Japan FSA warns four exchanges to cease operating without licensing

The Japan Financial Services Agency (FSA) has warned four cryptocurrency exchanges — including ByBit, BitGet, MEXC Global, and Bitforex — to cease offering service to country residents until they obtain the right licenses.

According to the notice, the exchanges must register in the country before conducting their operations.

Meanwhile, this is not the first time the financial regulator will warn ByBit about its operations in the country. It issued a similar notice in 2021. Regulators in the UK and Canada have also warned ByBit from operating in the country without registration.

Japan is one of the leading countries when it comes to crypto regulations. Since introducing requirements for registration and licensing for crypto exchanges in 2020, it has been cracking down on unregistered exchanges. ByBit could face legal action and fines in the country if it does not heed the warning.

Meanwhile, the country’s authorities are calling on the EU and the U.S. to regulate crypto the same way banks are regulated.

The deputy director-general of the FSA Strategy Development and Management Bureau, Mamoru Yanase, said:

“Crypto has become this big. If you like to implement effective regulation, you have to do the same as you regulate and supervise traditional institutions.”

The call for more scrutiny and regulation follows on from the FTX and Terra UST collapses.