Japan is fully legalizing cryptocurrencies. Japan has legalized cryptocurrencies What does this mean for us
At the same time, despite the adoption of the law, cryptocurrencies in Japan have not become legal tender.
In most countries of the world, cryptocurrencies are not recognized as legal means of payment, which can be used to purchase goods and services and mutual settlements, and also cannot be part of the currency exchange system. At the same time, there is no legislation that strictly prohibits the use of cryptocurrencies as means of payment.
This ambiguous status has led to the conversion of cryptocurrencies into the “shadows” - semi-legal financial offices have appeared that provide services for exchanging cryptocurrencies for legal currency and making payments with conversion when purchasing goods or services. Some such companies are registered in Japan.
Thanks to the adopted law, Japanese firms whose internal rules allow working with cryptocurrency can now use Bitcoin and Ethtereum for mutual settlements with each other. In addition, companies and individuals can purchase this virtual money as a commodity, not subject to the mandatory eight percent consumption tax.
Consumption tax in Japan is a kind of analogue of value added tax. In Japan, consumption tax is paid on the purchase of most goods and services and is a tool for balancing the government budget. For example, to counter the financial crisis and support low-income families, the tax was increased in 2014 from five to eight percent.
Meanwhile, despite the adoption of the law on virtual currencies, Bitcoin and Ethereum specified in it did not become legal tender in Japan. This means that companies and individuals cannot use this currency to directly purchase goods and services. Instead, they are required to use the services of registered exchange offices.
In order to obtain the status of a registered cryptocurrency exchange, a company in Japan, according to the new law, must have an authorized capital of at least ten million yen (88.2 thousand dollars) and a secure computer system for conducting financial transactions. In addition, such an organization is required to undergo an audit every year.
At the beginning of March of this year, the rate of one bitcoin on the shadow market for the first time in the history of this currency exceeded the rate of a troy ounce of gold (31 grams). On March 3, the cost of one bitcoin reached $1,280, while a troy ounce of gold was trading at $1,233. At the same time, Bitcoin is known for its sharp volatility. So, in mid-2015, one bitcoin cost just under $200.
Japan recently legalized cryptocurrency as a form of payment, and interest in Bitcoin in the country continues to grow exponentially. In addition, according to statements from cryptocurrency companies such as Coincheck, thousands of merchants will begin accepting virtual currency as payment this year.
You've probably heard more than once about similar promises from Japan aimed at widespread adoption of Bitcoin. This is partly true, but there is also a lot of exaggeration, and even ordinary deception. When you walk down the street and visit places that are supposed to accept Bitcoin, you are bound to encounter some problems and unexpected surprises.
Last month, representatives from BitKan, a cryptocurrency trading services company headquartered in Shenzhen, visited Japan to see for themselves the growing interest in Bitcoin in the region.
Bitkan stated that they are excited to see the growing influence of cryptocurrency that is now taking place in Japan. In March, the company decided to send chief marketing officer Ruby Chen to Tokyo to see how easy it was to pay for services in the country using bitcoin.
During her three-day visit to Tokyo, Chen decided to make a video about her personal experience using Bitcoin in the Japanese city. The first establishment was Hackers Bar in Roppongi, where you can pay for food and drinks with bitcoins. Chen successfully paid for an order placed at an establishment where you can also “consult with a hacker.” Hackers Bar accepted bitcoin through payment processor Coincheck, and the owner was happy to help Chen pay her bill. Using her own wallet, Chen was able to pay the bill in minutes while discussing cryptocurrency with the bar owner.
The day after visiting Hackers Bar, Chen visited the Bitcoin.com offices to discuss Bitcoin adoption with CEO Roger Ver. Chen turned to him to learn more about how to spend bitcoins in Tokyo, since she believes that Ver, like no one else, will help understand this issue. A Bitkan representative asked Vera if it was possible to live on Bitcoin in Japan, and if he had any suggestions for Chen to walk for Bitcoin in Tokyo.
