3 Factors Support a Rise in Japan’s Dominance in the Cryptocurrency Space

The land of the rising crypto-dominance

The land of the rising sun is gradually rising in dominance in the market for cryptocurrencies. April 2017 saw Japan’s legislation turn Bitcoin into a legal and recognized form of payment in the country. Then in September 2017, Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) gave its approval to 11 companies to run cryptocurrency exchanges in the country. These include Bitbank, BitFlyer, BitPoint, BitTrade, BTCBox, Fisco Virtual Currency Exchange (part of Fisco), GMO Coin (part of GMO), Money Partners, Quoine, SBI Virtual Currencies (part of SBI), and Tech Bureau. The count is now up from 11 to 16, with BitOcean receiving the FSA’s approval recently. Here’s a list of some of the most active cryptocurrency exchanges in the country against their trading volumes.

The latest to join the flock is DMM Bitcoin, a 7-coin exchange launched by the Japanese internet and entertainment conglomerate DMM Group. There’s also news about Japan’s largest bank, the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), planning to launch its very own virtual currency exchange. When it comes to cryptocurrency, Japan is on a roll, backed by adequate public confidence and acceptance regarding cryptocurrencies as a method of exchanging value.

We see three factors supporting Japan’s rising dominance in the crypto market:

1. Ripple (XRP)

The existing level of bank acceptance of cryptocurrencies such as Ripple (XRP) is worthwhile. A consortium of 61 Japanese banks, including big names such as Mizuho, MUFG and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, brought together by SBI Holdings and SBI Ripple Asia, is now production-ready on their project whereby transactions between them would be held under the RippleNet platform using XRP.

2. China and South Korea

While China and South Korea continue with their crackdown on cryptocurrency trading in their respective economies, Japan seems to be supporting and welcoming cryptocurrency trading with open arms. While China and South Korea are restricting cryptocurrency exchanges, Japan is opening up new exchanges.

3. Technological edge

Japan has always been in the drivers’ seat when it comes to technological advancement. This is also a reason why, Japan may find itself at a favorable spot when it comes to the FinTech space. From the country’s largest bank, MUFG is poised to launch its own digital coin, to news of the Fisco Exchange launching a new $2.66 million crypto fund to invest in Bitcoin and other digital currencies, to Kasotsuka Shojo (Virtual Currency Girls), a J-pop group where each of the eight girls represents one of the larger digital monetary formats; news and the media continue to remain abuzz with Japan’s foray into the cryptocurrency space.

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