Binance to launch Japanese crypto services in August

Binance will re-enter the Japanese market for the first time since 2018 following its November 2022 acquisition of Sakura Exchange BitCoin.

Crypto exchange titan Binance will launch fully compliant digital asset services for users in Japan by August after the company was forced to exit the country back in 2018 due to regulatory issues.

According to a Bloomberg report, the company’s re-entry into the Japanese market follows a takeover of locally regulated digital trading venue Sakura Exchange BitCoin.

In 2018, Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) issued a warning to Binance about operating without a license. A similar complaint was issued by the FSA in 2021. It reaffirmed that the company, headed by  Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao, was not authorized to do business in Japan. 

While Binance claimed to be in “constructive dialogues” with local regulators, the exchange ceased all activity in Japan amid mounting pressure from financial watchdogs.

Binance later acquired Sakura Exchange BitCoin in November 2022 as part of a global expansion strategy despite novel crashes and a flurry of bankruptcies. The acquisition of Sakura, a local digital asset platform regulated by Japan’s FSA, seemingly signaled Binance’s plans to establish a footprint in the country’s market. 

Japan’s prime minister praises web3

The move also comes when Japan’s prime minister Fumio Kishida is pushing for web3 innovation and laws that would encourage digital asset operators to do business in the country.

Indeed, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pinpointed crypto and web3 as catalysts for Japan’s economic growth in his flagship “New Capitalism” policy approach. 

PM Kishida emphasized this rhetoric while speaking at the WebX conference in Tokyo through a pre-recorded video, noting that Japan’s policy-making effort would feature a mix of user protection measures and incentives to boost the local web3 ecosystem. 

In line with Kishida’s vision, the National Tax Agency of Japan granted a tax exemption for token issuers. Japan’s Virtual and Crypto Assets Exchange Association (JVCEA) also introduced rules to simplify token listings on crypto exchanges.