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Japan Tax Free, a Japanese duty-free service provider, announced that it will officially launch the yen stablecoin JPYC tax refund service in collaboration with UPBOND on November 1, providing an on-chain tax refund channel for foreign tourists visiting Japan.According to the new duty-free system implemented in Japan on the same day, tourists must first purchase goods at tax-included prices and then receive the tax refund after customs confirmation upon departure. The new service will issue JPYC to tourists using the wallet infrastructure provided by UPBOND, utilizing the Avalanche C-Chain.

According to BBX data, the global capital markets revealed the latest developments in direct investment in Bitcoin and the performance of brokerage digital asset businesses yesterday. The core information is as follows:Japan Bitcoin Industry has completed a capital increase of 840 million yen, fully paid in physical Bitcoin: The Web3 infrastructure developer Japan Bitcoin Industry announced the implementation of a third-party share allocation capital increase, successfully issuing shares to two institutions, Fulgur LLC and ANAP Lightning Capital (ALC), raising a total of 840 million yen (approximately 5.07 million USD). Notably, this capital increase will be fully funded in physical Bitcoin, with on-chain delivery expected to be completed on November 2. At the same time, the company signed a basic agreement for cooperation in Lightning Network routing business with ALC, which will use the Bitcoin held by ALC as the underlying liquidity for the company's operational channels. The raised funds will be specifically used for the research and development of the infrastructure "aurora" (supporting enterprises to access Lightning payments via API), talent recruitment, and local routing network infrastructure.Robinhood (NASDAQ: $HOOD) Q3 crypto revenue plummets 55%, causing overall profits to fall short of expectations: American internet brokerage giant Robinhood released its third-quarter financial report. The data shows that due to a slowdown in cryptocurrency trading activity and increased operating expenses, overshadowing its strong performance in options and prediction markets, the quarterly profits fell below Wall Street expectations. In the third quarter, its cryptocurrency trading revenue decreased significantly by 55% year-on-year to 120 million USD. Although options trading revenue grew by 31% and event contract revenue surged more than sixfold, driving overall trading revenue up 19% year-on-year to 867 million USD, total operating expenses also increased by 16% year-on-year to 739 million USD. The company's earnings per share for the quarter were 0.51 USD, falling short of analysts' expectations of 0.55 USD, leading to a drop of over 7% in its stock price in after-hours trading.

GMO Internet was previously attacked, leading to suspected leakage of customer information data. The company refused to pay the ransom and stated plans to compensate customers for their losses.It is reported that GMO Internet operates the cryptocurrency exchange "Z.com EX," which has obtained licenses from the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission and the Thai Ministry of Finance. The exchange has disclosed that it has been acquired, involving the acquisition of all shares of the target company held by shareholders such as GMO Internet and its related subsidiaries. It is currently unclear whether the customer information data is related to the cryptocurrency exchange.

At the same time, the company signed a basic cooperation agreement for lightning network routing business with ALC, using the BTC held by ALC as the liquidity for the channels operated by the company, jointly building local routing infrastructure in Japan. The raised funds will be used to pay for infrastructure development, talent recruitment, routing business, and research and development, with a focus on promoting the lightning payment service "aurora" that can be accessed through the existing payment systems of merchants via API.

According to Bloomberg, Japanese IT giant GMO Internet has faced a cyber attack, and hackers claim to have released customer information due to the failure to receive a $50 million ransom. It is reported that its foreign exchange trading services have been suspended and are no longer accepting new subscriptions. In addition, all servers of its domain and cloud service Onamae have been compromised, which may affect users.It is reported that GMO Internet operates the cryptocurrency exchange "Z.com EX," which has been licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand and the Ministry of Finance of Thailand. Last week, the exchange disclosed that it had been acquired, with the acquisition involving all shares of the target company held by GMO Internet and its related subsidiaries and shareholders.

Onchain Lens reported that a Japanese Bitcoin whale has withdrawn 65 BTC, worth approximately 5.2 million dollars, marking the first significant activity for this address in nearly two years.In the past 20 days, this whale has withdrawn a total of 136.894 BTC from the Japanese cryptocurrency exchanges Coincheck and bitFlyer, valued at around 11.24 million dollars. The related address is bc1qhscz899tza7e3cmfx8dqfaarx0693uet07588znqw4yatjxdkc9sdt3mhj.