“It’s a little complicated at the moment, but it’s getting easier every month because there are a lot of companies in Tokyo making it easier for people to use Bitcoin.”- Ver explains.
"To live for b bitcoins in Japan, you need to find a landlord who can accept bitcoins directly - you can book a hotel on Expedia.com. There are also a few restaurants there that accept Bitcoin, and you might be able to live off Bitcoin for a while in Tokyo.”
The Bitcoin.com team told Chen that their office is always open and ready to help her with Bitcoin-related questions. After talking with Bitcoin.com employees, Chen went to a nearby store to continue the experiment. However, the owner was against filming.
The next day, Chen visited a Sushi restaurant located in Ginza that accepts Bitcoin. Despite the slight language barrier for Chen, as none of the employees spoke English, they were still able to complete the payment in Bitcoin. At the end of the meal, Chen paid in Bitcoin using the Coincheck device.
“Today we have coped with the task much more successfully,- Chen said, “Even though it was more expensive, I really enjoyed today’s Bitcoin meal.”
After Sushi, Chen decided to visit Sensoji Temple and rented a kimono from a rental shop along the way. The store owner accepted bitcoins, so he allowed Chen to pay for the kimono rental in digital currency. The Bitcoin payment process took a few minutes, and Chen was able to rent a Japanese suit for her trip.
Overall, according to Chen, the trip was successful, but there are a number of difficulties for the full use of Bitcoin in Japan. So, in an interview with the cryptocurrency resource 8BTC, she said:
“At every opportunity I tried to use bitcoins. In fact, it is very difficult for those who only have bitcoins, especially if they want to carry out a minor transaction like exchanging bitcoins for yen to pay for a subway ride.
The infrastructure is not yet fully ready to accept Bitcoin. However, the atmosphere here gets much better and we actually managed to pay for our meals by transferring bitcoins from our wallet the owner of the restaurant. These restaurant and store owners accept Bitcoin for a variety of reasons. Some do it for their friends, while others do it simply because there are customers willing to pay with Bitcoin. But in any case, now that the Japanese government supports Bitcoin as a payment method, this cryptocurrency is certainly becoming more and more popular.”
Chen hopes that with Japan's recently passed digital currency legalization law, Bitcoin will become easier to use in the region.
According to BitKan representatives, the event was a success; Chinese Bitcoin enthusiasts really liked the videos, which caused a surge of positive comments.
During the experiment, it was possible to see the real picture of the acceptance of Bitcoin by merchants in the country. And although there are still some inconveniences, BitKan views the Japanese market from a positive perspective. Especially after the Japanese government, which introduced a new law on cryptocurrency, began regulating the industry, which will subsequently make the Japanese market more competitive.
At the end of the experiment, Sandy Liang, COO of BitKan, agreed to answer our questions:
1. What types of businesses were more willing to support payments in Bitcoin?
We looked for such places on Coinmap, most of them are located in Roppongi. These are mainly recreational areas such as restaurants and bars.
2. What was their reaction to your offer to pay in Bitcoin?
These places are marked with “Bitcoin accepted” stickers (we accept bitcoins). We saw that they were quite familiar with the payment process.
3. Is the Bitcoin payment option subject to verification at these locations?
Most of these places that accept Bitcoin use payment processors such as Coincheck.
4. As experience shows in general, is it possible to live in Tokyo only on bitcoins?
We should note that it is not yet very convenient to use Bitcoin in Tokyo to cover all expenses, compared to fiat. Nowadays it is very difficult to live only on bitcoins. But the situation is simplified. In addition to the locations listed on Coinmap, we can also convert Bitcoin to Japanese Yen using Bitcoin ATMs.
5. Were there any incentives to use Bitcoin for payment? (discounts, etc.)
We did not receive any discount when paying with Bitcoin. And we didn't find any discounts at all.
6. Have you tried to pay in bitcoins for a hotel room, was it successful?
We thought about this before, but unfortunately we did not find a platform that provides search services for such hotels. We also didn't think about the possibility of finding a landlord who accepts Bitcoin.
