Japan Plans 20% Crypto Tax, Tightens Rules on 105 Green-Listed Coins
Japan is on the verge of shaking up its cryptocurrency rules so that digital assets are treated just like traditional financial products.
Quick overview
- Japan is set to reform its cryptocurrency regulations, treating digital assets like traditional financial products.
- The proposed changes include capping taxes on crypto gains at 20%, significantly lower than the current 55% rate.
- Individual traders will gain better access to cryptocurrencies through regulated channels like banks and insurance companies.
- Stricter disclosure rules and market oversight aim to enhance transparency and reduce manipulation in the crypto market.
Japan is on the verge of shaking up its cryptocurrency rules so that digital assets are treated just like traditional financial products. The Financial Services Agency (FSA) is working on a new framework that will apply to 105 major cryptocurrencies, including big names like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Main points in the proposal include capping taxes on crypto gains at 20% – a big drop from the current rate of 55%, which is similar to what you pay on stock investments. By making this a flat rate, the idea is that more people will want to trade in Japan rather than going abroad. And by making it so simple, they hope fewer investors will slip under the radar and use unregulated foreign platforms.
Individual traders are also set to gain much greater access to crypto through regulated channels, such as banks and insurance companies that can sell digital assets through their securities divisions. This could bring crypto closer to the mainstream and make it easier for everyday investors to join in – all while being safer and more tightly regulated.
Stricter Disclosure Rules for Investors
The FSA is really hammering home the importance of transparency and is requiring exchanges to give out straightforward information about each cryptocurrency they list – think details on the company that issued it, the tech behind it, how volatile it is, and what might go wrong.
JUST IN: 🇯🇵 Japan’s FSA plans to classify #Bitcoin and crypto as financial products, lowering the tax on crypto gains from 55% to 20%.
Bullish 🚀 pic.twitter.com/VSoBYAyEjS
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) November 17, 2025
It’s a bid to bring the high standards you see in the equities market into crypto as well, including rules on insider trading. If someone has sensitive information about a company or exchange, they shouldn’t be trading on it – especially when there are big events like new listings coming up. If they get wind of this sort of info beforehand – like news of a new listing, for example – they’ll be banned from making a move on the market until the news breaks.
By keeping the number of domestic coins to 105, the focus is on ensuring the approved ones are high-quality and reliable, rather than letting in loads of low-quality foreign coins.
Market Oversight Tightens in Tokyo
The Japan Exchange Group is also tightening the rules to ensure investors are kept in check. They’re looking to implement stricter rules for backdoor listings (where companies suddenly decide to trade in crypto without warning) and would like to see more audits of companies making a big play in the crypto space. Just recently, three publicly listed companies were forced to put their plans to buy digital assets on ice after regulators warned them that they might be sacrificing future fundraising opportunities by going so deep into crypto.
All these measures together should mean a much safer, more regulated environment for people to trade in crypto. Taxation, trading, and disclosure are all going to be a lot more straightforward. More than a few analysts reckon that the 20% tax rate and the ability to buy crypto from banks and insurers will pull more trading back to Japan, and the stricter insider rules will do a lot to cut down on manipulation in the market.
For investors, it’s getting the message loud and clear: regulated access, cleaner data, and a fair playing field for crypto trading in Japan.
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