The Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA) has placed cryptocurrencies into a new legal
category called “crypto-assets,” English-language local media The
Japan News reports Dec. 15.
By classifying cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin
(BTC) this way, the government reportedly “hopes
that traders will no longer purchase them believing that they are
legal tender recognized by the government.”
On Friday, an FSA advisory panel filed a report
requesting the term “virtual currency” be changed since, according
to the panel, it could confuse people into believing the asset is
legal tender in the country.
As Cointelegraph reported recently, Japan’s FSA is set to
introduce new initial coin offering (ICO) regulations to protect investors from
fraud. Business operators conducting ICOs will
reportedly be required to register with the FSA.
This month news broke that there has been a significant
wave of reports of suspicious
crypto transactions to the Japanese police. The increase reportedly came after the
implementation of a law in April obliging cryptocurrency exchange
operators to report suspect cryptocurrency transactions to the
police.