Japanese crypto exchanges aim to catch up with coin listings: Report

Japanese cryptocurrency exchanges are reportedly moving to increase competition with foreign cryptocurrency trading platforms by planning to simplify the process of listing new cryptocurrencies.

The Japan Cryptocurrency and Virtual Asset Exchange Association (JVCEA), a self-regulatory body of 31 local crypto exchanges, is preparing to release a “green list” of 18 widely accepted cryptocurrencies by the end of March, according to the local news agency. Nikkei. reported on Tuesday.

The green list is intended to prevent Japanese crypto exchanges from having to vet cryptocurrencies with the JVCEA each time before listing the coins on their trading platforms. Green-listed digital assets will no longer be subject to review, the JVCEA reportedly said in an online filing.

The upcoming green list will include some of the most traded cryptocurrencies in Japan, including Bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), XRP and Litecoin (LTC). According to the report, the conditions to be added to the green list include being listed on three exchanges in Japan, with at least one trading platform that must list that digital asset for at least six months.

The latest JVCEA initiative aims to give crypto investors more options to trade on regulated Japanese cryptocurrency exchanges. “Some industry executives said that sophisticated traders flocked to exchanges that do not have a license in Japan, such as Binance, in part due to a lack of options,” the report says.

According to the latest official list of coins traded on Binance, the cryptocurrency exchange supports over 80 cryptocurrencies as of mid-March 2022. Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States that operations officially launched in Japan last year, has list some 160 cryptocurrencies so far, according to its official website.

By contrast, Japanese cryptocurrency exchanges have collectively listed only about 40 cryptocurrencies so far, according to Nikkei. Cryptocurrency exchange GMO Coin is the largest Japanese cryptocurrency exchange in terms of supported currencies, handling 20 cryptocurrencies, a JVCEA official said.

BitFlyer, one of the largest crypto exchanges in Japan, was trade just five cryptocurrencies as of Tuesday morning, according to data from CoinGecko.

Related: Japanese Government Considers Relaxing Strict Coin Listing Rules

As previously reported, the JVCEA was established in March 2018 as a self-regulatory body following a series of hacking incidents that triggered intense scrutiny from regulators.

In February, the JVCEA complained that Japan's strict screening rules were significantly impeding the growth of the $1 trillion Japanese crypto industry.