The recent appointment of Toshihide Endo may mean that the regulator’s stance on crypto regulations is softening.
According to an August 22 report in Reuters, the new chief of Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) sees no need for excessive regulations governing the use of cryptocurrency.
Toshihide Endo, who was appointed chief of Japan’s FSA in July, told Reuters that the FSA is looking for ways to protect consumers from scams while still promoting innovation in Japan’s tech industry.
Although Japan’s FSA did tighten cryptocurrency regulation after enormous sums of digital currency were stolen from crypto exchange Coincheck in January, Endo says the government entity has no plans to excessively regulate Japan’s cryptocurrency industry. Instead, the FSA is interested in implementing regulations that will help the industry grow.
In July, local news outlet Sankei Shimbun reported that the FSA was considering shifting the regulation of cryptocurrency to fall not under the Payment Services Act but the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA), which would increase the security of customer transactions and require securities companies to manage corporate and customer assets separately.
Although these claims were refuted by Japanese news outlet Cryptowatch three days later, the confusion highlights the uncertainty surrounding how to regulate the use of cryptocurrency in Japan after hacks against Coincheck and MtGox. With the appointment of Endo as head of the FSA, Japan is perhaps on a new path.
Nathan Graham is a full-time staff writer for ETHNews. He lives in Sparks, Nevada, with his wife, Beth, and dog, Kyia. Nathan has a passion for new technology, grant writing, and short stories. He spends his time rafting the American River, playing video games, and writing.
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