A subsidiary of Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten, Rakuten Wallet, has partnered with blockchain security firm CipherTrace to assure Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance for the company’s upcoming crypto exchange. The development was announced in a press release shared with Cointelegraph on May 29. CipherTrace — which develops cryptocurrency AML, forensics and regulatory monitoring solutions — will work on improving the safety of Rakuten Wallet’s investors as well as the protection of the integrity and compliance of the exchange. Dave Jevans, CEO of CipherTrace, commented on the cooperation: “We have made significant strides as an industry to make the cryptocurrency market grow …

Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Taotao will launch its trading service on May 30, Cointelegraph Japan reported Monday, quoting a social media update. Taotao, which is 40% owned by internet giant Yahoo! Japan’s YJFX, will initially offer trading in bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH). Margin trading will also be available in litecoin (LTC), XRP and bitcoin cash (BCH) in addition to BTC and ETH. The start date brings to a close a year-long process since Yahoo! Japan closed the 40% percent equity deal in the exchange, then called BitARG, in April 2018. The company paid a rumored 2 billion yen for the …

Japan has been a land of firsts when it comes to crypto, even if "Satoshi Nakamoto" isn't really Japanese. It's the country where Mt. Gox — the first major crypto exchange — was based, as well as the first nation to accept bitcoin as legal tender. And last July, it became the first country to host a bank-owned cryptocurrency exchange, when financial services giant SBI Holdings launched the SBI Virtual Currencies (SBIVC) platform. At the time of its launch, SBIVC — called VCTRADE at the time — enabled trades in only XRP, bitcoin (BTC) and bitcoin cash (BCH). Yet, as …

The University of Tokyo, Japanese car manufacturer Toyota Motor Corporation and Japanese online renewable energy retailer Trende Inc. plan to jointly conduct tests for a blockchain-powered electricity system. The news was revealed in an official Toyota press release on May 23. The pilot, scheduled for June 17, will reportedly test a peer-to-peer electricity system that allows homes, enterprises and electronic vehicles that are connected to the power grid to trade electricity using blockchain. The initiative will reportedly be focused on Toyota's Higashifuji Technical Center and the surrounding area. As the press release outlines, with distributed power supplies — including solar …

Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) is reportedly cracking down on crypto exchanges that offer anonymous transactions or have weak identity verification practices in preparation for inspection by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) this fall. Nikkei Asian Review reported the development on May 22. The FATF will reportedly send its investigatory arm to review the strength of the Japanese FSA’s anti-money laundering (AML) policies, which includes policy for crypto exchanges and other financial services. Japan reportedly was given the worst possible score for identity verification in financial institutions in a 2008 report by the FATF. A decade later, the Japanese …

Japanese cryptocurrency exchanges have seen new account openings increase up to 200% in the past two months, Cointelegraph Japan reported on May 22. Data obtained from three major trading platforms — Bitpoint, DMM Bitcoin and Coincheck — pointed to a significant increase in interest from entry-level investors since the end of March. The change in habits among those who assumedly did not use cryptocurrency before highlights the impact of rising prices on consumer interest, which rose in step with the return of a bull market across the industry. Daily account openings for Bitpoint were three times as high in May …

The Japanese House of Representatives has passed new crypto regulation in the upper house of the National Diet, local news agency Nikkei reports on May 21. The lower house has reportedly moved crypto-related amendments to the existing financial law to the House of Councillors at a recent plenary session. According to Nikkei, the amendments to two of Japan’s financial laws — the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act and Payment Services Act — intend to strengthen local regulations on cryptocurrency trading process. The amendments reportedly extend the regulation by adding legislation for cryptocurrency margin trading. The new law also includes a …

Major automobile manufacturers Honda and General Motors (GM) are jointly conducting research on electric vehicle and smart grid interoperability using blockchain tech, Japanese news outlet Nikkei reported on May 20. As part of the project, Honda and GM will investigate whether electric vehicles can be used to stabilize the supply of energy in smart grids. Specifically, the companies intend to develop data retrieval methods between electric vehicles and smart grids, which will purportedly enable electric vehicles owners to earn fees from storing power in car batteries and exchanging it with the grid. The parties will work within the international technology …

Despite Japan’s reputation for being one of the most welcoming nations for fintech, online crypto gambling has struggled to take off in light of the country’s strict regulation. In late March, the blockchain-based, decentralized application (DApp) platform Tron announced that it would block gambling DApps in Japan, bringing the issue of regulating crypto gambling back to public attention. Cointelegraph takes a look at the legal and cultural approaches to gambling in Japan, along with how developers believe attempts to halt crypto gambling can only last so long. Tron complies with Japanese legislation On March 31, Tron announced in a press …

This article has been amended with a name correction for the CEO of Liquid. Crypto trading platform Liquid has established a joint venture with Virtual Currency Partners in order to enter the United States market, Cointelegraph Japan reported on May 15. The Japanese company, which achieved unicorn status after funding put its valuation at more than $1 billion last month, says the new venture will be known as Liquid Financial USA. In a news release, Liquid added that it hopes to enable U.S. customers to use and trade qash, its native token, subject to approval from regulators. The new venture …

Japanese internet giant GMO Internet Group saw its cryptocurrency profits drop in Q1 2019 amid market weakness, Cointelegraph Japan reported, quoting a new statement on May 10. GMO, which in December 2018 withdrew from bitcoin miner production due to the fall in bitcoin (BTC) prices, saw revenues of 12.9 billion yen ($117.4 million) in Q1, compared to 23.3 billion ($212.1 million) in Q4 2018. Driving the decrease was continued suboptimal performance of bitcoin mining, along with reduced volumes for GMO’s cryptocurrency exchange as traders held off buying and selling. The company has remained committed to the cryptocurrency space throughout its …

Japanese crypto trading platform Liquid has partnered with venture capital consortium Virtual Currency Partners (VCP) to create a jointly-owned entity that will pave the way for Liquid’s expansion to the United States. The news was revealed in an official announcement on April 29. As recently reported, Liquid hit unicorn status earlier this month with the first close of an ongoing Series C funding that put the company’s valuation at over $1 billion. According to today’s announcement, Liquid and VCP’s joint entity, Liquid Financial USA Inc. (Liquid USA), will support the expansion of Liquid’s crypto trading services to the U.S., subject …