Japanese Bitcoin market

On March 27, the Japanese National Diet officially approved the 2017 tax reform proposals shared by Deloitte, passing the Bitcoin consumption tax bill along with other bills listed on the proposed reforms. The bill, which came into effect on July 1, is expected to drastically increase Bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading activities within the Japanese cryptocurrency exchange market.

On April 1, the Japanese government officially recognized Bitcoin as a legal payment method and currency. Since then, the Japanese government has been focusing on creating and establishing a more efficient ecosystem for Bitcoin traders, businesses and users. A major part of the initiative was to render Bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading frictionless, allowing traders to easily access cryptocurrencies without having to deal with external factors such as taxes.

The Japanese Bitcoin exchange market is already well regulated and well-equipped with appropriate Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) systems. AML policies are especially strict in Japan and South Korea, it is difficult for traders to take advantage of potential arbitrage opportunities and utilize Bitcoin to move large sums of money outside of Japan without triggering the AML systems adopted by local trading platforms.