It has been over a year since Japan’s Financial Services Agency last approved a cryptocurrency exchange to legally operate in the country. Coincheck, which was hacked early last year, has become the 17th fully-registered crypto exchange in the country. The exchange has made numerous improvements after it was acquired by Monex Group.
Also read: Indian Supreme Court Moves Crypto Hearing, Community Calls for Positive Regulations
FSA Finally Approves Coincheck
The exchange’s parent company, Monex Group, also issued a press release on Friday with registration details. The announcement reads:
Coincheck Inc … announced today that it has registered with the Kanto Financial Bureau as a cryptocurrency exchange agency in accordance with the Payment Service Act, effective January 11, 2019.
Coincheck originally applied for registration with the FSA in September 2017. While the regulator approved 16 crypto exchanges throughout that year, it continued to evaluate Coincheck. The exchange was classified as a deemed dealer, which means it was allowed to operate while the FSA reviewed its application.
Needed Improvements Made
Furthermore, the company assured investors that it “does not conduct cryptocurrency transactions on its own account,” adding:
Coincheck Inc. does conduct cover transactions with domestic and overseas cryptocurrency exchanges speedily for the positions that resulted from the selling and buying transactions with customers.
The approval of Coincheck comes more than a year after the last cryptocurrency exchange, Bitocean, was approved by the FSA on Dec. 26, 2017. The hack of Coincheck in January prompted the agency to slow down the rate of approvals and began tightening its oversight of crypto exchanges, forcing 13 out of 16 deemed dealers to exit the market. Nonetheless, the FSA told news.Bitcoin.com at the end of last year that more than 190 crypto exchange operators have expressed their intention of market entry.
What do you think of the Japanese regulator finally granting registration to Coincheck? Let us know in the comments section below.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Coincheck.
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The post Japan Approves 17th Cryptocurrency Exchange – Its First in Over a Year appeared first on Bitcoin News .