Plans by Japan to Modify Crypto Customer Due Diligence Underway

Plans by Japan to Modify Crypto Customer Due Diligence Underway

A revision of relevant laws that would affect forex and crypto platforms is being considered by the government of Japan.

A major plan for the adjustment of business dealings in foreign exchange is being organized by the government in Japan. This will mean the review and modification of already existing laws. The government forwarded a resolution to its legislative members in Mid-October. The amendments have a far-reaching impact because they will also affect crypto trading activities.

It is not yet certain to what extent the government intends to go on the proposed changes but it is clear that groups and individuals suspected of engaging in money laundering acts will have their assets forcefully taken over. This is a menace that Japan has been working to curb for over 12 years and because of the porous nature of the cryptocurrency markets, the government deems it proper to introduce a sort of legislation to arrest such incidences. Moreover, cryptocurrency platforms will be required to upgrade the KYC details of their customers as a way of enhancing transparency and openness.

A revision of relevant laws that would affect forex and crypto platforms is being considered by the government of Japan.

Catalog of Regulations

This is the latest in a series of resolutions that have been ongoing since 2016 when the government enacted the Payment Services Act in May of that year thus becoming the first nation to do so. That act was then enforced the following year thereby granting Bitcoin a currency status. The adjustments continued afterward and by 2018, the government introduced some safety measures over the nearly 500 million dollars hacking of CoinCheck. In 2021, Decentralized Finance (DeFi) came under the new regulations by the authorities and by 2022, the acquisition of stablecoins was restricted to mainly the country’s banking institutions due to the setback with Terra Luna.