Japan FSA said foreign crypto exchanges Bybit, BitForex, MEXC Global and Bitget are operating in the country without proper registration in a warning letter published on Friday.
Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) issued a warning letter on Friday, stating that a number of foreign cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance, Bybit, MEXC Global, and Bitget, have been conducting business in the country without proper registration, violating the country’s fund settlement laws.
Japan FSA noted in the warning letter that the listed exchanges violated Japan’s fund settlement requirements by operating crypto asset exchange activity without necessary registration. According to the regulator, the existing list of unregistered merchants may not fully represent the actual situation of unregistered enterprises.
The FSA’s decision follows a crackdown in the east Asian country on unlicensed cryptocurrency exchanges. The FSA established new laws in 2020 that require cryptocurrency exchanges to register with the government and receive a license to operate in Japan.
Japan FSA warning to Binance indicates that the cryptocurrency business in Japan and other countries is receiving more regulatory scrutiny. Money laundering and market manipulation are becoming increasingly troublesome to authorities. Despite the fact that Japan is working on new laws for the crypto and Web3 sectors, the government has not clamped down on the industry as aggressively as some other major economies, such as the United States, following a volatile year for the markets in 2022.
Binance Fighting on All Angles Amidst Japan FSA Case
Binance and its creator, Changpeng Zhao, have recently been sued by the US Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for US regulatory breaches. Binance was also handed a formal warning letter by the FSA for operating illegally in 2021.
The biggest crypto exchange in the world has faced multiple FUD attacks over the last few months since the FTX crash and this joins the list of those yet to be resolved.