Gate platform data shows that on October 27, the stock market saw a significant rise in the AI, semiconductor, and data sectors, with several concept stocks leading the gains, becoming the focus of market attention.According to the latest market data from Gate, Data Section (3905) surged strongly, rising 14.50% in 24 hours; Yifei Electric (4062) jumped 11.14%; Rand (8918) increased by 11.11%; Advantest (6857) rose by 9.65%; QD Laser (6613) went up by 8.84%.As global AI infrastructure construction accelerates and semiconductor demand remains strong, market expectations for profitability in the technology and semiconductor supply chain are heating up again.

According to market news, the cryptocurrency payment service provider RedotPay announced in a recent official announcement that it has acquired the Japanese cryptocurrency exchange BTCBOX, and will subsequently provide services compliant with Japanese regulations through BTCBOX. RedotPay does not have a license for cryptocurrency trading operators in Japan. The announcement acknowledged that its existing services aimed at Japanese residents do not meet local regulatory requirements and will be phased out and ultimately terminated.RedotPay has suspended new user registrations in Japan and has removed its app from the Japanese Apple and Google app stores. BTCBOX was established in 2014 and obtained its trading operator registration in September 2017. After a customer information leak occurred in January this year, BTCBOX suspended all services and began a phased recovery on August 3. RedotPay stated that it will provide funding and technical support for it.

According to Catcher Predict monitoring, in the prediction market Polymarket for the event "Japan Women's Open: Ann Lee vs. Ashlyn Krueger," the "Ann Lee" option in the sub-market "Japan Women's Open: Ann Lee vs. Ashlyn Krueger" experienced a drastic fluctuation in winning probability, plummeting from 52.5% an hour ago to the current 19.5% (a fluctuation of 33%). Please note the impact of relevant breaking news.

Ethereum Institutional official X platform has released a recruitment notice, currently hiring a head for the Asia-Pacific region in Tokyo. This role involves establishing partnerships with Japanese banks, financial market infrastructure institutions, asset management companies, and enterprises, as well as planning and organizing communication meetings and presentations aimed at financial institutions and institutional investors, promoting Ethereum as the infrastructure for next-generation financial services.Job requirements include 5 to 7 years of practical experience in banking, asset management, capital markets, payments, or financial infrastructure, proficiency in both Japanese and English at a business level, experience in the digital asset field, particularly in products or collaborative business with financial institutions and institutional investors, and a broad network with Japanese financial institutions and institutional investors.

According to the official announcement from JPYC, the yen stablecoin issuer JPYC has signed a memorandum of cooperation with South Korea's Shinhan Bank's Japan SBJ Bank and LINE NEXT, planning to conduct a proof of concept for direct top-ups of yen stablecoins to bank accounts and digital wallets.According to the division of labor, SBJ Bank provides bank accounts and payment infrastructure, LINE NEXT provides technology such as its Unifi wallet and Unifi Pay, and JPYC provides support for the issuance and redemption of yen stablecoins. JPYC is a regulated yen stablecoin issuer in Japan, with its tokens pegged 1:1 to the yen, supported by bank deposits and Japanese government bonds.

According to CoinDesk, Shinhan Card, a subsidiary of South Korea's Shinhan Financial Group, is collaborating with a subsidiary of Japan's SBI Holdings to explore the payment applications of a yen stablecoin between the two countries. Participants include the cryptocurrency exchange SBI VC Trade and the trade finance blockchain company SBI XDC Network APAC.The collaboration will study scenarios such as card-linked merchant payments for Japanese tourists visiting South Korea, wallet-to-wallet transfers, and cross-border trade settlements, and will include suspicious transaction monitoring and anti-money laundering compliance systems. Shinhan Card serves approximately 20 million cardholders and stated that it will connect this project with Shinhan Financial's broader digital asset strategy, which includes an agreement reached in August with Visa to explore stablecoin issuance, transfers, and card settlements.Currently, the project is still in its early stages, and the parties have not disclosed the types of stablecoins to be tested, nor have they set a timeline for testing or commercial rollout. SBI has previously issued the yen stablecoin JPYSC, launched by SBI Shinsei Trust Bank and introduced in collaboration with Startale Group, which had a circulation of approximately 20.1 billion yen (about 127 million USD) as of September 7. JPYSC is currently only available for use in SBI VC Trade accounts and cannot be transferred to external wallets. Its circulation on the public chain depends on legal and tax clarity and regulatory approval, and the parties have not indicated whether JPYSC will be included in this test.

