Popular crypto exchange Huobi has made the headlines yet again as it has become the first international exchange whose token has been approved by the Financial Services Agency (FSA), the Japanese financial regulator. With strict regulations in place, Huobi Token (HT) is now a regulated crypto asset in one of the world’s biggest crypto hotspots.

Apart from HT, only 25 other digital assets have found its place on the FSA’s whitelist. Huobi Japan, a subsidiary of the Houbi group, will be the initial platform supporting the token starting May 1.

The exchange had received the Kanto Finance Bureau No. 0007 license last year issued by the Japanese Ministry of Finance, allowing it to host six digital assets, 10 trading pairs, as well as a fiat-to-crypto for the Japanese Yen.

Use cases for HT

HT has also been accepted as a payment method for charitable donations by Project Hope, a global non-profit organization. The token is also accepted by popular crypto-friendly hotel booking platform Travala.com as a payment method.

Furthermore, Huobi’s regulator friendly public blockchain designed for banks and financial institutions will also use HT as its native token for the Huobi Chain. The blockchain network is set to go live later this year.

The exchange is also boosting efforts to integrate with third-party partners, including international credit cards, digital bank cards, blue-chip technology companies, and global entrepreneurship centres, to further extend the token’s utility.

Japan narrowing down Crypto regulations

The approval of HT comes at a time when Japanese regulators are set to define crypto within the nation’s economy. Since Japan has no particular laws to regulate crypto assets, the regulators have been amending existing regulations to give these virtual assets a legal status.

The nation had introduced the Payment Services Act (PSA) and Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA) last year, to regulate cryptocurrencies. The regulations were supposed to be enforced in April, but were delayed. The revised versions of these laws are now set to come into play starting May 1.

A report from the law firm Morrison & Foerster LLP states that these new amendments will strengthen investor protection. As per a recent blog from the law firm, crypto custody service providers that are not engaged in the business of selling, purchasing, intermediating the sale and purchasing crypto assets will also be subject to the new PSA regulations.