110 Crypto Exchanges Vying to Get Licensed in Japan
By Jamie Green – Cryptocurrency Investor
It would appear Japan’s hot streak for crypto exchanges is returning after top Japanese financial watchdog, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), told Bitcoin.com that over 110 exchanges are in several “stages of registration” to buy and sell cryptocurrency.
Strangely, in 2018, the FSA refused approval for any crypto exchanges to operate in the country. But in the year before that, the agency approved over 16 new exchanges. Only already established exchanges could offer services to buy and sell Bitcoin.
What’s more, the FSA in 2018, started to issue “improvement orders”, to be informed beforehand about any likely case of fraud or KYC non-compliance and began doing on-site inspections. Exchanges would need to co-operate with the FSA to continue their operation to sell and buy Bitcoin.
A bitFlyer representative said, “bitFlyer, amongst other top exchanges in Japan, received the improvement order based on a changing regulatory climate.” The company had prevented domestic customer accounts from being opened for those who were attempting to join the platform while meeting the FSA’s strict identification requirements.
Now it looks like things are changing once more.
bitFlyer announced on July 3rd that it would continue to process new accounts. Other than that, Bitcoin.com says that the FSA granted approval to three more crypto exchanges in the first six months of 2019, increasing the total number of operators to 19. Japan has always been a hub for buying Bitcoin and crypto and is now positioning themselves to progress with the industry.
Although details about most of the new crypto exchange applications are slim, Bitcoin.com writes that many of them are in the preliminary stage at the moment.
Once they’re approved, the exchanges will need to adhere to the recently introduced obligations in the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act as well as the Payments Services Act taking effect on April 2020 to sell and buy cryptocurrency in the country.
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Dear valued BC Bitcoin UK Clients,
I hope this email finds you well. We are reaching out to inform you of some significant changes to our services that directly impact our operations within the United Kingdom. Regrettably, due to the recent regulatory developments introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the implementation of the new Financial Promotions Regime, BC Bitcoin is no longer able to offer our services to clients based in the UK. This very difficult decision is in compliance with the regulatory framework and ensures that we uphold the highest standards of transparency and legality. You can view the FCA publication here: https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/finalised-guidance/fg23-3.pdf As a result, we would like to inform you of the following changes and provide guidance on how to manage your assets with BC Bitcoin:
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