- Japan’s finance minister urged traditional exchanges to be the main gateway for blockchain-based assets.
- The Financial Services Agency plans to move crypto oversight from the Payment Services Act to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.
- The government backed a flat 20% tax on crypto gains, aligning crypto with stocks and funds and replacing higher marginal rates.
- Regulators have enforced access limits, asking app stores to remove apps tied to unregistered exchanges and prompting some platforms to exit Japan.
- Authorities are promoting bank-led stablecoin work and frameworks that let regulated institutions play a larger role in crypto markets.
At the Tokyo Stock Exchange New Year opening ceremony, Satsuki Katayama, who holds the finance and financial services portfolios, urged that established exchanges and market infrastructure serve as the primary route for blockchain-based assets in 2026, and she publicly backed traditional securities exchanges. She framed 2026 as Japan’s first year of full-scale digitalization and said regulators will support exchanges in modernizing markets.
The call follows formal regulatory moves. On Dec. 10, 2025, the Financial Services Agency outlined plans to shift crypto oversight from the Payment Services Act to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, bringing issuance and trading under securities-style rules with stronger disclosure and insider trading prohibitions.
Tax policy has moved in the same direction. On Dec. 2, the government and ruling coalition backed a flat 20% tax on crypto profits, aligning treatment with stocks and investment funds and replacing a system that could scale tax rates up to 55%.
Enforcement has already limited access to compliant platforms. Regulators asked Apple and Google on Feb. 7, 2025, to remove apps tied to unregistered exchanges including Bybit, MEXC, and KuCoin, and Bybit said on Dec. 23 it would begin phasing out services for Japanese residents in 2026.
Officials are also encouraging regulated institutions to build market infrastructure, supporting bank-led stablecoin initiatives and exploring frameworks that would let banks and exchanges play larger roles in crypto asset markets. “To ensure citizens benefit from digital and blockchain-based assets, the role of exchanges and market infrastructure will be essential,” Katayama said, pledging support for exchanges in “advancing cutting-edge, accessible, and efficient markets.”
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