Five cryptocurrency exchange operators including Coincheck have signed up to self-regulate under Japanese law. They have joined the self-regulatory association which, until now, has only accepted regulated crypto exchanges as members. According to Japan’s top regulator, companies seeking to register their exchanges in the country must follow to self-regulatory rules.
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More Exchanges to Self-Regulate
The Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association (Jvcea), currently the only self-regulatory organization (SRO) in the Japanese cryptocurrency space, announced on Friday that five cryptocurrency exchange operators have joined the association.
The Jvcea was approved as an SRO in October by Japan’s top financial regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA). Prior to Friday, the only members of this association were the 16 regulated cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan.
Out of the five new members, three are deemed dealers which are companies that have been allowed to operate crypto exchanges in Japan while their applications are being reviewed by the FSA. They are Coincheck Ltd., Everybody’s Bitcoin Co. Ltd., and Lastroots Inc. Coincheck is a subsidiary of Monex Group; the popular exchange was acquired after it was hacked in January. Everybody’s Bitcoin has been acquired by Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten.
The other two new members — Lvc Corp. and Coinage Corp. — are not yet registered with the FSA and are currently not allowed to operate crypto exchanges in Japan.
Lvc Corp. oversees cryptocurrency and blockchain business units of Line Corp., the operator of Japan’s most popular chat app, Line. In July last year, the company launched a crypto exchange called Bitbox globally except in the U.S. and Japan due to regulations; the exchange is not yet registered with the FSA. Coinage Corp.,
