Japan’s financial regulators are calling for stricter regulations for the cryptocurrency sector and for it to be treated the same as traditional banking.
According to Mamoru Yanase, Deputy Director-General of the Financial Services Agency’s Strategy Development and Management Bureau, cryptocurrency needs to be controlled and regulated similarly to traditional institutions.
This comes after the collapse of FTX in November, which caused concern within the industry and led to calls for regulatory action.
Yanase acknowledged that the problem was not with the technology itself, but with “loose governance, lax internal controls, and the absence of regulation and supervision.”
He urged regulators in the US and Europe to enforce the same rules for crypto exchanges as they do for banks and brokerages, and to demand consumer protection measures, money laundering prevention, strong governance, internal controls, auditing and disclosure for crypto brokerages.
Yanase also confirmed that the Japanese subsidiary of FTX is expected to resume withdrawals in February and that clients’ assets have been properly segregated.
