Japan’s Virtual and Crypto assets Exchange Association (JVCEA), the self-regulatory body that oversees local crypto exchanges, will allow platforms to list cryptocurrencies without an existing lengthy screening process, according to Bloomberg.

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Fast facts

  • The easing is expected to take place as early as December, at which point exchanges will be able to list crypto tokens without a strict review process if the coins have previously been traded in the country. In the case where a crypto token is new to the Japanese market, it is still subject to examination, Bloomberg reported, citing a document distributed to members of the association.
  • In the internal document, JVCEA vice chairman Genki Oda reportedly said the governing body could dispose of the screening process entirely by March 2024.
  • This may help lower the entry bar for smaller crypto businesses, said the Bloomberg report.
  • Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who assumed his position in September 2021, has been a supporter of digital finance and Web3 adoption, recently announcing further investments in growing the non-fungible token (NFT) and the metaverse industry, and has included crypto in his plans to reinvigorate the economy, dubbed the “new capitalism.” 
  • In addition, the country’s financial regulator and economy ministry is reportedly considering the loosening of taxation on crypto gains in its upcoming 2023 tax reform.

See related article: Japan’s PM announces NFT and metaverse expansion