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Digital exchange CEO hails Japan’s progressive approach to bitcoin regulation

Leon Smith is the CEO and founder of Digital Assets Exchange. (Photo/Supplied)
Leon Smith is the CEO and founder of Digital Assets Exchange. (Photo/Supplied)
15 Oct 2019 03:10:48 GMT9
15 Oct 2019 03:10:48 GMT9

Staff Writer

From a regulatory perspective, the Japanese financial services regulatory authorities have taken a markedly progressive approach to the regulation of bitcoin, the CEO and founder of Digital Assets Exchange (DEX) told Arab News.

Japan might be the only major jurisdiction that may consider bitcoin as accepted legal tender, said Leon Smith.

That is a very progressive approach and certainly apt for crypto and digital assets regulation worldwide, he added.

Explaining the rationale behind Japan’s openness to cryptocurrencies, Smith said the country has always been self-driven and at the cutting edge of technology.

He added that this openness could be a contributing factor as to why any country may be open to new technology.

On the state of acceptance of cryptocurrency in general, Smith said: “What we’re perhaps witnessing currently is a paradigm shift from what was previously an unregulated sector moving into a regulated space and being treated as a unique asset class.”

DEX recently announced that it has secured in principle approval from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market to operate a Crypto Asset Exchange.

“It’s exciting to be part of a regulatory landscape that will help shape the international digital asset exchange ecosystem and encourage institutional participation in digital assets as an alternative asset class,” Smith said in August.

DEX will provide a platform for both retail and institutional grade investors to invest through a fully regulated exchange into crypto assets in the financial ecosystem. 

Subject to receipt of the FSRA’s final approval, the exchange will act as a fiat to crypto asset exchange, with major international currencies being served as well as local currency pairings native to the UAE / Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) markets.

Leading financial jurisdictions such as the US, as regulated by the Securities Exchange Commission, have provided guidance as to how digital assets in the form of coins, tokens or other digital assets may be treated. 

According to DEX, as no statutory laws have been enacted by the US Congress as federal law, it has left many primary stakeholders within the digital asset ecosystem conducting business in the country with little to no surety as to how the financial regulatory authorities will regulate the ecosystem.

Subject to regulatory approval, DEX expects to provide full operational trading services to clients in 2019 in the UAE, GCC markets and globally.

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