Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan will face significant restrictions on margin trading as soon as this Spring, according to reports. Referencing sources at Japan’s finance regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), local English-language news outlet Japan Times revealed plans to limit margin leverage to twice the total of traders’ deposits. FSA seeks to counter crypto volatility The move follows on from a limit of four times traders’ deposits which the domestic exchange industry imposed on itself through a self-regulatory body last year. The reason, according to the FSA sources, is to guard against periods of volatility on cryptocurrency …

Mark Karpeles, the former CEO of the now-defunct Bitcoin (BTC) exchange Mt. Gox, is seeking to put an end to litigation filed by a former exchange user back in 2014. In papers filed in a Chicago federal court on Jan. 8, Karpeles contended that he is entitled to summary judgment as the main plaintiff in the case as Gregory Greene readily admitted that his initial claims were either untrue or unsupported. A summary judgment can be awarded by a court on behalf of one party against another “summarily” - i.e. without the process of a full trial. It is typically …

The operator of what is set to become the world’s largest Bitcoin (BTC) mining facility has reportedly signed a deal with Japanese financial services giant SBI and internet provider GMO. A Jan. 7 BNN Bloomberg report claims that the two Japanese mega-firms have agreed in principle to process cryptocurrency transactions at a new mining facility — of unprecedented scale — now being developed in Rockdale, Texas. The facility will be operated by Whinstone Inc., a subsidiary of the Frankfurt-based Northern Bitcoin AG. Whinstone — which has been operating since 2014 and has its own mining sites across the Netherlands, Sweden …

In 2019, we witnessed crypto regulations leave the domain of stuffy legal pontification and enter the realm of geopolitics (as a stuffy legal pontificator, I have mixed feelings about this). We saw President Trump tweet about crypto regulations, as well as powerful international organizations express their agenda on how crypto should be regulated. We saw bold, forward-looking moves from smaller nations play out, and crypto-schizophrenic China plant its flag somewhere on the cryptomoon, though we still don’t know on which side. These actions illustrate the global regulatory landscape evolving along the contours of the legacy international financial order inherited from …

Japanese financial services firm Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings will invest about 500 million yen (nearly $4.6 million) in the Japanese branch of cryptocurrency exchange Huobi. According to a press release on Dec. 26, the investment is part of a broader collaboration with Huobi Japan, wherein Tokai will acquire shares in the exchange. Tokai did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for details regarding the share acquisition. This article will be updated once more information is forthcoming. Tokai intends to use the partnership with Huobi to promote new businesses in the areas of crypto asset exchange, initial exchange offerings, local currency …

Japanese retail giant Rakuten now lets its customers convert its Rakuten Group loyalty points to major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC). According to an official announcement on Dec. 24, this capability is immediately available for Rakuten users in Japan who have an account with Rakuten Wallet, a crypto exchange subsidiary of Rakuten. The company says its clients can convert their loyalty points to three different cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ether (ETH), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). The minimum crypto purchase is $0.90 With one Rakuten Super Point worth one Japanese yen (approximately $0.009), users need to have at least 100 such points to …

Japan’s top credit card issuer JCB plans to adopt a new business-to-business (B2B) payment solution based on blockchain technology. JCB has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with blockchain-based commercial payments platform Paystand to develop a digital payment platform for enterprises and customers in Japan, Cointelegraph Japan reports Dec. 20. Initiative to cut costs and delays associated with “pre-internet technology” in Japan’s $10 trillion B2B market The new joint development aims to cut costs and delays associated with “pre-internet technology” that is still practiced in Japan’s $10 trillion B2B market that is still dominated by cash transactions, Paystand CEO Jeremy …

Japanese financial services giant SBI has partnered with Germany’s second-largest stock exchange Boerse Stuttgart Group to promote the adoption of digital assets. Specifically, SBI will invest an undisclosed amount in two digital asset-focused subsidiaries of Boerse Stuttgart Group — Boerse Stuttgart Digital Exchange (BSDEX) and Boerse Stuttgart Digital Ventures, Cointelegraph Japan reports Dec. 20. BSDEX is a new cryptocurrency exchange venture launched by Boerse Stuttgart Group in September 2019, while Boerse Stuttgart Digital Ventures is the parent company of Sowa Labs, a firm that developed crypto trading app Bison. SBI and Boerse Stuttgart Group to “create digital asset demand worldwide” …

A Japanese gaming company says its goal is to deliver blockchain-enabled titles that are enjoyable for players — harnessing nonfungible tokens to allow gamers to uncover skills and characters that no one else has. Axel Mark says its flagship game, Contract Servant, delivers an experience that’s entirely different to rivals. Other trading formats focus on offering rare “strong” cards that command exceedingly high prices on secondary markets, but developers say such a scenario is “unlikely to occur” in their specially built ecosystem. The team says it has aimed to ensure that cards that may not be valuable to one player …

Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck has abruptly decided to cancel leveraged trading just months after relaunching the tool. In a blog post on Dec. 16, the platform said it had already stopped users from creating new leveraged positions. Coincheck: March deadline for settlement Traders with open positions must settle by Mar. 13, 2020, and balance transfers should complete by the end of the month. “Coincheck has decided to end the ‘leverage transaction’ service on Friday, March 13, 2020,” the blog post confirmed. Coincheck added: “If you have a current position, we would like to ask you to settle all positions by …

JPMorgan’s blockchain-based payment network will launch in Japan in early 2020, Cointelegraph Japan reports on Dec. 10. Based on JPMorgan’s in-house blockchain platform Quorum, the Interbank Information Network (IIN) intends to accelerate payment transactions as well as address major challenges of sharing data between banks. Bloomberg reports that more than 80 Japanese banks have expressed their intent to join the platform. Japanese banks now account for more than 20% of the 365 total global members that announced their participation since September 2019, accounting for the largest portion of participants from any single country. Daizaburo Sanai, an executive director at the …

Israeli-based fintech and cryptocurrency firm Simplex now supports two new fiat currencies — the Japanese yen (JPY) and the Canadian dollar (CAD). Following the addition, users at some of Simplex’s partner exchanges such as Binance will be able to buy crypto via credit cards using JPY and CAD, industry publication The Block reports Dec. 9. Not all Simplex’s partner exchanges will be supporting JPY and CAD by default Cointelegraph contacted both Simplex and Binance in order to confirm the news. Simplex’s spokesperson confirmed the report, noting that the company’s partners are now able to allow their users to buy crypto …