Japan has officially approved a new amendment bill on Friday, which will allow lawmakers to amend two laws related to crypto assets in the country. The bill was prepared by Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) and has now been passed by both the houses of the Japanese Parliament.
The bill was introduced in parliament in the March session earlier this year. The House of Representatives, the lower house of the Parliament, and the House of Councillors, the upper house of the Parliament, approved the bill on Monday, allowing authorities to make the amendments.
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The approved bill seeks to amend two laws in the country pertaining to crypto assets. These amendments will make regulations even stricter, to increase protection of general investors, tighten regulations on crypto derivatives trading, minimize negative risks like exchange hacks, and formulate a transparent regulatory framework for the new assets class. The bill is expected to come into force from April 2020.
Crypto industries have been at a cold war with regulatory authorities worldwide, losing the battle in most places. Regulators in all major markets, including China, the US, the UK, India, and now Japan, are tightening policies, which has even made life difficult for a start-up, for who already fights for survival due to intense competition.
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However, stricter regulations were expected for quite some time now, mainly due to the recurring incidents of crypto frauds and cyber attacks on exchanges and other digital asset platforms. In 2018 alone Japanese crypto investors lost over $530 million due to hacks and cyber attacks on exchanges. Recently, Binance Exchange, which was considered the most secure crypto trading platform, was hacked resulting in a loss of over $40 million.
