[2017-10-05] Japan On Track to Become Bitcoin Market Leader

[Terraformer]

After China and Korea banned ICOs experts believe that Japan will become the leader of Bitcoin markets.

Tough Month For Bitcoin

September has been a very tough month for the decentralized cryptocurrency. Firstly, Chinese regulators imposed a strict ban on all Initial Coin Offerings and ordered several cryptocurrency exchanges to shut down their operations. The regulations by the Chinese authorities caused a lot of turmoil in the cryptocurrency markets worldwide.

Shortly after Chinese authorities imposed regulations, the South Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC) issued a ban on all Initial Coin Offerings in South Korea. Following the ban of the FSC, South Koreas top exchange, Bithumb, dropped from the first place to the 3rd of top cryptocurrency exchanges worldwide. The news from China and South Korea caused a sharp price drop of 5% for Bitcoin. Currently, the Bitcoin price has stabilized in the $4,300 area.

Japan To Take Over Bitcoin Trading

In the last couple of years, Japan has received a lot of attention thanks to the famous Mt. Gox hack that took place in 2014. In April 2017, the Japanese government officially recognized Bitcoin as a legal tender, effectively opening the doors for a lot of Bitcoin businesses. Now experts believe that Japanese exchanges will be able to fill the void that was caused by the uncertainty in the Chinese and South Korean market.

A very recent article by The Wall Street Journal reported that the Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA) has granted licenses to 11 companies in order to legally operate as cryptocurrency exchanges. The article also mentioned following:

    "The rules require exchanges to maintain minimum capital reserve requirements, segregate customer accounts, and employ anti-money-laundering and know-your-customer practices,"

Until now, the Japanese government allowed cryptocurrency exchanges to operate without licenses. But with the new regulation framework exchanges will be required to have a license. Experts believe that licenses will allow more companies to operate their cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan, and thus drive more volume in the Japanese cryptocurrency market.

http://bitcoinist.com/japan-track-become-bitcoin-market-leader/

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[Kemarit]

Japan has truly leading this revolution. There is no doubt that they are really the leader in terms of bitcoin trading since the demise of China from the market. They just didn't lead in the Asia region but in the world. As evident of their trading volumes which is half of the total market. And are capable to fill the void that China has left, not just in trading, but in mining as well. GMO has invested in millions so I speculate that around next year they are ready to mine bitcoin and produce their own mining hardware or gear. They are also setting and laying the framework for bitcoin to be mass adopted. I hope that other nation would look at how Japan implement and regulate bitcoin so that they can adopt and follow them in the future.

[nazzzzz]

Before China and Korea banned ICOs  Japan was market leader   Japanese now leader of any technology so i think after China and Korea banned ICOs Japan can have some control of prices 

[Lucius]

It is nice to see that Japan is doing many good moves regarding BTC and there is no doubt that in next few years we can expect this country become a leader in cryptocurrency world.After 2014 and famous hack and all what happen in China some lessons are learned so we can see that Japan is working on full legalization of exchanges.They seem to have chosen the right moment in time when China and South Korea start to ban ICO and introduce new regulation on their exchanges.

It is difficult for me to imagine any other country which would be more capable to be the leader in this field,the Japanese are very dedicated to their work and I bet we will see some good results from them.

[TravelMug]

It is nice to see that Japan is doing many good moves regarding BTC and there is no doubt that in next few years we can expect this country become a leader in cryptocurrency world.After 2014 and famous hack and all what happen in China some lessons are learned so we can see that Japan is working on full legalization of exchanges.They seem to have chosen the right moment in time when China and South Korea start to ban ICO and introduce new regulation on their exchanges.

It is difficult for me to imagine any other country which would be more capable to be the leader in this field,the Japanese are very dedicated to their work and I bet we will see some good results from them.

Since they have legalized bitcoin, its logical for them to really make the good moves for the sake of bitcoin. They are the first and only country that legalize bitcoin and adopt it. So imagine it there are one super power country that would follow that they have done to the market. And yes, the Japanese are very discipline and dedicated people and I also bet that they will remain the dominant and the leading force for bitcoin to move in the right direction.

We are very lucky that Japan in backing up bitcoin every steps unlike China who had made their U-turn and turn their backs against bitcoin. Let's see about the mining industry. Japan is also eyeing this. If they become successful in the next couple of years, we can totally forgot about China then. And their bitcoin mining monopoly would be broken.

[Granxis]

Japan is very clever, and china's ban management makes japan even stronger. I expect japan to take better steps in the coming days. The chinese government should repeal bans as soon as possible.

[SvenBomvolen]

Japan became the leader right after China banned ICOs and closed exchangers, all investors and users from this country moved to Japan. The United States are taking the second position.
Japan really seems as a revolutionary on the Asian market of crypto-currencies. Don't know the exactly reason why China and South Korea didn't go by the example of Japan and why Japan didn't go by the example of it's west neighbors? Must be politicians and banks in Japan doesn't see any danger in crypto-currencies for the system, but China and South Korea do.

