Japanese cryptocurrency exchanges, which are licensed by the Financial Services Agency (FSA), have officially announced a self regulating organization in a bid to restore market confidence.

The initiative was first reported by Reuters in March this year. It followed the major hack on Coincheck earlier this year in which the exchange lost nearly $530 million in NEM tokens.

Local news outlet Asahi Shimbun reported that 16 domestic cryptocurrency exchanges have formed a new self-regulatory organization, called Japanese Cryptocurrency Exchange Association. Participating exchanges include Money Partners, Quoine, bitFlyer, SBI Virtual Currency, GMO Coin, and Bit Argo Exchange Tokyo, among others.

CoinDesk reported that Taizen Okuyama, President and CEO of Money Partners, would be serving as chairman of the newly formed association

"I will make sure that security measures and internal control are in place," Okuyama said (as quoted by CoinDesk). "We want to eliminate customers' concerns and work to restore public confidence in order to develop a healthy market."

The self-regulating organization will work on a comprehensive set of rules aimed at customer protection and internal controls. It will also seek to impose penalties on those who engage in activities that damage the trust of the industry. The group will seek compliance from participating exchanges.