Newcomer launchpad Heaven nears $350 million in volume as team pledges one-year token lockup

Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) plans to request a review of the tax code's treatment of cryptocurrencies for the 2026 fiscal year, aiming to treat crypto more similarly to listed stocks, according to a report from local news outlet Nikkei. 

The request, slated for the end of August according to the report, will include moving crypto gains to a separate tax bucket, subject to a flat 20% tax rate. Industry firms have also asked for a three-year loss carry-forward as part of the taxation change. Currently, crypto income is treated as "miscellaneous income," with a progressive tax rate of up to 55%, not including local taxes. 

The FSA's proposal will also make it easier for Japanese firms to launch domestic crypto ETFs, as the country aims to boost the competitiveness of its crypto industry. Separately from the tax change, the FSA is planning a 2026 legislative bill to bring crypto under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act as a "financial product" rather than a "means of payment" regulated under the Payment Services Act. 

The shift comes as the FSA also plans to approve the country's first domestically regulated yen-denominated stablecoin, JPYC, The Block recently reported. JPYC, issued by the Tokyo-based fintech company of the same name, aims to issue 1 trillion yen ($6.78 billion) worth of its stablecoin across three years. 

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The three largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization now have a spot among the top 100 global financial assets by that metric.

That became possible as Ripple’s native token jumped to a market cap of almost $180 billion, which helped it surpass several well-known names such as Allianz SE, Accenture, and Boston Scientific.Ripple Enters Top 100

The overall growth of the cryptocurrency market cap has been more than evident for the past 10 months. Aside from bitcoin and ether, which are now positioned well within the top 10 and 30 global financial assets by market cap, the crypto market now has a third rep in the top 100 club.

Ripple’s native token has gone through remarkable growth within that same time frame since the US elections last November. At the time, the asset traded below $0.6 with a market cap of roughly $30-35 billion. In the following months, though, it managed to break through several resistance levels and skyrocketed to a new all-time high of $3.65 in mid-July.

Despite losing some traction since then, XRP still stands at just over $3, and its market cap, albeit being lower than its local peak of over $210 billion, is at $180 billion as of press time.

This, aligned with some corrections from other publicly-traded companies, has enabled Ripple’s token to enter the top 100 club of global financial assets by market capitalization.

On its way north, XRP also surpassed the likes of Adobe, Pfizer, Santander, Spotify, and many other big names.Ripple’s Path

Aside from the price expansion registered in the past 10 months or so, Ripple and its overall ecosystem saw numerous positive developments on other fronts. Perhaps the most important one is the (almost) conclusion of the legal case against the US SEC, as the latest update on the matter reads that the Second Circuit hasapprovedboth parties’ joint stipulation of dismissal.

Ripple also made a few big acquisitions, includingspending$1.25 billion to buy the prime brokerage giant Hidden Road. The company also expanded its portfolio of tokens with the introduction of an institutionally-focused stablecoin at the end of 2024 called RLUSD.

XRP has seen adoption as well, given the fact that there are now entities that are accumulating the token for their strategic reserves. What’s next for the adoption curve is perhaps the potential approval of spot XRP ETFs in the US, even though there are already several futures-based ones. The latest move on this matter came just yesterday when several applications were updated to align with the SEC’s guidelines.

Stronghold is starting in Japan, and the team will answer questions in a live online talk (AMA). This event helps the Stronghold team meet new users in Japan, which is an important market. If the AMA brings positive attention and new partnerships, the SHX price might rise. But if there is little interest, or people do not trust the project, the price may not move much. The real effect depends on how well the team connects with Japanese users and how they answer questions. source