7. Was the Bitcoin price cheaper or higher than the yen?
A little bit higher.
8. Have you talked to local Bitcoin enthusiasts regardingpayments in bitcoins for anything in Tokyo?
Yes, we talked to them. They do this sometimes, but just for fun or experimentation.
It is worth noting the fact that many Japanese cryptocurrency enthusiasts are actually Chinese. Sandy Liang said her team was surprised to discover that several large and regular Bitcoin traders in Japan were actually Chinese.
“Price fluctuations indicate that there is a difference between prices in the Chinese and Japanese markets,”- she said. “Depending on where prices are higher that week, if you can trade in both countries, you can use arbitrage.”
Bitkan's Bitcoin survival experiment shows that government openness will drive Bitcoin adoption in the commercial community. China has overtaken Japan in terms of GDP, and it can do the same in terms of adoption by the crypto world.
TOKYO, April 1. /Corr. TASS Alexey Zavrachaev/. Cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin, has now received the status of a means of payment in Japan in accordance with the law on currency regulation previously adopted by the country’s parliament. At the same time, the document itself states that it precisely performs the function of currency, and the official monetary unit is only the yen.
At the same time, a number of issues related to taxation and accounting of transactions using virtual currency still remain unresolved. It is expected that the Japanese Auditing Standards Board will be able to prepare a unified set of rules in this regard only in six months.
Risk share
Since there are currently no clear rules for regulating transactions in cryptocurrency, and its exchange rate is subject to sudden changes, this carries a fairly large share of risk. “For example, if a company holds funds in bitcoins, then due to the inability to accurately estimate these volumes of funds, it may at some point suffer large losses,” the Nikkei newspaper quotes the opinion of Chikako Suzuki from the auditing and consulting company PricewaterhouseCoopers Aarata .
At the same time, another Japanese expert, director of the Association for the Development of Blockchain Technologies (on the basis of which virtual currencies appeared - TASS note) Yoichiro Hirano believes that of all virtual currencies, Bitcoin is completely safe to use, and its market prospects are very high. “Bitcoin itself is really safe, since there have been no serious problems with it since the creation of blockchain technologies in 2009,” he noted in an interview with the Mynavi portal.
“There is an opinion that virtual currency is very easy to use for money laundering, since it is traded freely on the market. However, in reality, such transactions are much easier to carry out with regular money. It’s all about the transparency of the Bitcoin market, which guarantees its development in the near future,” - the expert added.
Bitcoins are "virtual money" - online software code that is not regulated by any country or banking regulator. One of the features of Bitcoin is that it is able to guarantee complete anonymity of a person or group of people making purchases with it.
Banking policy
In connection with the entry into force of the new law, Japanese banks plan to get serious about testing blockchain technologies. Especially for this, the Association of Japanese Banks intends to create a new platform by April 2018 for conducting relevant tests by both large and regional institutions. This entire process will take place with the support of the Bank of Japan (Central Bank) and the Financial Services Agency.
The ultimate goal of this project is to explore the use of blockchain technologies for interbank money transfers, which can reduce the associated costs. This is primarily due to the lack of need to maintain large servers to store transaction data.
According to Japanese experts, if this experiment is successful and new technologies are introduced by large banks, the costs of money transfers will be reduced by approximately 5%. This, in turn, will lead to a reduction in banking fees and increase customer demand for banking services.
In the summer of 2016, the Japanese bank Tokyo - Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU) invested about $10.5 million in the American cryptocurrency operator Coinbase in order to create a new low-cost funds transfer system that allows converting cryptocurrency into cash in bank accounts. At the same time, money transfers within this system will be subject to a minimum commission.
Japanese market
According to Fuji Chimera Research Institute, the volume of cryptocurrency use within Japan in 2015 amounted to 185 billion yen ($1.67 billion). However, experts predict that by 2020 this figure will increase almost 10 times. The most promising market is considered to be mobile payments in online stores.
