Japan Warns Four Crypto Exchanges for Unregistered Operations

• Bybit receives the warning for the second time since June 2021.
• Japan is expected to declare its strict crypto policies at the G7 summit in May 2023.

Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) has warned and classified four cryptocurrency exchanges – Bybit, MEXC Global, Bitforex, and Bitget – as “unregistered crypto asset exchange business operators.” The regulator confirmed that the listed crypto exchanges violated the “Fund Settlement Act” and conducted their operations without registration “at the time of issuing the warning letter.” 

It is the second time Japan issued a regulatory warning to Bybit, the fourth-largest crypto exchange by volume. The exchange received the first notice for non-compliance, previously in May 2021. 

Notably, other nations pinned this Singapore-based crypto exchange on their regulatory radar as well. In March 2021, the UK regulator, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), imposed a regulatory ban on Bybit’s services. Last year in September, Brazil banned Bybit from offering its crypto derivatives services in the nation. 

Likewise, FSA also warned the Seychelles-based Bitforex previously in June 2020. The largest crypto exchange Binance was also once placed on this FSA’s list. By the acquisition of Japan’s native SEBC exchange, Binance won authorization to function in the Asian country.

Japan’s Crypto Regulatory Stance

Japan positioned itself as one of the early nations that actively adopted crypto regulations to protect its citizens. The nation embraced and synced the crypto industry to its financial markets with caution. It is important to note that Japan legally denotes cryptocurrencies as “crypto assets” rather than “virtual currency” after an iteration of its Payment Services Act in 2020. 

This Asian country does host a strict crypto regulatory framework but it is not as stringent as China or US. In the upcoming G7 summit in May 2023, Japan is primed to prominently declare new crypto policies. It urges other global nations for clearer crypto regulations in the future.

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