To protect investors, Japan plans to regulate ICOs

Japan’s chief financial regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), will reportedly roll out a new set of regulations targeting initial coin offerings (ICOs) in the country. According to Japanese news outlet Jiji Press, the financial authority wants to impose new regulations to protect investors in the crypto space.

Citing the increased fraudulent activities relating to ICOs, FSA believes it is high time they took appropriate actions to provide order and protection for the public. In the proposed regulations, all businesses offering crypto-related services in the country will be required to register with FSA before starting operations.

FSA plans to submit the proposed bill in January 2019, during the ordinary parliamentary session. The proposed bill will seek to revise the financial instruments and exchange law as well as the payment services law, according to the report.

The Japanese FSA is not the only financial authorities to want regulations for the ICO space. In the recent months, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been busy in trying to regulate ICOs. Though it has taken a conservative and traditional approach on ICO, U.S. securities regulator has made a milestone in shaping the ICO industry. Last month, authorities in Thailand also tightened its grip on ICO regulation to create order in the industry.

Different jurisdictions worry that if proper regulations are not set for ICOs, fraudulent activities will cause significant effects on the economy. They have a good reason to worry. According to a recent report by Diar, a cryptocurrency and blockchain research company, ICO fraudulent cases have raised $12 billion, twice more than what was reported in 2017.

In the report, Diar stated that the amount raised by the ICO does not justify their operations.  The report also noted that most of the ICOs either get unlisted or they do not have the funds needed to stay in business. More than 60 percent tokens that completed their ICOs in 2017 and 2018, raising over $2.3 billion in the process, have yet to be listed on any exchange.

The report also noted that a good number of these ICOs have ended up being scams. ICO owners conduct an exit scam after collecting millions of dollars from unsuspecting investors. In the last two years, exit scams caused by ICOs amounted to $100 million.