Overview
- Japan’s Cabinet approved a bill that puts crypto under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, moving it out of payment-law oversight.
- Profits from a vetted list of 105 tokens traded on licensed exchanges will be taxed at a flat 20% rate, while many other crypto gains still face rates up to 55%.
- Trading on non‑public information in crypto is now illegal, with penalties of up to ¥10 million in fines and up to 10 years in prison.
- Issuers must file yearly financial and operational reports, and regulators raised penalties for unregistered exchanges to curb unauthorized activity.
- Banks and insurers may hold crypto and apply to run licensed exchanges, and major groups including Nomura and SBI plan new products as officials map a path to ETFs in later stages.