Japanese Regulator Hits Crypto Exchange LBank With Official Warning
Japan’s top financial regulator has issued an official warning to the LBank Exchange as it looks to crack down on overseas crypto exchanges that target Japanese customers.
On June 14, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) issued a warning to the LBank Exchange for offering Japanese residents “cryptocurrency transactions without registration.”
Under Japanese law, all Japanese exchanges must apply for FSA-issued operating permits.
This long and painstaking process has put many big-hitting players off the Japanese market. It has also led many major players to exit the market in recent years.
The law also states that all overseas firms that actively target Japanese residents must either stop doing so or apply for FSA permits.
In previous years, the FSA has written to top exchanges such as Binance to request that they stop targeting Japanese customers or apply for a license.
However, as of last year, the FSA has stepped up its scrutiny of overseas platforms. In 2023, the FSA warned Bybit, MEXC Global, Bitget, and Bitforex that they were “providing cryptocurrency trading” to Japanese residents “without registration.”
In its warning, which it published online on June 16, the FSA wrote:
“We have issued a warning today regarding unregistered cryptocurrency exchange operators in accordance with the administrative guidelines on […] cryptocurrency exchange operator relations. [LBank has] conducted cryptocurrency exchange business with Japanese residents via the internet.”
The FSA raised questions about the platform, adding that LBank “lacks a verifiable address” and an “identified CEO.”
Japanese crypto regulation is arguably stricter than many of its international counterparts. Several high-profile crypto exchange hacks have rocked the