[1Referee]

The chinese government should repeal bans as soon as possible.

They definitely will when it comes to their exchanges, but not sure if that's enough to make them think different about ICO's. It has all to do with control, and this control is something they will lose when they prevent people from buying and selling through exchanges or whatever other licensed/registered services. China's P2P market has been exploding in volume due to these over-exaggerated governmental measures. In other words, instead of maintaining some level of control over 'approved' exchanges/services, they have all lost it now, and that I believe is just temporary. It's common sense stuff - > do you prefer something that can't be controlled operate under the radar, or do you prefer something that can't be controlled to be somewhat 'controllable' by forcing exchanges and services to abide by strict regulations? I definitely go for the latter, and for that reason believe that the exchanges will be back.

[darkangel11]

Good for them. I've always seen the Japanese as the most innovative Asians. The Chinese were always stealing tech made by others, analysing it and remodeling to make their own counterparts. That's how most of their military tech has been made. The Japanese on the other hand were making their own stuff. There's a reason why Chinese cars aren't popular, while Japan and Korea are one of the market leaders.
The history is going to repeat itself and hard working Chinese people are going to get screwed by their government, while others will take all the profits.

[Zicadis]

Its great to see that we still have a pillar in this part of the world which is taking the lead and every time Japan makes news investor confidence increases so does the bitcoin price...Japan is definitely the home of technology.

Japan is very clever, and china's ban management makes japan even stronger. I expect japan to take better steps in the coming days. The chinese government should repeal bans as soon as possible.

I wouldn't be surprised if China reverses these bans because one way or another crypto projects have created jobs for the unemployed which also contributes to the countries revenue

[veleten]

Japan is the leader in sheer volumes,but how does it benefit the country otherwise?
China banned ICO and bitcoin trades at exchanges not because they are anti bitcoin,but because they want to prevent capital flight from the country
and they made this decision after looking at cons and pros,I'm sure about it
Japan is not the leading investment and financial centre of the world so they may as well try and take advantage of the situation and lure some of the paltforms
bitcoin is legal there but the taxes are not the lowest in the world,so there is a reason why there is not a booming bitcoin economy there just yet

[Benezim]

Japan is the leader in sheer volumes,but how does it benefit the country otherwise?
China banned ICO and bitcoin trades at exchanges not because they are anti bitcoin,but because they want to prevent capital flight from the country
and they made this decision after looking at cons and pros,I'm sure about it
Japan is not the leading investment and financial centre of the world so they may as well try and take advantage of the situation and lure some of the paltforms
bitcoin is legal there but the taxes are not the lowest in the world,so there is a reason why there is not a booming bitcoin economy there just yet

Japan will be the country where we see the first mass adoption of Bitcoin.

They have embraced new technology like no other country over the last couple of years.
- Their (folding) phones have long been superior to widely adopted smartphones outside of Japan, Japanese phones were already "smart" before the iPhone was released.
- NFC payments are common there since the early 2000s (pay bus or train with your phone, contactless).
- Japan was one of the first countries to introduce mobile boarding on planes
- They invest heavily in smart technologies in Tokyo prior to Olympics 2020
- The list goes on and on

It's not the government - it's the mindset of the people and the tech savvy entrepreneurs.

[bbc.reporter]

Japan is very clever, and china's ban management makes japan even stronger. I expect japan to take better steps in the coming days. The chinese government should repeal bans as soon as possible.

That would depend on how the Japanese government controls bitcoin's expanding role in money laundering and other forms of criminal activity. China may prove that taking a cautious approach is the best way.

[Immakillya]

I think they can. Japan i think is the most bitcoin friendly country I've ever known. You can buy airplane tickets with bitcoin and many merchants there are accepting bitcoin. The progress of bitcoin there is phenomenal. China back then is the most powerful and influential when in terms of cryptocurrency because they have the biggest volume of traders and the most and the biggest capital flow at the market. But now, it's a different story. After the China several FUDs against bitcoin. ICOs ban, stoppage of exchanges operations and mining ban rumors. China weakens it's influence. And Japan took advantage from it. I think they already surpassed China...

Japan quickly released licensed to exchanges there. They react so fast. I was surprised because China didn't do that so fast. It takes weeks before they announced that their exchanges will continue their operations. So i will not surprised if one Japan surpassed China and become the largest and the bitcoin market leader.

[yugyug]

Japanese foresee the future of bitcoin technology where most leading countries are trying to ban or keeping out-of-the-scene to their citizen as they might fear its negative adverse effect to their countrymen. It opens the door of opportunity to embrace this technology and being ahead in terms of technology and innovation.Like their newly develop 7nm mining chips produced by GMO Japanese company which is two times more energy efficient than the leading mining chips today. Not only in leading bitcoin mining facilities but also the leader in market adoption, Japanese people are more aware about bitcoin than the large population of China. It is nice to see a positive outcome this coming 2020 Tokyo Olympics that bitcoin transaction was part of their games. Thanks to the sounds like "Japanesish" Satoshi Nakamoto, you are now a big name in Japan.