More than a hundred proposed “crypto asset” exchange projects are seeking permission to operate in Japan, according to information furnished to Bitcoin.com by an official from Japan’s financial market regulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA).
“The number of crypto asset exchange service providers which have expressed their interest is about 110 as of June,” the official told the outlet.
The FSA representative reportedly made the comments following the wrap up of G20 meetings held in Japan in late June.
If approved, the 110 proposed exchanges would join 19 already registered and operating in the country, 16 of which were approved by the FSA in 2017 and three this year.
No crypto trading platforms were approved in 2018 after markets and regulators were upset by a $534 million USD hack on the Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck and a subsequent $60 million USD hack on the Zaif exchange.
Japanese crypto exchange Bitpoint also announced this week that it is shutting down after hackers stole $32 million USD in crypto from the platform.
The 110 applications for registration are said to be various stages of consideration now, including, “preliminary consultation” and “inquiries regarding registration.”
Applicants include Line Corporation, operators of Line, Japan’s most popular mobile messaging app. Line already runs the crypto exchange Bitbox, which reportedly available across the globe but not in the US or Japan due to regulation.
In June, Bloomberg wrote that Line Corporation is close to having its application approved, but nothing has been announced yet.
Although 110 additional crypto exchanges setting up in Japan seems like a lot, that number is actually down from a figure provided last September by an FSA official indicating that 160 crypto-trade platform projects were seeking approval to set up in Japan at that time.
Crypto trading markets in Japan have probably been fielding business from China after that country imposed several bans on crypto trading activity and possession starting in 2014.
Periodic news of crypto scams still underway in China indicates that many Chinese citizens have continued to speculate on and utilize cryptocurrencies despite the ban.