "Junli" from August 1 to 3, successfully cracking down on a fraud criminal group that claimed to be involved in virtual currency investment.The Hong Kong police arrested 1 man and 5 women (aged 51 to 64) on charges of "conspiracy to commit fraud," with those involved including company directors, shareholders, company secretaries, and key promotional members; the Macao Judiciary Police also arrested 2 women involved in the case on charges of "aggravated fraud." As of August 3, the Hong Kong police had received a total of 225 reports, with losses amounting to approximately 94 million Hong Kong dollars; the Macao police received 9 reports, involving losses of about 3.6 million Macao patacas, totaling over 97 million.

According to The Nation Online, the Nigerian Tax Authority has released the "Virtual Asset Taxation Guidelines," officially incorporating cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, NFTs, and other blockchain digital assets into the country's tax system. The guidelines were published on July 31 and provide the first detailed framework for taxing the income from assets such as cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, governance tokens, and NFTs.The guidelines stipulate that income generated from the disposal, exchange, or transfer of virtual assets must be taxed according to Nigerian tax law, and income from blockchain activities such as mining, staking, validating, airdrops, and token rewards is also subject to taxation. Virtual assets must be valued at the market price of exchange platforms recognized by the tax authority. Individuals and businesses must maintain complete transaction records, and virtual asset service providers must register for taxation and report large or suspicious transactions. The SEC continues to regulate securities-type virtual assets, while the tax authority is responsible for tax management. The guidelines do not set a separate tax rate for cryptocurrencies but apply existing tax law provisions. The guidelines follow President Bola Tinubu's executive order on establishing a coordinated regulatory framework for virtual assets.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission has announced that BiFinance has been listed as a suspicious virtual asset trading platform. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission stated that the company claims to be licensed in Hong Kong and asserts that it offers digital asset trading services such as spot, futures, and wealth management on its website, as well as other services related to digital assets. However, the company is not licensed by the Securities and Futures Commission and is suspected of conducting unlicensed activities.

According to the Korea Herald, in order to combat drug trafficking using virtual assets, the South Korean police have established a specialized virtual asset tracking and investigation team consisting of 41 members, and have intensified investigations into drug sales networks on platforms such as Telegram since August 3.In the first half of this year, South Korea conducted large-scale crackdowns from March to June, arresting a total of 5,203 drug offenders and detaining 1,039 individuals; compared to the same period last year, the number of arrests increased by 94 (an increase of 1.8%), and the number of detentions increased by 75 (an increase of 7.8%).

According to a report by Hong Kong 01, "Fun Coffee," which claims to be rooted in Vietnam, just entered Hong Kong at the end of 2025 and was warned by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission in July 2026 for being a suspicious investment product. The company appears to be investing in the coffee business, but in reality, it is a virtual currency investment scam with annual interest rates as high as 222%, ultimately "collapsing" at the end of July.The victim group has over 370 people, with each person defrauded of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Multiple investment groups combined have a total of 4,000 people involved, with funds exceeding 1 billion Hong Kong dollars. A middle-aged woman in her 50s claims that she unknowingly became a shareholder and director of one of Fun Coffee's Hong Kong registered companies, and she has over a hundred "downlines." After being contacted by reporters, she has gone to the police to report the case. The police have received 115 reports, which have been handed over to the Commercial Crime Bureau's fraud investigation team for follow-up.The report states that Fun Coffee held a marathon event in Hong Kong at the end of last year, inviting artist Yuen Siu Cheung to host and distributing anti-fraud leaflets for promotion in various districts. The company's headquarters in Kowloon Bay and its storefront in Mong Kok are now empty, with notices of unpaid rent posted. The Securities and Futures Commission issued a warning on July 13, and the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security also warned in May that it is suspected to be a Ponzi scheme.

According to statistics from Hong Kong law enforcement, from July 24 to 30, a total of 25 cases of investment fraud involving online romance were reported, with total losses nearing 70 million Hong Kong dollars. In one large online romance investment fraud case, a 50-year-old insurance practitioner was deceived by an online romantic partner claiming to be a "car dealer" into investing in virtual currency. Until last month, the victim discovered that the investment platform showed account earnings exceeding 800%, but when attempting to withdraw funds, the request was denied. Subsequently, both the online romantic partner and the so-called investment expert went offline, and the victim ultimately confirmed a cumulative loss of over 26 million Hong Kong dollars.The police remind investors to be vigilant about the behavior of recommending investment projects after establishing relationships through social platforms, especially those involving virtual currency, guaranteeing high returns, or requiring transactions through unfamiliar platforms. Do not relax financial safety precautions due to emotions or trust.