In addition, the so-called points system is rapidly developing, which the buyer receives as a bonus when making purchases on the global network. Thus, the largest online retailer in Japan, Rakuten, has a system of issuing credit cards, with which, when paying for purchases, the client is credited with a certain number of “points” to his virtual account - one “point” is equal to one yen.
You can use them as virtual currency to purchase goods through the Rakuten website. At the same time, as the number of transactions increases, the user is awarded more and more virtual points, and absolutely any current payments can be linked to the credit card itself, including, for example, utility bills.
Blockchain in Russia
In the summer of 2016, the Bank of Russia announced the creation of a consortium to study blockchain technology. In addition to the regulator itself, it included the largest Russian banks: Sberbank, Tinkoff Bank, Alfa Bank, B&N Bank, Otkritie Bank, as well as the companies Qiwi and Accenture. At the beginning of February, Sberbank Factoring and M.Video conducted transactions based on the blockchain, having developed an encryption algorithm, confirming delivery data.
The first transaction in Russia using blockchain took place in December 2016. It was carried out by S7 Airlines and Alfa Bank. The airline paid one of its counterparties using a letter of credit, and the payment transaction was carried out by Alfa Bank in the form of a transaction based on smart contracts, and this data was recorded in the blockchain.
As for cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, the Russian authorities have repeatedly spoken about them in a negative way. In 2014, the Central Bank and the Prosecutor General's Office declared bitcoins a money surrogate, and their issuance in Russia prohibited.
Today, Bitcoin in Japan is a legally recognized currency. Bitcoin holders are protected by law, and its circulation today is not regulated. Let's look at how the status of cryptocurrency has changed in the land of the rising sun, and what threats it faces now.
Early 2013: Chinese investors transfer assets to Japan
The explosion of popularity in Japan came in 2013, when China introduced a package of laws restricting the exchange of Bitcoin. Crypto investors moved their accounts to a cryptocurrency-liberal country.
Over time, bitcoin has evolved from a tool for investment and speculation into a fully-fledged widespread currency. Online stores began to accept Bitcoin for payment, and Japanese freelancers accepted cryptocurrencies on a par with . Soon Japan took the first position in terms of domestic Bitcoin turnover, and Japanese exchanges today process from 30 to 50% of all transactions.
April 2016: legalization
Due to the widespread use of Bitcoin as a payment currency, the government has legalized cryptocurrency and other virtual currencies.
By this time, the turnover of cryptocurrencies in Japan exceeded two billion dollars (this is an estimate of the value at the exchange rate of all bitcoins, ethereum, litecoins and other cryptocurrencies whose holders use the yen as the main fiat currency). At that time, it was already considered normal in Japan to pay employees in Bitcoin.
Commenting on legalization, the authorities warned that
The real value of virtual currency is difficult to assess, which is why holders may suffer unexpected losses.
December 2017: Ministry of Finance invites to discuss regulation
The Japanese Finance Minister spoke about Bitcoin, noting that the cryptocurrency has not yet proven its reliability, and that it still remains a tool for speculation.
No one has yet defined Bitcoin as a currency. It's a difficult question
he said.
The minister also called on the G-20 countries to discuss the issue of regulating cryptocurrency at the global level.
What does this mean for us?
Any news about upcoming regulation pushes people to withdraw Bitcoin and, as a result, to . Over the past week, amid news about the ban on Bitcoin in South Korea and possible regulation in Japan, the rate fell below $15,000, falling in price by more than 10 percent per day. This was a natural decline following a sharp jump, but in the future such initiatives will lead to an even greater decline, since according to various estimates, today the yen accounts for up to 50% of all global bitcoin trading. Until this point, crypto investors viewed Japan as the only first world country with a clear position on the legalization of bitcoin.
What do you think, will Japan introduce real restrictions on Bitcoin or will everything be limited to disapproving statements? Write about it in the comments to the article.
