Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) is planning to introduce a regulatory mechanism for virtual currencies including bitcoin as early as next year, following the arrest of Mark Karpeles in the infamous Mt Gox scam that exposed the almost non-existing bitcoin regulation, Nikkei Asian Review reported last week.
With the rise in the number of fraud cases revolving around the digital currency, its perception underwent a major change.
“Japan needs an adequate oversight mechanism for virtual currencies, including ways to confirm identities and block money laundering, Financial Services Agency panel members agreed in a meeting Monday”, the report said.
Nikkei said that the meeting also discussed the need for registering exchanges, protecting customer assets as well as country’s position of imposing consumption taxes on trading of bitcoins.
Japan Times reported earlier that Finance Minister Taro Aso said the government would consider new regulations on virtual currencies such as the introduction of a registration or license system for operators of cryptocurrency exchanges. The Finance Ministry, the Financial Services Agency and the National Police Agency are expected to work with other relevant authorities to amend the anti-money laundering law and possibly the law on transaction in financial products, with a view to submitting related bills to the regular Diet session next year.
