Japan needs to further relax rules for its crypto industry, said lawmaker of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party and head of its Web 3.0 project team Masaaki Taira, in an interview with Bloomberg.
See related article: Japan eases token vetting process to expand crypto offerings: report
Fast facts
- Last month it was reported that Japan’s Virtual and Crypto assets Exchange Association, the self-regulatory body that oversees local crypto exchanges, is planning to ease the lengthy screening process for crypto token listings on exchanges.
- “This is still not enough,” said Taira, who is seen as the brains behind the country’s crypto policy. “I don’t think we can stop here.”
- In April, Taira released a white paper on utilizing non-fungible tokens (NFT) and Web 3.0 technologies as a catalyst for growth. “The arrival of the Web 3.0 era is a great opportunity for Japan. But if we continue as we are now, we will surely miss the boat,” said the white paper.
- Taira is also recognized for persuading Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to include Web 3.0 growth as part of Japan’s annual policy guidelines, according to Bloomberg.
- Japan stepped up regulation of the country’s crypto industry, by requiring review and registration of crypto trading platforms by the Financial Services Agency (FSA) and imposing a maximum tax of 55% on crypto gains.
- Singapore’s monetary authority announced last week its aspirations to become a crypto hub focused on asset tokenization, while Hong Kong’s Finance Secretary Paul Chan said at the recent FinTech Week 2022 that Hong Kong will prioritise digital transformation of its financial sector.
See related article: Japan’s PM announces NFT and metaverse expansion