Japan is one of the key countries in the world of crypto finance, the headquarters of Bitcoin.org is located there, the Mt.Gox crypto exchange was founded, the name of the creator of Bitcoin Satoshi Nakamoto is Japanese, and cryptocurrencies in this country are generally legalized.
But what do we really know about the growing cryptocurrency industry in the Land of the Rising Sun? What and where can you buy with cryptocurrency in Japan? What is the attitude of the authorities towards digital assets after the adoption of regulatory laws in this area?
Recent changes in the structure of the Japanese government, such as the appointment of the blockchain-positive Takuya Hirai as Minister of Science and Technology, may serve to further develop blockchain technologies in the country.
Housewives and their role in the growing popularity of Bitcoin.
Before the legalization of cryptocurrencies in Japan, local traders were considered extremely cautious and conservative. They preferred to invest in risk-free, low-return assets such as government bonds.
However, a recent study by Deutsche Bank found that a large number of Japanese crypto traders, despite Japanese traditions, are abandoning their inherent caution when choosing risky, high-yield investments. According to analysts at Deutsche Bank AG, “retail investors are moving from margin trading of foreign currencies to margin trading of cryptocurrencies.”
Analysts have also profiled the investor behind Japan's Bitcoin rally - the so-called Mrs. Watanabe, a common name to describe a housewife who manages family finances. Japan is unique in terms of the power, called okozukai, that women have in the traditional financial system of Japanese society. And the cryptocurrency industry is no exception.
On April 10, 2018, the Financial Services Agency of Japan (FSA) published the world's first statistical report on domestic cryptocurrency trading for the past fiscal year.
According to data provided by 17 crypto exchanges in Japan, the country has about 3.5 million people annually transacting cryptocurrencies worth more than $67 billion. The bulk of these traders are businessmen under 30 years of age. 143,000 of them prefer margin trading and futures on the cryptocurrency market.
Overview of the Japanese cryptocurrency market.
In mid-2018, Japan dominated global Bitcoin trading. According to the website CryptoCompare, in July of this year the share of the BTC/JPY pair accounted for almost 60% of all Bitcoin transactions, which indicates the unprecedented popularity of this currency in the country. Even with the growing popularity of stablecoins, especially USD, in late summer, the Japanese yen is still one of the top four currencies in terms of Bitcoin trading volume. This is despite the fact that this figure has dropped to 7%, which is 8 times lower than the summer level.
Since 2014, the annual trading volume for the BTC/JPY pair has grown in Japan from $22 million to $97 billion. At the same time, the trading volume of Bitcoin as a major asset has increased even more, for example, for futures it has grown from $2 million to $543 billion for the same period.
It seems that Bitcoin has not lost its popularity even in light of recent events (Bitcoin is falling in price), and the Japanese continue to believe in the brainchild of Satoshi Nakamoto. But there is also diversification of assets - the average portfolio of a Japanese trader now also includes altcoins such as ETH, XRP, DCH and EOS.
Moreover, Trade-to-Mine, a technology recently announced by several cryptocurrency exchanges, is also gaining popularity - local tokens are used to reimburse trading fees on Japanese cryptocurrency exchanges. CoinJinja even created a special trading bot for use in its CoinView analytical application that can “mine” such coins. This feature was called "Hummingbird" and is currently being actively promoted both in Japan and abroad.
In addition, there is virtually no p2p trading in Japan, and 99.9% of all transactions are carried out through exchanges.
Mt.Gox and CoinCheck.
The history of digital currencies in Japan is inextricably linked with two of the largest cryptocurrency hacks.
First, the Mt.Gox exchange was hacked, when in 2014 the attackers managed to withdraw 850,000 BTC for a total of $473 million. After this, the price of Bitcoin fell by 20% and stopped only at $483. It took a whole year for the market to recover to its previous level.
This incident also had a "conditionally positive" effect. After the collapse of Mt.Gox, regulators became seriously concerned about the issue of regulating cryptocurrency transactions in the country, which led to the emergence of a number of laws.
