5 new crypto exchanges join Japan’s Exchange Association

Money Forward Financial, OKCoin Japan, Mercury, FXcoin, and Decurret all joined the association on February 1st 2019 as Type II members, meaning that they are still in the process of registering as official cryptocurrency exchange operators with Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA).

Some of the joining exchanges are startups — like FXcoin, founded by a former Deutsche Bank employee, and DeCurret, a crypto trading and settlement platform — and the others are subsidiaries of larger companies, like Money Forward Financial, OKCoin Japan, and Mercury.

The JVCEA, which set up on April 23rd, 2018 with the aim of establishing industry-wide self-regulation among cryptocurrency exchange operators, had previously only accepted Type I members; those already registered as cryptocurrency exchanges with the FSA. This changed in November last year, when the association also started accepting applications for Type II members.

Since being awarded the status of self-regulatory organization from the FSA in October 2018, the association has expanded rapidly, and in January announced the addition of five fully licensed Type I companies. These were Coincheck, now operating as a subsidiary of Monex after the hack; Everybody’s bitcoin, a subsidiary of Rakuten; LastRoots, a startup funded by SBI holdings; LVC, the crypto business of Line; and Coinage, a subsidiary of Japanese technology business United.

In total, the association now incorporates 26 cryptocurrency companies, with several more exchanges expected to join in the near future.

In a loose translation of the JVCEA New Year message, signed by president Taizen Okuyama, the association resolved to continue pursuing a healthy virtual currency market in 2019: "As the year is renewed, it is an opportunity to return to the origin and start again to establish a healthy virtual currency market in Japan. We will not miss this opportunity, and we will work to help the recognition of virtual currency as indispensable in supporting future digital innovation in the world."