2 Officials of Japan's Self-Regulatory Crypto Exchange Agency Leave

Last April, Japan formed the Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association (JVCEA) to act as a regulator of cryptocurrency exchanges. Now, two of its members, who both hold the position of vice president, are stepping down after their respective exchanges were given regulator warnings.

Bitbank CEO Noriyuki Hiroyuki and bitFlyer CEO Yuzo Kano announced their exit on June 25, Cointelegraph reported. Kano and Hiroyuki’s companies were two of the six crypto exchanges that were mandated by Japan’s Financial Service Agency (FSA) to adhere to the strict guidelines relating to anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) regulations.

Despite the exits, the regulatory body remains stoic, vowing to continue the duty that it was given. “We will continue to do our utmost to protect the interests of users and to promote the sound development of the virtual currency exchange industry, including the early establishment of voluntary regulation rules,” the agency said.

The JVCEA is slated to release a regulatory measure tomorrow that will penalize crypto exchange employees if they participate in improper trading practices. The mandate comes from the fact that these employees have firsthand knowledge regarding the crypto market, putting other crypto traders at a disadvantage.

Moreover, the regulation will prohibit the trading of cryptocurrencies that have an anonymity feature to decrease the occurrence of money laundering. Zcash and Monero are among those that will be encompassed by this restriction, along with other cryptocurrencies designed to hide the identity of users and the transactions they conduct.

The JVCEA was formed following the hacking of Japanese crypto exchange Coincheck, where the culprits took off with $534 million worth of cryptocurrencies. The agency is the result of the merging of Japan Cryptocurrency Business Association (JCBA) and Japan Blockchain Association (JBA).

As of this writing, the government body has yet to announce who will fill the vacant positions left by Kano and Hiroyuki. And similar to most things, time will only tell whether their departure will have a significant impact on the agency moving forward.