According to CoinPost, Japan's Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Toshiaki Inoue, stated in the House of Representatives' Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Committee that he will study the introduction of stablecoins into the consumption tax exemption system for foreign tourists visiting Japan, and mentioned a "refund method" for tax refunds after departure confirmation, stating that he will promote responses from the user's perspective.According to the Japan Tourism Agency, the country's tax exemption system will change to a refund method starting from purchases made on November 1: Tourists will purchase goods at tax-included prices, and within 90 days from the date of purchase, upon departure confirmation by customs, they can then receive the consumption tax refund, which will be handled by the duty-free shop or an entrusted refund agency.

According to Jinshi News, former Executive Director of the Bank of Japan, Eiji Maeda, stated that the next interest rate hike is expected to occur in December, followed by another increase in March or April.Eiji Maeda mentioned that the current pace of interest rate hikes has accelerated to approximately once every three months, and he believes this pace is appropriate.

According to four informed sources, the Bank of Japan may raise its inflation outlook for the next fiscal year in the forecasts to be released this month, as rising oil prices are exerting more persistent price pressures on the economy than expected.Sources said that given that the Bank of Japan just raised interest rates last month, it is expected to maintain interest rates at the two-day policy meeting ending on October 30, unless the yen exchange rate falls significantly again, which would raise import costs and overall inflation levels.Sources indicated that the Bank of Japan may continue to emphasize the growing inflation risks in the quarterly report released after the meeting, leaving room for another rate hike as early as December. One of the sources pointed out that the increase in consumer prices may last longer than expected, although underlying inflation has not changed significantly. Two other sources also expressed the same view.

According to Catcher Predict monitoring, in the market prediction on Polymarket for the event "Japan Women's Open: Katie Bolt vs. Hinano Sakanoue," the "over" option for the sub-market "Japan Women's Open: Katie Bolt vs. Hinano Sakanoue total game score greater than 22.5" experienced a sharp fluctuation in winning probability, soaring from 25% an hour ago to the current 50% (a fluctuation of 25%). Please note the impact of related breaking news.

According to Catcher Predict monitoring, in the market prediction on Polymarket for the event "Japan Women's Open: Katie Bolt vs. Hinano Sakanoue," the "Over" option for the sub-market "Japan Women's Open: Katie Bolt vs. Hinano Sakanoue total game points greater than 22.5" experienced a dramatic fluctuation in winning probability, soaring from 23.5% an hour ago to the current 50% (a fluctuation of 26.5%). Please note the impact of related breaking news.

According to Catcher Predict monitoring, in the market prediction on Polymarket for the event "Japan Women's Open: Caty McNally vs Sinja Kraus," the sub-market "Japan Women's Open: Caty McNally vs Sinja Kraus Second Set Winner" saw the winning probability for the option "Caty McNally" experience significant fluctuations, rising from 22% an hour ago to the current 50% (a fluctuation of 28%). Please note the impact of relevant breaking news.

Binance founder CZ posted that the Japanese version of his autobiography "Freedom of Money" is on sale today, with more language versions coming soon, and all proceeds will be donated to charity.

According to the Industrial and Commercial Times, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has approved TSMC's first phase plan for the production of advanced semiconductors using 3-nanometer process at its second factory in Kumamoto Prefecture. This will be the first time a manufacturer in Japan produces 3-nanometer chips. TSMC can further expand its production capacity based on additional support from the Japanese government. Kumamoto Prefectural Governor Seiji Kimura stated that this plan will drive a new wave of creative revitalization.The Nikkei reported that the Ministry of Economy has listed the Kumamoto second factory as a recipient of subsidies, with plans to produce 3-nanometer chips, expected to officially start production in December 2028, with final capacity depending on the amount of subsidies. The Ministry will include the budget needed for subsidies in the fiscal year 2027 budget request, with the Japanese government originally planning to provide 732 billion yen in subsidies. The Asahi Shimbun pointed out that the Kumamoto second factory is still under construction and is adjacent to the already operational Kumamoto first factory.Previously, TSMC planned for the second factory to manufacture 6-nanometer and 12-nanometer processes, with a monthly capacity of 48,000 wafers, and planned to produce 40-nanometer chips; in February this year, the plan was changed to 3-nanometer, reducing the monthly capacity to 6,000 wafers. The adjustment plan for the Kumamoto first factory was also approved by the Ministry, with the original plan to produce 55,000 wafers per month covering 22 to 28 nanometers and 12 to 16 nanometers, while the new plan stops production of 12 to 16 nanometers, changing to 45,000 wafers per month for 22 to 28 nanometers.