The Financial Services Agency ( FSA ) of Japan would not be considering the approval of exchange traded funds ( ETFs ) on Bitcoin ( BTC ). The denial was reported by Cointelegraph Japan on January 9th.
As reported on Monday, Bloomberg published an article in which he claimed that the Japanese regulatory body was considering the approval of an ETF on Bitcoin, citing an anonymous source. Subsequently, Cointelegraph Japan contacted the FSA, and a spokesperson for the institution denied Bloomberg's claims:
"At the moment, we are not considering an approval of ETFs based on cryptocurrency assets".
The agency staff also reported to Cointelegraph Japan that they did not know who the "fact -aware " source mentioned by Bloomberg was.
As reported in December, the FSA is however considering the possibility of placing cryptocurrencies in a new category, called " crypto-asset ". By classifying the crypts in this way, the government " hopes the traders will not buy them out thinking they are legal tender currencies recognized by the government ".
At that time, an FSA advisory panel submitted a request to change the term " virtual currency " to avoid such confusion.
The Japanese agency is also considering regulating companies that promote investments in cryptocurrency without owning a license, in order to fill a gap in current local legislation.
SOURCE: www.it.cointelegraph.com/news/japans-financial-regulator-denies-interest-in-bitcoin-etf