regulation
The second meeting of the Financial System Council's Working Group on Crypto Assets, held on September 2, 2025, highlights a significant push in Japan towards strengthening crypto asset regulation, primarily by considering a shift from the Payment Services Act (PSA) to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA)
cryptocurrency exchange
Coincheck Group, the holding company of Coincheck, one of Japan’s leading crypto asset exchanges, has entered into a stock purchase agreement to acquire Aplo, a digital asset prime brokerage for institutional crypto investors. Pursuant to the agreement, all issued and outstanding shares of Aplo are to be exchanged for
banking
The Financial Services Agency (FSA) held a series of meetings with Japan's financial industry associations, outlining its key priorities and concerns. The discussions reveal a strong focus on enhancing governance, strengthening cybersecurity, and ensuring customer-centric operations across the entire financial system. I. Common Points Raised Across Associations Several
venture capital
Mesh, the leading crypto payments network, today announced additional investments from PayPal Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Uphold, Mirana Ventures (venture partner for ByBit), SBI Investment, Overlook Ventures, Kingsway Capital, Moderne Ventures and CE-Ventures, bringing total capital funding to more than $130 million. This support positions the company to accelerate its impact
cryptocurrency exchange
Coincheck Group reported a mixed first quarter for fiscal year 2026, characterized by a challenging crypto market that impacted trading revenues, but underscored by significant strategic progress and strong underlying growth in its user base and assets. First, we did not make any money. Gary Simanson, CEO Coincheck Group Total
crypto
The Japan Cryptoasset Business Association (JCBA) has presented its business report for Fiscal Year 2024 (from April 2024 to March 2025), a period marked by significant transformation and strategic advancement for both the global and domestic digital asset industries. The report (in Japanese) details the association's extensive activities
cryptocurrency exchange
Coincheck Group has reported its first full fiscal year results, after listing on Nasdaq through a SPAC transaction at the end of last year. Before we get into the results announcement, however, let us take a look at where Coincheck fits into the overall Monex Group. Overview Monex Group has
bitcoin
The "Crypto Asset Benchmark Study Group" organized by QUICK Corporation published a report entitled "Ecosystem Construction and Ripple Effects Brought About by a Domestic Crypto Asset Benchmark," which summarizes the discussions on the development of a domestic yen-denominated crypto asset benchmark (index). Discussions are accelerating in
stablecoin
Circle today announced its deepened commitment to Japan by leveraging its Japanese entity, Circle Japan KK, and local partnerships to drive the adoption of Circle platforms and technologies in Japan. Circle’s partners in Japan will leverage Circle’s platforms to enable the adoption of USDC in Japan. These partnerships
crypto
Hong Kong-based RigSec Technology, a leading provider of regulated digital asset wallet solutions, and Tokyo-based Vlightup have begun discussions to collaborate on solving security issues in cryptocurrency wallets. The partnership aims to leverage the technological strengths of both companies to provide a safer and easier-to-use wallet solution. RigSec is a
cryptocurrency exchange
B2C2, a global leader in institutional liquidity for digital assets, has entered into a partnership with HashKey Exchange, Hong Kong's largest licensed virtual asset platform. This collaboration will integrate multi-currency fiat trading networks, driving market efficiency and further strengthen Hong Kong's status as a premier hub
digital assets
Hitachi, together with NTT Digital, OPTAGE, Crypto Garage, JPYC, Chainalysis Japan, Digital Platformer, NEC, Nomura, bitbank, finoject, Hokkoku Bank, and Laser Digital Japan, has begun a proof-of-concept experiment from February to April 2025 aimed at improving the effectiveness and standardization of anti-money laundering practices for digital asset trading including cryptocurrency,