Much later, at the beginning of 2018, the market was rocked by a second serious shock - this time a hacker attack was aimed at the NEM wallet, the “hot” wallet of one of the largest crypto exchanges in Japan, Coincheck. On January 28, 2018, attackers managed to withdraw from the exchange the most significant amount in the history of cryptocrimes - more than $500 million.
This hack dealt a devastating blow to Japan's entire cryptocurrency infrastructure, as the exchange was being used by the "Mobile Payment for Air Regi" application, a POS application from a major Japanese company, Recruit Lifestyle. This application has been used by more than 260,000 Japanese stores to conduct transactions.
The total damage caused to the global cryptocurrency economy amounted to more than $1 billion, which significantly influenced the decline in the dynamics of its development. After this hack, the state began to intervene in this area and direct regulation of cryptocurrencies began to become increasingly important.
New in government regulation.
In February 2014, the then director of the Mt.Gox exchange, Mark Karpeles, held a press conference at which he announced the theft of 850,000 BTC. Concerned, the Japanese government decided to carefully study this case.
On March 7, 2014, the Japanese Parliament took a step towards legalizing Bitcoin. The Parliament resolution did not consider Bitcoin as a currency or guarantee within the framework of current banking legislation, and also recognized the absence of laws that would unconditionally prohibit individuals or legal entities from accepting Bitcoin in exchange for goods or services. At the same time, the authorities began discussing the possibility of including Bitcoin in the tax system.
On May 4, 2016, after lengthy disputes and discussions, Japan officially recognized Bitcoin and digital currencies themselves as “a means of payment that is not legally a currency” (Japan’s Payment Services Act (PSA), art. 2-5). Also introduced Amendments to the Law on Establishment of Foundations: According to the new legislation, all Japanese cryptocurrency exchanges must be officially registered and entered into the register of the Financial Services Agency of Japan in order to offer cryptocurrency trading services to residents.
On April 1, 2017, after a year of preparation, the historic bill was adopted. The Japanese government was the first in the world to grant legal tender status to most cryptocurrencies. From this point on, cryptocurrencies were no longer considered inventory assets and therefore were no longer subject to the previously levied 8% value added tax (VAT).
At the same time, a law on cryptocurrency exchanges came into force, designed to protect consumers from fraud and help them determine the reliability of the exchange. According to this law, all cryptocurrency exchanges had to go through the FSA licensing procedure by September 2017. This implied certain requirements for the operation of exchanges, including high standards of cybersecurity, separation of client assets and exchange assets, and personal identification. In addition, to obtain a license to carry out such activities, the exchange had to pay a one-time non-refundable fee of $300,000. In fact, the Japanese law was similar to the BitLicense introduced in 2015 by New York State.
To date, 16 local exchanges have received an FSA license, including Bitflyer, Bitbank, Bittrade and Bitocean. The exchanges were given the temporary status of “quasi-operators” - a special category of exchanges that begin to operate before receiving a license.
Another important aspect of the new requirements was global anti-money laundering (AML). As part of its policy, the Agency has banned anonymous monetary cryptocurrencies such as Monero or Dash due to the possibility of their use for fraudulent purposes. The official law took effect on June 18, 2017.
How the adopted laws affected crypto trading.
On the one hand, after the legalization of Bitcoin and altcoins, the collection of 8% VAT was abolished. However, traders did not receive complete relief from tax obligations.
In February 2018, the Japanese National Tax Agency re-examined this issue. Traders are now required to pay a tax of 15 to 55% to the government, while profits from the forex market and stock trading are taxed at 20%.
The amendment caused an ambivalent reaction among market participants, some of whom began to consider moving their activities to other countries. In an interview with Financial Magnates, Koji Higashi, an influential figure in the Japanese cryptocurrency market, shared his outrage over the taxation of the cryptocurrency market in the country, which, in his opinion, is “severely harmful to the industry”:
In Japan, it makes no sense to use Bitcoin as a means of payment. Technically you can buy a car with Bitcoin, but that doesn't make sense now due to (high) taxes.
