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Citing “informed sources,” Japanese press outlet JIJI Press reports that the Japanese Financial Services Agency is soon to regulate Initial Coin Offerings. The regulation will involve investment limits “for better protecting them.”
Similar to how securities tokens are required to register with the American SEC in the United States, companies which intend to issue virtual currencies in exchange for investments will be required to register with the FSA.
The FSA does not operate in precisely the same manner as the SEC, which has a wide purview emboldened by several post-Depression-era pieces of legislation. The FSA must submit bills to the Japanese parliament which modify actual Japanese financial law in order to enforce the regulations it has in mind, presenting an opportunity for crypto companies on the island nation to potentially lobby regulations that they deem appropriate, or even kill the move altogether.
It seems the proposed laws and regulations would not only impact ICOs wanting to operate in Japan, but would limit Japanese citizens in their investment into ICOs generally.
The Global Picture on Regulation
In the US, Congressman Warren Davidson has repeatedly expressed interest in barring the SEC from having any authority over ICOs and blockchain in general.
In France, taxation in regards to cryptocurrency has recently become more friendly, though perhaps not competitive, and the French government is actively working to make the country a hub of ICOs, even intending to issue “ICO visas” which would give companies and their officers a degree of legal protection if they decide to operate in France.
In China, ICOs have generally been regulated out of existence, although it is legal to possess cryptocurrency. Interestingly, many Chinese ICOs fled to Japan, where they will now have to abide by regulations as early as the first quarter of next year.
UK lawmakers recently expressed interest in creating a realistic regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and ICOs.
In Rwanda, the government is fully embracing blockchain technology to manage its land titles system.
There remain dozens of countries and jurisdictions where there is little or no regulation at all in regards to cryptocurrency or ICOs, meaning that while cryptonaughts can operate freely, they run the risk of acting illegally in a retroactive manner at a later time.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
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