Japan’s parliament poised to pass sweeping bill to regulate crypto like stocks

“Our framework intends to improve user protection while remaining mindful of promoting innovation, given that crypto assets are increasingly positioned as investment targets for both domestic and foreign investors,” the FSA said in the statement.

The FSA said the government is implementing an insider trading ban for crypto that works exactly like the stock market. Company insiders or exchange workers are banned from buying or selling tokens if they know about unpublicized “material facts”. This includes secrets like an exchange planning to add or drop a coin, a company going out of business, or large trades that make up.

The bill creates strict “information public disclosure rules” to stop developers from lying to the public. Projects must post clear details on how their technology works, their supply, and their business finances. If a company raises capital through a token but chooses not to obtain an independent audit from an accounting firm, regular investors will face a strict investment cap of 2 million yen.

The government also is getting much tougher on bad actors. The maximum prison sentence for anyone running an unregistered crypto business will jump from three years to 10 years. The country’s securities watchdog will also get clear powers to conduct criminal investigations and ask courts to freeze funds. Operating without registration could bring up to 10 years in prison, up from three, and fines could increase to 10 million yen ($62,800).