Japan’s FSA Plans to Propose Crypto as Financial Assets: Report

The Financial Services Agency of Japan is now planning to make a significant change to the country’s cryptocurrency regulation and is working on the amendment of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act to include cryptocurrencies in the insider trading laws. 

This was reported by Nikkei on March 31 as a part of the new global trend in the regulation of digital assets. The FSA may submit the amendment to Japan’s parliament as early as next year.

This proposed change is in line with a general shift of global regulatory agencies to review their stance on digital assets. For instance, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently made a statement that digital asset derivatives are going to be treated as other financial products. 

Similarly, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) came up with new rules that permit banks to transact in crypto without permission as long as they can mitigate risks.

FDIC’s Acting Chairman, Travis Hill, pointed out that this is a new development from what he described as previously more conservative approaches. The agency seeks to establish a less rigid and safer environment for banks to operate in the crypto space.

Also, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) provided guidance on crypto banking for banks to have adequate risk management measures for crypto business and treat crypto business as any other banking business.

These changes indicate that there is an increasing recognition of digital assets and their goal of making the environment for their adoption more secure and less volatile.