The Expansion of Bitcoin and its global adoption
Cryptocurrencies have been having some major impacts in Japan, as the country is focused on new legislations. The country is paving the way for a more supportive and secure regulatory framework in order to ensure that consumers are well protected form hacks on crypto exchanges.
This framework was brought forward by the Financial Service Agency of Japan (FSA), which was triggered by a response to several high-profile attacks back in early 2018. These attacks allegedly resulted in an collective loss for the company of approximately $540 Million.
In a draft that was made from the company that highlighted that there were several key issues, of which included notes like requiring exchanges to hold assets. These assets are said to be equal to or more than the amount, which is equivalent to the currency and repayment funds. The mandate will ensure the consumer will receive any compensation for lost funds from an attack that may take place.
The mandate proposition will also aim to add restrictions to deemed dealers, or companies that are awaiting regulatory approval for their products or services. The rules would entail that companies that are stuck in the regulatory limbo, to not be able to advertise or do solicitations with the purpose of acquiring any new customers. This new draft will also be preventing companies from listing any new coins. Currently, there are tree Blockchain businesses that will be affected by this regulation: Lastroots, Everybody’s Bitcoin and Coincheck.
The FSA is also stressing the importance of working with other companies who are within the industry to try and ‘self-regulate’. This has encouraged the Japanese crypto firm to join the Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association (JVCEA) in order to work collectively on handling the industry from inside. There are a lot of Japanese lawmakers who are pushing for even more supportive regulations , with the inclusion of tax and inter-crypto trade exemptions.
The Yen in combination with the USD trading volume in cryptocurrencies
The country has mostly been focused on regulations over the past couple months, as the trading volumes in Japanese Yen have been quietly climbing. The Yen is now currently accounting for over 47% of the total bitcoin market, leaving the US dollar behind with approximately 44% in market share.
According to Michael Ou, the CEO of CoolBitX, Japan seems to be living months or years ahead of the rest of the world. He explains that:
“While news of government intervention makes headlines, private companies in Japan are also working hard to improve the crypto market. There are more than a dozen Japanese cryptocurrency exchanges, with a growing number of Japanese businesses accepting cryptocurrency payment . And with many startups in Japan’s scene , it is fair to guess that continued investment will inspire continued innovation.”
With the Trade wars and the stock market crash that have been prevalent for the past few months, the US dollar has lost a lot of its stability against the Yen. This was because the move was directed by a strong Japanese economy with huge inflows of investors giving support to the currency as a safe haven. According to Stephen Innes, Head of Asia Trading:
“The global equity market rout has been driving sentiment in the currency markets. I don’t see any significant rebound in the risk sentiments yet.”
What do you think of the Japanese Yen and cryptocurrency trading? please feel free to leave a comment down below.
