Cryptocurrency Rules Significantly Broadened in Japan

On April 3, 2020, the Japanese Financial Services Agency issued amended regulations to carry out changes made last year to the Japanese Payment Services Act and Financial Instruments Exchange Act. The new regulations go into effect on May 1, 2020, and reflect major changes in the regulations. While the changes are extensive and beyond the scope of this blog, they bring cryptocurrency under much tighter regulation, including businesses that provide custody of cryptocurrency assets from which assets have been stolen in recent years. The new regulations are likely to provide other regulators something of a template for additional regulation.