Japanese crypto industry participants hope for regulatory easing and compete for market share

ChainCatcher news, according to Reuters, from launching new products and services in Japan to promoting leveraged trading, Japanese crypto exchanges and financial companies are seizing the opportunity of surging investor enthusiasm for digital assets amid expectations of regulatory easing, aiming to profit from it. By the end of July, the scale of Japanese investors' crypto assets hit a record 5 trillion yen, up 25% from just a month earlier. During the same period, bitcoin, the main holding, rose only 15% in yen terms. By the end of September, the holding scale slightly decreased to 4.9 trillion yen.

Now, industry participants are preparing for accelerated growth. The regulatory changes under discussion may attract more retail investors by reducing taxes on crypto gains and relaxing restrictions on lending and asset securitization transactions. Satoshi Hasuo, a representative director of an exchange, pointed out that the number of securities accounts is about three times that of crypto accounts, indicating huge market potential and the need to consider how to attract these investors. CJ Fong from market maker GSR also stated that there has been increased communication with Japanese exchanges and financial companies this year, aiming to provide greater liquidity for digital assets. The CEO of an exchange believes that the Trump administration prompted Japan to adopt a more favorable stance towards crypto. Currently, the Financial Services Agency of Japan is refining regulatory amendment proposals, which are expected to be implemented in 2026 or 2027 after parliamentary discussion and approval.