Japan’s Regulators Suggest Banks to Block P2P Crypto Transfers

• Japan’s financial regulator and police agency have suggested banks block transfers to crypto platforms ahead of fraudulent transactions.
• The initiative is a new challenge for the P2P crypto market in Japan.

Japan’s peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto market may face a new obstacle because of the country’s financial regulator and police agency. They have suggested banks stop transfers to crypto platforms if the sender’s name does not match the account name.

The Financial Services Agency (FSA) and the National Police Agency (NPA) have issued a request to Japanese banks on 14 February, urging them to enhance user protection measures against “unlawful transfers” to crypto exchanges. The request comes amid the high number of fraudulent transactions in the country, many of which involve cryptocurrencies.

To accomplish this goal, the FSA and NPA have proposed some important initiatives. One of  which is telling banks to enhance their surveillance and monitor the transactions of crypto asset exchange platforms.

The impact on the P2P market

Another initiative may have a significant impact on the P2P market, which allows users to trade crypto directly with each other without intermediaries. The initiative states, “Ceasing transfers to cryptocurrency exchange service providers if the sender’s name differs from the account name.”

This could pose a problem for the P2P market, as P2P platforms use different names as sender and receiver on both the fiat and crypto ends. If Japanese banks reject transactions where these names do not match, it could effectively end the P2P market in the country.

The FSA request is not a mandatory directive, but rather a suggestion that points to some initiatives. The banks’ response to these suggestions are still uncertain. but it is unclear how much influence it will have on the P2P market and the crypto industry in general.

Although, previously, in June 2023, token issuers were granted a tax exemption by local authorities for the 30% tax on the coins they issued and held without selling them.

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