The new commissioner of Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA), Junichi Nakajima, believes the country needs to think carefully before making Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies more accessible to the general public. Nakajima believes crypto assets like Bitcoin have the potential to benefit the public as a quick and cheap way to transfer money, he said in an interview with Bloomberg. However, most of the crypto assets are currently used for speculation and investment instead. That’s why the Japanese regulator believes careful consideration is required before making it easier for the general public to invest in crypto assets. Nakajima said that …
Singapore-based Bybit, the world’s fifth-largest cryptocurrency derivatives exchange by trading volume, has allegedly been running unregistered crypto services in Japan, according to an official warning. The Japan Financial Services Agency issued a formal warning letter to Bybit stating that the firm is not registered to operate crypto services in the country. The warning comes in response to Bybit’s marketing campaign that reportedly targeted Japanese investors, according to Norbert Gehrke, founder and representative director of tech hub Tokyo FinTech. “Such public reprimand for running an unregistered business has not occurred for a while, so one is to assume that the FSA …
Japan has made another step toward adopting cryptocurrency Anti-Money Laundering regulations developed by the Financial Action Task Force, Cointelegraph Japan reports. The Japanese Financial Services Agency announced Wednesday that it will adopt the FATF’s Travel Rule — a set of regulations requiring virtual asset service providers to share transaction data for senders and recipients — by April 2022. “It is required to introduce and implement the Travel Rule regulations in each country,” the FSA noted. The FSA requested the Japanese Virtual Currency Exchange Association, a local self-regulatory crypto organization, to prepare for the implementation of the Travel Rule: “From the …
On May 31, the Japanese House of Representatives amended two cryptocurrency-related laws, the Payment Services Act and the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, which will come into effect in April 2020. Most Japanese crypto exchanges have welcomed the changes, since they expect more institutional investors to join the crypto industry. However, others voiced their concerns that the changes may bring some uncertainty to custodians and wallet service providers. The two documents outline several specific changes, which can be discussed separately. The Payment Services Act (PSA) Virtual currency to crypto assets The new law revises the term “Virtual Currency” and says …
Japan’s financial regulator has released Q4 2018 data on the number of enquiries about cryptocurrencies, showing further declines. The Financial Services Agency’s (FSA) report was published today, Feb. 8. The FSA, which is responsible for overseeing the country’s crypto ecosystem, published the latest data on enquiries from September to the end of December 2018. The Japanese watchdog received 788 enquiries regarding virtual currencies, which is a little more than half as many as the 1,231 enquiries in Q3 2018. The report states that 235 cases, or 29 percent, involve general enquiries and questions, while 228 cases, or 28 percent, are …