On the other hand, crypto traders now receive full legal government protection for their activities and their assets. To this end, Japanese regulators have already sent instructions to six major cryptocurrency exchanges regarding anti-money laundering (AML) requirements and the Know-Your-Customer (KYC) system to improve the quality of business.
Due to the high popularity of cryptocurrencies in Japan and their official legal status, the topic of blockchain and digital currencies is widely covered in the media. Moreover, many so-called ones are popular among traders. “bulletin boards”, which are widely used to simplify the search for information, are aggregators of news from various sources, both Japanese and foreign. This practice allows readers to easily navigate the news and make correct predictions.
Where is Bitcoin accepted in Japan?
Bitcoin in Japan is accepted as payment by large companies, including airlines, hotels and retail chains, as well as thousands of small merchants.
To make payments, POS terminals integrated with cryptocurrency exchanges are used. In Tokyo, they are located mainly in the popular Roppongi area, most often in restaurants and bars. For example, at Hackers Bar you can drink coffee for bitcoins and discuss the basics of cryptography with the barista.
It is currently impossible to live completely without fiat money in Japan. Transport tickets, house rentals, and most goods, especially European or American ones, are still paid exclusively in yen. But you can always use the extensive network of cryptocurrency ATMs.
Local cryptocurrencies.
In addition to Bitcoin, Japan has its own generally accepted local cryptocurrencies.
MonaCoin (MONA) is the first Japanese cryptocurrency and has one of the most active communities on the Internet. It is one of the few currencies in the world that is currently used for both online and offline purchases of goods. MonaCoin is accepted in large stores and restaurants.
Cardano (ADA) is another very popular cryptocurrency in Japan, sometimes called the “Ethereum killer” or “third generation blockchain”. Cardano plans to issue debit cards where funds can be converted into ADA using the Daedalus wallet. In this case, the tokens are automatically converted into yen or other local currencies, and the ADA card data can be used to withdraw cash from ATMs or pay for goods in stores.
Successors of Nakamoto.
Japanese opinion leaders include bloggers, businessmen and politicians.
Koji Higashi has been working in the Japanese cryptocurrency industry since 2014. He runs various educational blockchain projects and owns a popular cryptocurrency YouTube channel in Japan called Bitcoin Hanseikai. He is well known for his criticism of Japan's cryptocurrency regulatory system and his skeptical comments regarding many altcoins.
Miko Matsumura is the founder of the Evercoin cryptocurrency exchange and a partner at BitBull Capital. A key evangelist for the Java language and platform, he was one of the pioneers of the first wave of the Internet boom and dedicated himself to the Internet of Value (IoV). During his 25-year career as a Silicon Valley executive, he has raised more than $50 million in venture capital for open source startups and more than $200 million in ICOs.
Takuya Hirai is a member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the author of the 2017 law legalizing cryptocurrency exchanges. Together with representatives of financial groups Mitsubishi UFJ, Mitsui and Mizuho, the head of the country's largest exchange bitFlyer Yuzo Kano and professor at Tama University in Tokyo Tosifuni Kokubun, he is currently contributing to the development of ICO regulation.
A new type of Japanese businessmen.
Japan is a country with a unique spirit, culture and market development, and its government was the first government to innovate during the cryptocurrency boom. The introduction of legislative amendments made it possible to create a new type of Japanese businessmen - cryptocurrency traders who annually pay significant dividends to the treasury.
The legalization of cryptocurrencies has led to a noticeable increase in the popularity of blockchain technology in the country. Bitcoin and altcoins are discussed on central channels and in popular news releases. Promising blockchain startups are popping up everywhere, government agencies are conducting technology research, and ordinary people can send and receive cross-border transfers without fear of being fined by the government or being hacked by scammers.
Moreover, major players from other Asian countries such as South Korea and China have begun to move into the Japanese market, further increasing the flow of money into the budget. Analysts expect that cryptocurrencies can contribute 0.3% to the GDP of the Land of the Rising Sun in 2018, and we will see what the real result will be in the annual financial report.
