Japan Increases Lead – Approves Another Four New Cryptocurrency Exchanges

The Japanese Financial Services Agency has approved four more cryptocurrency exchanges to legally operate in Japan. This is the second round of approvals by the agency; the first was for 11 exchanges in September.

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More Crypto Exchanges Approved by FSA

The Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA) has posted on its website the details of four new cryptocurrency exchanges which the agency approved on December 1. This is the second time the FSA has approved a list of crypto exchanges. The first time was on September 29 when 11 exchanges were awarded registration.

The FSA explained that only the digital currencies handled by the approved 15 exchanges are confirmed to “correspond to the definition under the fund settlement law,” based on information provided by each exchange. The fund settlement law went into effect on April 1. It legalizes bitcoin as a method of payment in Japan and requires cryptocurrency exchanges to register with the FSA.

The four companies approved in this round are recently established exchanges: Tokyo Bitcoin Exchange Co. Ltd, Bit Arg Exchange Tokyo Co. Ltd, FTT Corporation, and Xtheta Corporation.

According to the FSA’s website, three of the four companies above have only been approved to trade bitcoin (BTC). Only Xtheta Corporation has been approved to trade additional cryptocurrencies: ether (ETH), bitcoin cash (BCH), ripple (XRP), litecoin (LTC), ethereum classic (ETC), NEM (XEM), monacoin (MONA), and counterparty tokens (XCP).

More Applications Being Reviewed

The FSA is still reviewing a number of applications. At the end of September, on top of the 11 exchanges approved at the time, Nikkei reported that 17 companies were under “ongoing review.” Twelve companies did not meet the agency’s registration requirements and subsequently closed down their exchange operations.

Among the applications currently being reviewed is one from Japan’s second largest bitcoin exchange, Coincheck. The exchange issued a statement on Friday clarifying that its application to register as a “virtual currency exchange trader” was submitted on September 13 and is still currently “under review.” Nonetheless, Coincheck assured its customers that “we are still able to provide the service as usual.”

Last month, the FSA published a document clarifying its administrative policies including on cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings (ICOs). It outlines how cryptocurrency exchanges will be monitored. This follows the agency’s announcement that it has begun monitoring the eleven exchanges which were approved in September.

Do you think Japan can have too many cryptocurrency exchanges? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Japanese FSA.

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