Japan's Financial Services Agency Proposes Stricter Penalties for Unregistered Crypto Sales, Maximum Prison Sentence Could Increase to 10 Years

Odaily News: Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) plans to strengthen regulations on unregistered cryptocurrency businesses and intends to move the relevant provisions from the Payment Services Act to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act to enhance investor protection.

According to the proposed plan, the criminal penalties for businesses selling crypto assets without registration will be increased from the current "imprisonment for up to 3 years or a fine of up to 3 million yen" to "imprisonment for up to 10 years or a fine of up to 10 million yen (or both)". Simultaneously, Japan's Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission will be granted stronger enforcement powers, including criminal investigation measures such as conducting on-site inspections and evidence seizure.

Furthermore, regulators also plan to change the legal designation of registered entities from "crypto asset exchange service providers" to "crypto asset trading service providers". One of the backgrounds for the regulatory strengthening is the continuous increase in the number of disputes related to highly speculative meme tokens. (Nikkei News)