Japan's revised Financial Instruments and Exchange Act passed the upper house on July 15, officially classifying crypto assets as financial instruments. The change brings digital assets under the same regulatory framework as traditional securities, marking a major shift for the country's crypto industry.
Crypto Gains Financial Product Status
The revised law, which cleared the House of Councillors on July 15, recognizes crypto assets as financial products subject to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act. This reclassification is expected to lead to separate taxation at a flat 20% rate for crypto gains, though the exact implementation date will be the January 1 of the year following the law's enforcement date.
Industry observers view the move as a significant step toward mainstream adoption, as it provides clearer legal status and investor protections. The change aligns Japan with other developed markets that have moved to integrate digital assets into existing financial regulations.
Institutional Adoption Accelerates
International developments mirrored Japan's regulatory progress. Morgan Stanley's E*TRADE announced it would begin offering spot crypto trading, partnering with crypto payment infrastructure provider Zero Hash. The move signals growing institutional appetite for direct digital asset exposure.
Separately, SBI Holdings announced a strategic partnership with U.S.-based Ondo Finance on July 16 to tokenize Japanese stocks and bring foreign tokenized products to Japan. Ondo Finance specializes in real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and distribution platforms, bridging traditional finance and blockchain-based markets.
Weekly Quiz for Readers
To help readers stay informed amid rapid changes, NADA NEWS launched a weekly Saturday quiz series covering key developments. The quiz includes five questions on basic crypto knowledge and current events from the past week, with answers and explanations provided during the Tuesday X Spaces broadcast "Weekly NADA NEWS." The next episode airs July 21 at 12:30 p.m. JST.