Positive news of more cryptocurrency adoption and trading are now coming from Japan. It has been recorded that 3.5 Million crypto traders are becoming more active in Japan according to recent data from Japan’s Financial Services Authority.
In a survey conducted among 17 Japanese cryptocurrency exchanges, it has been identified that the most traded cryptocurrencies in Japan are ETH, BTC, LTC, BCH and XRP. The ages of crypto traders are mostly 20 to 40 years old, and 34% of traders are around 30 years old. The annual trading in Bitcoin has increased from $22 million in 2014 to $ 97 billion in 2017, with the trading of Bitcoin as a hidden asset similar to futures rising even higher from $2 million to $543 billion at the same time.
ICO Regulations
The booming trading industry maybe the reason why Japan is taking a good approach to ICO regulation, while China and South Korea chose to ban ICOs pending further investigation into the issue. In an announcement made by Japan this month, a government-backed research group is working on regulatory guidelines that will give regulatory approval to ICOs whose application is successful.
The guidelines will include the identities of investors in order to prevent money laundering, which is the major-concern of many government authorities surrounding ICOs. It will also cover improved cybersecurity measures to prevent insider trading and fraud. Legalizing ICOs in Japan can be a model to other countries to reach success, which will be good for the entire cryptomarket as a whole.
NEM Hack
Earlier this year, the Japanese exchange Coincheck was hacked and $550 million worth of NEM tokens were stolen, among which majority of the reported issues have already been laundered. Coincheck has since been sold for $34 million to Monex.
Because of the huge amounts of money changing hands, the ICO space is vulnerable to fraud and exploitation. Chat service Telegram discovered a company legally registered by scammers under the name of the new Telegram venture, and even raised over $1.7 billion in the largest ever ICO.
Further Blockchain Developments
Japan’s efforts may be the answer to legally incorporating ICO fundraising to blockchain, fintech, and traditional finance markets in a way that it protects investors and will improve further blockchain developments.
Japan is now the world’s largest Bitcoin trading market, and the government seems to be having a hard time on exploring a way of keeping its success in a more organized process.
Hopefully, Japan being the world’s leader in technological innovations, we can see further improvements in the blockchain, which will consequently boost the cryptomarket as a whole.
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