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Japan to Classify Digital Assets as Securities Amid Regulatory Shift

Digital Currency

Japan is planning a major regulatory overhaul of its crypto market, intending to move oversight of digital assets from the Payment Services Act to the more rigorous Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA).

This shift would classify cryptocurrencies as financial instruments, subjecting issuers and exchanges to securities-level regulations. The Financial Services Agency (FSA) believes this change is necessary to better protect investors, curb fraudulent schemes, and ensure accurate disclosures in a retail-heavy market.

Under the new framework, assets like ICO tokens with a central issuer would face strict disclosure requirements, while decentralized assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum would put the responsibility on exchanges to provide reliable information and prevent market manipulation.

The proposed reforms would empower courts to penalize and shut down unregistered operators. The move aligns Japan with global efforts to tighten crypto oversight and is supported by the government as a way to balance innovation with strong consumer protection. The FSA is expected to submit the bill to the legislature as early as 2026.

Image Credit: Pixabay

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