Japan’s Financial Services Agency plans new ICO regulations to protect investors

Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) is going to implement new Initial Coin Offering (ICO) regulations in a bid to protect investor interests, Cointelegraph reported referring to a report from Jiji Press.

Taking note of the growing number of fraudulent ICO cases overseas, the regulator is planning to limit individuals' investment in ICOs to better protect them, sources familiar with the matter told the local news outlet.

In addition, the new regulations will also require businesses that issue their own crypto tokens to be registered with the FSA.

The regulator is reportedly planning to submit bills to revise the financial instruments and exchange law and the payment services law to the ordinary parliamentary session, which starts in January.

At a recent meeting focused on ICOs, an FSA Study Group on Virtual Currency Exchange industry classified ICO tokens into three categories: virtual currencies without issuer, virtual currencies with issuer, and tokens with issuers that are also obliged to distribute revenues, Cointelegraph Japan reported.

The tokens falling under the first and second categories are subject to settlement regulations such as the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, while the third category is subject to investment regulations like the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, the report said.