Why Japan’s Crypto Regulatory Structure is Gradually Paying Off

The cryptocurrency landscape is something that has endured constant change. Thanks to a wide array of factors including scams and shifting regulatory oversight- crypto investors all over the world have had to react to changes in their native industries.

A new research has revealed that the United States and Japan account for the most traffic on crypto exchanges.  The research, which was conducted by industry news medium The Block, stated that the United States has received up to 24.5 percent of all traffic directed towards cryptocurrency exchanges worldwide. 

The revelations of the study aren’t particularly surprising. Just as it is with a lot of emerging technologies, the United States has always been a pioneer. With the largest economy and a large stock of both human and financial capital, it’s only expected that the crypto industry would find a berth in the world power.

So, while the country might not yet have clear regulations concerning the operations of cryptocurrencies in place, it still has a big market for exchanges and other crypto-firms nonetheless. The report also shows why blocking crypto exchange access to citizens could be fueling crypto interest even more. Countries like China and India are prime examples. In China, where practically everything crypto related is banned, users have circumvented the block on their access on crypto exchanges through the use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).

In the report, Japan came in a distant second position with about 10 percent, while the top four was rounded up by South Korea and Indonesia, with 6.5 respectively and 4.5 percent respectively. Known as the Asian crypto haven, Japan has always been known to be a crypto-favoring country over the years. Maybe it lacks the capital strength of the U.S., but Japan still has a lot to offer. It’s the third-largest economy in the world, with an annual GDP that is expected to have crossed the $5 trillion mark by now, per Investopedia.

Besides that, the country has pretty much been poised to take over as Asia’s cryptocurrency saving grace. Investors and firms turned to the country when South Korea and China banned Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) back in 2017. The country allowed blockchain companies and ICO operators to raise funds freely, although things were regulated. It’s also worth mentioning that Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous founder (or founders, as it may very well be) of Bitcoin and pioneer(s) of cryptocurrencies in general, has a Japanese name.

Also noteworthy is the fact that Japan has a regulatory structure for the operation of exchanges and other crypto firms within its country. While these structures might have curtailed the freedoms of the firms in some way or the other, its emphasis on privacy protection and due process have paid off. Due to the country’s acceptance of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, investments came in their droves. While things have definitely been rocky (a la exchanges such as Mt. Gox and Zaif), the country has also seen massive profits from this decision as well.