Bitcoin (BTC) price lost 11.3% between Dec. 14 and Dec. 18 after briefly testing the $18,300 resistance. The move followed a 7-day correction of 8% in the S&P500 futures after the U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell issued hawkish statements after raising the interest rate on Dec. 14. Bitcoin price retreats to channel support Macroeconomic trends have been the main driver of recent movements. For instance, the latest bounce from the 5-week-long ascending channel support at $16,400 has been attributed to the Central Bank of Japan's efforts to contain inflation. The Bank of Japan increased the limit on government bond …

Bitcoin (BTC) recovered from an overnight dip on Dec. 20 as Japan’s central bank sparked chaos on global financial markets. Analyst likens BoJ policy to FTX Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD returning to near $17,000 after falling over 3% through the course of Dec. 19. The largest cryptocurrency benefitted from flash U.S. dollar weakness, this coming on the back of a surprise policy tweak from the Bank of Japan (BoJ). Long a deflationary environment with ultra-low interest rates, Japan woke up to a sea change on the day as policymakers lifted the cap on bond yields. …

The Japanese government is set to ease tax requirements for local crypto firms, as it pushes to stimulate growth in the domestic finance and tech sectors. At present, Japanese firms that issue crypto are required to pay a set 30% corporate tax rate on their holdings, even if they haven’t realized a profit through a sale. As such, a number of domestically founded crypto/blockchain firms and talent have reportedly chosen to set up shop elsewhere over the past few years. Japan’s ruling party, the Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) tax committee held a meeting on Dec. 15 and approved a proposal …

On Dec. 15 lawyers representing FTX filed a motion with the United States Bankruptcy Court seeking permission to sell off the firm's Japanese and European branches, derivatives exchange LedgerX and stock-clearing platform Embed. The lawyers note that each of these businesses have been under pressure from regulators, which “merit[s] an expeditious sale process,” adding: “The longer operations are suspended, the greater the risk to the value of the assets and the risk of a permanent revocation of licenses.” FTX Japan is currently subject to a business suspension and improvement orders, while FTX Europe has had its licenses and operations suspended. …

The Japanese subsidiary of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX has received approval from local regulators to continue sorting out issues with withdrawals until next year. The Kanto Local Finance Bureau, a local financial regulator, running under the Ministry of Finance of Japan, has issued a statement regarding FTX Japan operations, Reuters reported. The Japanese authority has postponed FTX’s business suspension deadline until March 9, 2023, extending the original time limit by three months. In mid-November, Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) initially requested FTX Japan to suspend business orders by Dec. 9. According to the announcement, the Kanto Local Finance Bureau …

The Japanese financial group Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMBC) is moving to explore the benefits of Web3 by issuing soulbond tokens (SBTs). Proposed by Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin, SBTs refer to digital identity tokens that represent the characteristics or reputation of a person or entity, or a “soul.” Such tokens are non-transferable and are designed for the decentralized society and Web3. SMBC officially announced on Dec. 8 an initiative focused on the practical use of SBTs in partnership with the digital asset firm HashPort. The companies plan to conduct research on SBTs to find out their practical uses for communities, …

After passing its landmark legislation on stablecoins in June, Japanese regulators are considering complementing it by restricting the algorithmic backing of stablecoins. The intention comes as a recommendation from the Financial Service Agency (FSA) and was repeated by the country’s Vice Minister for International Affairs, Tomoko Amaya. During his speech on crypto assets at a roundtable hosted by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF), Amaya laid out Japan’s regulatory framework, emphasizing the factors of financial stability, user protection, and anti-money laundering/ combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT). The speech was originally held in November, but the FSA published …

The Japanese subsidiary of the now-defunct FTX crypto exchange has come out with a roadmap to resume withdrawals, after confirming that its customers’ assets are not part of FTX's bankruptcy proceedings. The firm provided an update on Dec. 1, stating it has been able to confirm that its customers’ assets "should not" be part of FTX Japan's estate due to Japanese regulations which mandate that crypto exchanges must separate client funds from their own assets. This was according to Landis Rath & Cobb LLP, the law firm representing FTX Group in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. FTX Japan was only …

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance plans to reenter the Japanese market after acquiring a 100% stake in a licensed crypto service provider in the country, Cointelegraph Japan reported. In an official public announcement on Nov. 30, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said the crypto exchange was committed to re-entering the Japanese market under regulatory compliance. The acquisition of Sakura Exchange BitCoin (SEBC), a Japan Financial Services Agency-licensed business, would mark the re-entry of global exchange in the Japanese market after four years. #Binance Acquires JFSA Registered Sakura Exchange BitCoin, Committed to Enter Japan Under Regulatory Compliancehttps://t.co/xfdnaY2hiO — CZ Binance (@cz_binance) November 30, 2022 …

The Japanese messaging giant Line has decided to shut down its cryptocurrency exchange business amid the ongoing crypto winter. Line-owned crypto exchange Bitfront officially announced on Nov. 27 a plan to completely close down the platform by March 2023. According to the statement, the closure was driven by the continued cryptocurrency bear market and other issues in the crypto industry. Despite the exchange’s closure, Line will still continue to run its other blockchain ventures, including the Line blockchain ecosystem and Link (LN) token, the announcement notes, stating: “Despite our efforts to overcome the challenges in this rapidly-evolving industry, we have …

Despite Japan’s uncertainty on whether to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC), the Bank of Japan (BoJ) continues experimenting with a potential digital yen. The Japanese central bank has started a collaboration with three megabanks and regional banks to conduct a CBDC issuance pilot, the local news agency Nikkei reported on Nov. 23. The pilot aims to provide demo experiments for the issuance of Japan’s national digital currency, a digital yen, starting in spring 2023. As part of the trial, the BoJ is expected to cooperate with major private banks and other organizations to detect and solve any issues …

Crypto exchange FTX’s subsidiary in Japan, FTX Japan, reportedly plans to resume withdrawals by the end of 2022. According to a Nov. 21 report from Japan-based news outlet NHK, FTX Japan has been making preparations to resume withdrawals. Japan’s Financial Services Agency, or FSA, requested the exchange suspend business orders on Nov. 10 prior to FTX Group declaring bankruptcy in the United States for more than 130 associated companies, including FTX Japan Holdings, FTX Japan, and FTX Japan Services. On Nov. 11, the FSA announced that it had taken administrative actions against FTX Japan amid reports its parent company was …