Japan’s financial regulator, Financial Services Agency (FSA) has released a preliminary report that holds facts about the cryptocurrency trade in the country. It confirmed that over 3.5 million individuals in the country are trading with cryptocurrencies as actual assets. FSA has compiled data from the 17 out of 32 crypto-exchanges operating in Japan and has also stated that at least 100 more firms are waiting on registration formalities to be completed at the FSA.
With nearly 2.8% of its population investing in an emerging asset class, there is a natural curiosity about what has fueled the country’s crypto-frenzy. The research claims that around 84% of the crypto-investors were aged between 20 and 40 years, thus reflecting on the surge of trading activity by millennial-aged investors. Since most of the millennials are comfortable with technological advancements, it is not surprising that digital currencies have taken the crowd by storm. The report that was published with an intent to exemplify the transparency required in the world of crypto-investments reveals that most Japanese traders have invested in BTC, ETH, XRP, BCH, and LTC.
The report from FSA included the trading volume of Bitcoin in Japan.While it is interesting to see that the volume swelled from $22 million in March 2014 to over $97 billion by March 2017, what captures more attention is the growth that the digital currency has seen in Japan in terms of margins, credit and futures. When accounted for all the above stated measures, the growth seen is from $2 million in 2014 to $543 billion in 2017. Since cryptocurrencies have started marking their presence in the retail, hospitality and airline industry among others, this has further propelled the usage of digital currencies like Bitcoin in the daily lives.
This ever increasing interest in the crypto-trading industry has pushed Japan to devise strict ICO regulations. While the likes of China and South Korea chose to ban ICOs, Japan announced that a government-backed research group would grant a regulatory approval to ICOs with successful applications.
Cryptocurrency regulations turn global