(BlockBar) A new cryptocurrency bill is officially passed in Japan’s House of Representatives. The bill was accepted by the House of Councillors. To be noted, the bill seeks to amend two key laws that apply to crypto assets. One is the Act on Fund Settlement and the Financial Instruments and the second is the Exchange Act. At a briefing to reporters, the FSA revealed that the bill is expected to be enacted and finalized in the Diet by June 2020.
It is worth considering that the revised bill passed by the House of Representatives was accompanied by a resolution of 15 requests that require the government to clarify regulatory targets, consider appropriate taxation methods, implement appropriate regulations in line with the international standards, deploy appropriate personnel, etc.
Among the items the House of Representatives also asked the FSA to consider is to “Establish an effective inspection and supervision system from the viewpoint of user protection, etc. based on the current situation of crypto assets and [initial coin offering] ICO transactions in recent years.”
In addition to making efforts to fully cooperate with self-regulatory organizations, one of the 15 items requests the FSA to: “Review the transfer of crypto assets and the right to transfer electronic records, taxation of income tax, etc. on income related to transactions using crypto assets, and take necessary measures based on the results.”
Other that this, the FSA was asked to “Take care not to unduly limit … the development and application of these technologies” when developing and deploying regulations including carrying out inspections and imposing measures. According to the resolution details crypto assets and their underlying technologies “may contribute to the advancement of Japan’s industry”.
Policies regarding ICOs were also discussed in the bill, particularly the need for the government to formulate guidelines and take appropriate measures while considering international discussions. But given the diversity of ICO participants and types of issues, the agency was asked to avoid “excessive regulation, and respond appropriately as necessary.”
The FSA emphasized that all approved crypto exchanges have to declare what cryptocurrencies they will handle at the time of their application.
