110 cryptocurrency exchanges are at various stages of registration

According to the Financial Services Authority of Japan (FSA), the country’s main financial regulator, currently 110 cryptocurrency exchanges are at “different stages of registration”.

Licensing of cryptocurrency exchanges was introduced in 2017. Then, 16 companies operating in cryptocurrency areas received approval from the regulator. In January 2018, after the Coinchek exchange was hacked, the Agency tightened the rules for the operation of cryptocurrency companies and did not issue any licenses for the year.

This year, the regulator issued licenses to three sites already – Coinchek, Rakuten Wallet and Decurret. BitBox cryptocurrency exchange, owned by the operator of the country’s largest messenger LINE, also expects to receive a FSA license to work with residents of the United States and Japan.

Companies approved by the FSA must comply with the Law on Payment Services and the Law on Financial Instruments and Exchanges, despite the fact that some amendments adopted in March of this year will be effective only in April 2020.

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New requirements oblige all market participants to comply with strict rules regarding data security, funds storage, margin trading, and attracting new customers. In addition, licensing fees have been raised.

At the end of last year, the Agency announced that 190 companies showed interest in registering as operators of cryptocurrency exchanges. True, this number also included those who simply consulted with the agency.

Recall that recently the G20 Summit was held in Japan, at which representatives of the participating countries supported the recommendations issued recently by the FATF on regulating the cryptocurrency industry.