On Jan. 17, Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange Huobi, one of the largest players on the market, relaunched as a fully licensed platform in Japan after merging with the BitTrade exchange. Branching out to Japan, where compliance is valued and many regulatory measures are imposed for crypto players by domestic regulators, is a complex process. Here’s how Huobi entered the market, and which firms might soon follow suit. Specifics of the Japanese market and the FSA’s role in it Japan is one of the world’s largest markets for cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin (BTC) and altcoins can be used as a legally accepted means of …

Cryptocurrency exchange Huobi — currently the world’s 7th largest by daily traded volume — has relaunched as a fully licensed platform in Japan after merging with BitTrade. The news was announced in a press release published Jan. 17. As reported, Huobi Global's wholly owned subsidiary, Huobi Japan Holding Ltd, acquired a majority stake in BitTrade last September. At the time, BitTrade was one of only 16 crypto exchanges in the country to have secured a license from national financial regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA). Leon Li, Huobi Group Founder and CEO, has said that securing the license represents a …

Disclaimer: this article has been amended to reflect the fact that the deadline for the FSA’s review is set at six months. According to new insight into the Japanese financial agency’s review process of companies applying for a cryptocurrency exchange license, seven applications will be either approved or rejected within six months. Cointelegraph Japan reported on this development on Jan. 12. The new information in regard to the review process offered by the Financial Services Agency (FSA) revealed that it involves a lengthy procedure that takes almost six months from the time of application — which includes the submission of …

Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) has denied that it is considering allowing Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs), Cointelegraph Japan reports Jan. 9. As Cointelegraph reported Monday, Bloomberg has recently published an article claiming that Japan’s FSA is considering the approval of a Bitcoin ETF, citing an anonymous source. Following the reports, Cointelegraph Japan has contacted the regulator, and the FSA’s representatives have denied Bloomberg’s claims, stating: “At this moment, we are not exploring an approval of ETFs based on crypto assets.” The agency’s staff also told Cointelegraph Japan that they do not know who the person familiar with the matter …

Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) is considering the regulation of unregistered firms that solicit investments in cryptocurrencies, Cointelegraph Japan reports on Jan. 8. The development is reportedly a bid to close a loophole in the country’s existing regulatory framework, in which unregistered firms that collect funds in crypto rather than fiat currencies remain in a gray zone. This situation exists because these firms do not explicitly come under the purview of Japan’s Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, which prohibits unregistered companies from collecting investment funds in cash, but fails to mention funds collected in cryptocurrency form. As CT Japan notes, …

Japan is known as a land of contrasts. A country where serenity and tranquillity can be found in the middle of the hustle and bustle of large global cities, where proud traditionalism stands side-by-side with the developers and innovators of breakthrough technologies, where kimonos are often found next to the latest fashion trends. This contradictory tendency is no different in Japan’s cryptocurrency ecosystem. It ranks as one of the top crypto-friendly nations on Earth, with favorable and forward-thinking cryptocurrency regulations. They made Bitcoin legal tender in 2017, and at one point, the Japanese yen dominated the buying and trading of …

The Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA) received 190 cryptocurrency exchange license applications, an unnamed FSA staff member told Cointelegraph Japan on Dec. 28. The FSA has given the local crypto industry self-regulatory status, certifying the Japanese Virtual Currency Exchange Association (JVCEA) to oversee the space. The JVCEA is now expected to develop anti-money-laundering (AML) policy and providing guidelines to crypto exchanges. As Cointelegraph recently reported, such a license was recently granted to cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck. Following a hack at the exchange in January, it received two business improvement orders from the FSA. Those improvement orders were mainly focused on setting …

Disclaimer: in the hours since publication, Monex Group has issued a statement in response to media coverage of the alleged decision regarding Coincheck’s license approval. This article has been updated to include this response. Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) has purportedly approved a cryptocurrency exchange operating license for hacked crypto exchange Coincheck. English-language Asia-focused news publication Nikkei Asian Review reported the news Dec. 19. According to Nikkei, an announcement from the financial watchog is reportedly due to be released by the end of the year. Notably, in private correspondence with Cointelegraph Japan, Coincheck’s PR emphasized “it is not [the exchange’s] …

The Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA) is considering placing cryptocurrencies into a new legal category called “crypto-assets,” Cointelegraph Japan reported Dec. 15. By classifying cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) this way, the government reportedly “hopes that traders will no longer purchase them believing that they are legal tender recognized by the government.” On Friday, an FSA advisory panel filed a report requesting the term “virtual currency” be changed since, according to the panel, it could confuse people into believing the asset is legal tender in the country. As Cointelegraph reported recently, Japan’s FSA is set to introduce new initial coin offering …

Japan’s financial regulator is set to introduce new Initial Coin Offering (ICO) regulations to protect investors from fraud, local news outlet Jiji Press reported Dec. 1. According to “informed” sources cited by Jiji, business operators conducting ICOs will be required to register with Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA). The agency is reportedly planning to submit bills revising financial instruments, exchanges and payment services laws to the ordinary parliamentary session that starts in January. This action has been undertaken “in view of a number of possibly fraudulent ICO cases abroad” as a way “to limit individuals' investment in ICOs for better …

The number of enquiries about cryptocurrencies from Japanese investors has declined in the third quarter of 2018, according to a report published by Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) Friday, Nov. 16. The FSA, which oversees the country’s crypto market, published data on quarter enquiries to late September 2018. The watchdog received 1,231 requests, which is a slight decrease in comparison to 1,602 in Q2. As per the regulator, 34 percent of those enquiries (418 cases) were related to general questions, and 32 percent (398 cases) were about the results of individual transactions and contracts. The other 34 percent of cases …

This week, yet another major hack occurred in Japan: Hackers stole around $59 million worth of cryptocurrencies from local cryptocurrency exchange Zaif. It took several days for the platform to notice the breach, and now it has fallen under the tight scrutiny of the country’s regulator. The company that owns Zaif has already agreed to sell its majority stake to cover the losses. Zaif was already under the FSA’s scope Zaif was founded in May 2014 by Osaka-based startup Tech Bureau Inc. It is one of the 16 crypto exchanges in Japan which have received approval from Financial Services Agency …