Cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan will be required to fortify their cold wallet storages, according to a Reuters report.
Citing a source with direct knowledge of the matter told, the report states that Japan’s financial regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), is uneased by the current security levels of some exchanges as it perceives risks of internal thefts that threaten cold wallets.
To this end, the undisclosed source told the outlet that a preferred measure would be to have more than one person be in charge of the cold wallet and be placed on rotational shifts.
As Japan embraces the fintech industry to further economic growth, the watchdog will, therefore, urge cryptocurrency exchanges with security lapses to ensure they adopt the best offline security practices, given that the previous year had seen as much as USD 530 million stolen from a single exchange in Tokyo alone.
In the fall of 2017, Japan began issuing a license to cryptocurrency exchanges under its new regulation, with the second exchange announced in March to debut its services in April. With its steady oversight over the industry, Japan continues to drive interest that balances innovation and investor protection.
Cryptocurrency custody remains a crucial subject in the industry; notably one of the major concerns shared by many regulators as well as investors, which in effect has created a competitive market for custody-related solution platforms. As for crypto exchanges, the situation is direr.
Case in point, Bakkt recently experienced hiccups with its launch as the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) stated that Bakkt’s custody protocol would need to take further steps in protecting the cryptocurrency in order to be compliant the commission’s rules.
On the subject of cold wallets, it appears security breach may not be the only threat to funds stored offline. A recent case of trapped customer funds worth over USD 190 million in a cold wallet of major Canadian cryptocurrency exchange QuadrigaCX after the death of the CEO Gerald Cotton – who was solely in charge of the cold wallet – leaves a bitter experience.
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