Japan Changes “Virtual Currency” to “Cryptographic Assets” For Legal Purposes

By Kapil Gauhar

The Japanese government has plans to make amendments to 2 acts – the Financial Instruments & Exchange Act and the Fund Settlement Act – in order to accommodate digital currencies into the legal system.

The move further adds to the regulation progress that the nation is making for cryptocurrencies. The development was first reported by Nikkei Shimbun on March 15 and is anticipated to change the description of virtual currencies into cryptographic assets, primarily for legal purposes.

However, this won’t affect the companies which have already registered themselves with the term “Virtual Currency.” According to the reports, the amendment will not require any person to name them as such.

The prime revisions brought to the table by the amendment incorporate the aforementioned name change, the solicitation that encourages speculation and the prohibition of advertising, maintaining a data disclosure system, and the prohibition of unfair trade like popularization of the reputation as well as price manipulation.

These particular acts were formed keeping in view the protection of consumers. The Japanese government, similar to the authorities of many other countries, has recognized the need for stronger regulation for protecting inexperienced investors against the fraudulent ICOs.

The Financial Instruments and Exchange Acts is about protecting consumers from insider trading as well as market manipulation, that cryptocurrency market is not completely innocent. Such bills, which bring revisions to the existing acts that have hitherto centred-around traditional financial assets, aim to bracket digital assets under these laws as well.

Japan is well-known for being keen on virtual currencies and is currently considering to hand licenses to as many as 7 exchanges soon in the coming months.

Also, there have been speculations about the approval of a Bitcoin ETF, however, the rumours were shot down soon after. Still, Japan is very crypto-friendly, and going so far as to permit self-regulation.