The high level of concern that the Japanese government through its Financial Services Agency had caused to the crypto market and not just the crypto users, investors and exchanges in Japan could not be forgotten soon around old-time crypto users after the Coincheck hack of Jan 2018, which led to a loss of more than $500 million worth of NEM token.
However, there are speculations that Japan’s Financial Services Agency(FSA) could soon approve a digital asset exchange-traded funds(ETFs). Irrespective of the truthfulness of the news, there is a need for the Japanese authority to consider this fast. Some of the reasons are:
- To actually prove that they are not an anti-crypto country: many users in the crypto community considered the decision taking by the Japanese authority on Coincheck that was not just a top crypto exchange for trading, storing and exchange of crypto in Japan but also in the world as a hard one. This belief was necessitated by the months it took for the exchange to re-enter the cryptocurrency market with some digital assets that it was trading on before still not active in their platform.
- To maintain their lead in the crypto space: it is worthy of note that the Japanese crypto community is ahead of those in South Korea and US. However, the approval of a bitcoin or digital asset ETF would ensure that they maintain the edge since most of the investors in the market drive to the direction of better policy and regulation that will help them to maximize profit.
- To foster a template for other countries: Japan is one of the top countries that easily adapt to technology changes as seen in their development in science, automobile, and mobile phone industry. Some countries are looking up to them to form a template that will enable them to form their own regulation, which will in turn increase crypto adoption in the world.
A Possibility of a Bitcoin ETF in the US
The US has been strict on Approving a Bitcoin-ETF as they have declined and rejected more than 10 ETFs in 2018 though still awaiting final resolution on the VanEck and SolidX ETFs with its deadline set at February 27, 2019. Should Japan first approve a Crypto Exchange-traded funds (ETF) this might push the SEC to approve the upcoming Bitcoin-ETFs.
