What in the World Is Going on With Crypto Regulation?

Regulatory clarity has fueled crypto bull markets, demonstrated by Japan’s 2016 adoption of crypto as payment and OCC’s 2020 endorsement of crypto engagement. While global strides in clear crypto regulations are evident, particularly in Hong Kong, EU and UK, the US lags, emphasizing the need for enhanced regulatory certainty in the industry’s advancement.

Binance To Enter Japan With A Bang, Will List More Tokens Than Any Local Exchange

According to Japanese-based crypto media outlet Coinpost, Binance will launch in Japan fully this month and intends to list 34 tokens on its exchange. This means the platform will offer more tokens than its local competitors in Japan, with major domestic exchanges Bitbank, GMO Coin, and Coincheck listing 30, 36, and 22 tokens, respectively. 

The largest crypto exchange by trading volume intends to list its native BNB token, making this the first time it will be available in the country. Some of the other tokens expected to be listed include Axie Infinity (AXS), Solana (SOL), and Avalanche (AVAX).

A Remarkable Re-entry

News of the re-entry into Japan was announced by the CEO of Binance via a Twitter video. According to him, the platform has been making efforts to re-enter the Japanese market for a while now. He was effusive with his praises and noted that since 2017, Japan had established crypto exchange regulations, including the recent stablecoin regulations enacted in June. He also stated it was “fantastic to see Japan being a leader in the Web3 regulatory environment.”

He further added that Binance was glad to once again partake in the Japanese market after its purchase of the Sakura Exchange BitCoin (SEBC) platform in November last year. Following the acquisition, SEBC changed its name to Binance Japan Inc. 

The purchase of the exchange was instrumental in paving the way for the re-entrance of Binance in Japan. Binance will initially offer sport trading services. However, the exchange will not render leveraged trading services since this will require a Type 1 Financial Instruments Business license, with more restrictive standards. 

Additionally, cryptocurrency users in Japan will also be offered access to Binance Earn, a specially designed program that enables participants to earn interest on their cryptocurrency deposits. The exchange will also render Japanese crypto traders an opportunity to trade on its NFT marketplace.

Binance Coin (BNB) price chart from Tradingview.com

Major Regulatory Win for Binance

This recent announcement marks a major regulatory win for Binance. In the recent past, the platform has faced various regulatory challenges and was recently made to drop its license application in Germany

In France, the exchange also faces regulatory investigations, with French authorities accusing Binance of being involved in offering illegal digital assets services and failing to curtail money laundering. 

Therefore, this latest announcement of a re-entry into the Japanese market heralds a major regulatory win for the embattled exchange.