Japan’s cryptocurrency exchanges should be regulated more like banks as they hold investors’ assets while offering trading platforms, says Oki Matsumoto, CEO of Monex, which acquired Japan’s cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck in a $33.6 million deal.
“Japan’s exchanges do both matching and custodial services - they’re close to a bank,” Matsumoto told Reuters in an interview.
“To someone in the financial industry like myself, it’s common sense that regulations will get stricter,” he said.
Monex shares have soared 66 percent since the brokerage said it was looking at buying Coincheck, touching their highest in a decade.
Japan is a popular cryptocurrency hub with 32 crypto exchanges operating in the country. Yen-based trades accounted for over half of worldwide Bitcoin trades over the past 24 hours, according to data from cryptocompare.com.
As of March, 3.5 million Japanese trade digital money, regulatory data show, with a majority in the 20-40 year old age bracket coveted by financial firms as the country’s population shrinks and ages.
While existing rules were introduced last year to ensure that customers’ and company assets remain separate, it seems that the practice hasn’t been defined clearly, Reuters stated.
By Jade Olafson