Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) has proposed stricter rules for the crypto industry.
In a report released Tuesday, the FSA suggested bringing cryptocurrencies under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA) instead of the current Payment Services Act. The move would align crypto oversight with securities laws and provide stronger investor protections.
The regulator explained that many problems seen in crypto investments mirror those covered by the FIEA, making it reasonable to apply similar rules and enforcement.
According to the report, key issues in the sector include vague or misleading white papers, false disclosures, unregistered businesses, scams, limited investor risk tolerance, and security weaknesses within exchanges.
“it may be appropriate to address the crypto assets using the mechanisms and enforcement of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.”
FSA
The report is not legally binding. It was drafted by the FSA secretariat as an internal briefing to present policy ideas to the Financial System Council, an advisory body to Japan’s financial minister. The government will ultimately decide whether to adopt new rules. The document underlined crypto’s growing role in Japan’s economy, noting that more than 12 million accounts have been opened at domestic exchanges, with user deposits exceeding 5 trillion yen ($33.7 billion) — nearly one account for every 10 people.
Japan hosted the WebX 2025 conference that brought together global leaders in blockchain and digital finance. The event, one of Asia’s largest gatherings for the crypto industry, featured a panel discussion moderated by Jake Stolarski of Neurochain with speakers from Bit2Me, Blockvalue, and Ripple, and was covered by CoinMedium as a media partner.
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