Japan’s top financial regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), has been hard at work redefining the cryptocurrency landscape in the land of the rising sun. The chief regulator has been in crisis mode ever since Coincheck was hacked for nearly $500 million in cryptocurrency, and has issued new rules and guidelines for exchanges to adhere to in hopes of creating a safer environment for investors.

Part of the FSA’s strategy to provide stricter guidelines around important issues like security, transparency, and anti-money-laundering standards, is to issue cryptocurrency exchanges a license to operate in the region under their supervision. However, the FSA has been blindsided by the demand of exchanges seeking to get a piece of the Japanese financial market pie.

The FSA’s Vice Commissioner for Policy Coordination, Kiyotaka Sasaki, said that the current staff features around 30 employees that have a hand in the license review process. With over 160 different entities awaiting review, Sasaki stressed that additional help was needed to address the firm’s “biggest problem.”

As a result, the FSA announced the expansion of their team by 12 new employees to better meet the growing demand of cryptocurrency exchanges seeking to receive their license from the FSA to operate in the country.

The FSA also released a document describing steps they have taken in recent months to whip the country’s exchanges into shape. Of the 160 firms currently awaiting review, the FSA has been able to review a mere 10% of cases. 12 of the 16 cases reviewed withdrew their application at the FSA’s request, and one was rejected for undisclosed reasons. Three remain awaiting a decision, one of which was the aforementioned Coincheck that set off the chain of events that prompted the FSA to tighten its grip on the Japanese crypto asset market.