Japan’s Financial Services Agency set to update cryptocurrency regulations in speculatio…

The country’s financial watchdog plans to impose stricter regulations on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in the wake of the massive theft at Coincheck Inc., a Tokyo-based virtual currency exchange operator, in January and the use of such digital money for speculative investments.

In April 2017, Japan revised the Payment Services Act to protect cryptocurrency users, introducing a registration system for dealers who exchange them with yen and other legal tender. The revision assumed wider use of cryptocurrencies for payments and remittances.

But speculative investment in cryptocurrencies increased steeply due to sharp rises in their value, making it essential for the Financial Services Agency to create regulations that respond to the situation.

With cryptocurrency prices skyrocketing, bitcoin, the most dominant cryptocurrency, temporarily saw its price soar above ¥2 million ($17,700) in December 2017 from below ¥200,000 earlier that spring. Although the price has…