What is crypto exchange registration in Japan?
- Author
- CRYPTO PORT Editorial
- Published
- Updated
- Reading time
- 4 min
In short
Running a crypto buying, selling or exchange business in Japan requires registration with the Financial Services Agency. Registered firms appear on a published list and must maintain controls that protect their customers. With an unregistered operator, domestic remedies are largely out of reach when something goes wrong.
Key points
- A domestic exchange business must be registered with the FSA
- The list of registered firms is published by the regulator
- Soliciting Japanese users without registration is unlawful
- Registration is a floor, not a guarantee of safety
Definition
The registration regime under Japan's payment services law for businesses that buy, sell, exchange or hold crypto for others. Financial standing, internal controls and how customer assets are held are all examined.
Buying and selling crypto, exchanging one crypto for another, and holding crypto for customers are all defined as exchange business in Japan, and only registered firms may do them. Offering these services to Japanese users without registration is not permitted.
Review covers financial requirements as well as segregation of customer assets, system security and anti-money-laundering controls. Registered firms then face ongoing reporting and inspection, and administrative orders if problems are found.
You can check whether a provider is registered on the regulator's published list. Because lookalike sites exist, match both the exact legal name and the domain against that list rather than trusting the site's own claim.
Watch out for
- · Registration does not remove the risk of failure or of a hack
- · Sites claim registration they do not have, so verify against the regulator's own list
- · The scope and requirements change with the law, so check current FSA material