Japan is to tighten some of its screening procedures for government approval for cryptocurrency exchanges.
A Japan Times report suggests that the Financial Services Agency (FSA) has “tightened its registration screening for cryptocurrency exchanges to see whether they are properly conducting risk management”, although the report hasn’t been confirmed by Japanese authorities.
According to sources, these new measures would essentially delve deeper into the nature of the applications than is currently the norm for applicants when making a case to operate in Japan, with a four-fold increase in questions. It is reported that possible links to antisocial groups will now be investigated and companies decisions making processes. The unnamed source stated on the weekend that the FSA had:
“…increased the number of questions asked when screening applications to about 400 items, up fourfold…Previously, the questions only covered such items as an applicant’s financial status and measures to ensure system safety.”
The FSA is cleaning up its act somewhat after recent hackings, notably following Tokyo-based Coincheck’s exchange was compromised to the tune of roughly USD 530 million. It followed this up by a series of onsite inspections recently which revealed that best practice was not being observed by many exchanges.
A key finding of the report following the last FSA inspections was that exchange’s internal control systems were showing signs of lagging behind, given the rapid increase of transactions; an increase partly accredited to investors climbing back into the market after 2017 recent falls. The Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association (JVCEA) had called for trading limits in line with FSA suggestions earlier this year.
As part of the newly heightened examinations of exchange applications by the FSA, the agency earmarked six fully-licensed crypto exchanges which have been served with business improvement orders. Also, 13 exchanges who are operating whilst waiting for approval have withdrawn their applications, indicating just how rigidly they expected to be examined under the new application guidelines. Only three exchanges are left operating awaiting vetting by the FSA: Coincheck, Lastroots, and Everybody’s Bitcoin.
Due to Japan’s vibrant cryptocurrency space, there are estimated to be about 160 exchanges hoping to enter the Japanese market. The JVCEA recommended its own “appropriate regulations” for growth by proposing new rules that would affect the way exchanges operate, placing privacy coin listings and insider trading under the regulatory microscope.
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