Japan Skeptical of Bitcoin ETF Approval Despite Persuasion from Local Politician

Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA) like the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has expressed reservations on the approval of a crypto-based Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF). the major reason cited by the FSA is the problem of volatility which characterizes the cryptocurrency market.

This was contained in a report released by the finance committee of the upper house of the National Diet on May 30. Despite persuasion from a local politician Takeshi Fujimaki, the committee still insists on caution as long as the cryptocurrency market is involved. Fujimaki said despite delays, the United States is likely to approve a cryptocurrency ETF.

He added that the hacks and thefts that are prevalent in the cryptocurrency industry will be taken care of if a an ETF is in place. Because the cryptocurrencies will be in safe custody, this will reduce the incidences of loss and encourage the participation of institutional investors, Fujimaki said. If the U.S and other countries will approve ETFs, he doesn’t want Japan to be left out.

The U.S SEC has delayed the approval of two Bitcoin ETFs since 2018, also citing volatility as the problem. The commission has so far delayed its decision on the VanEck and Bitwise ETF applications this year and in its last meeting postponed the decision till August 18 2019.

The Japanese FSA still expresses doubt about the approval, saying Bitcoin is without any intrinsic value despite Fujimaki’s position that an ETF will reduce volatility in the industry. As crypto-related ETF applications are being delayed, the market still seems to be doing fine, so an ETF will only be an addition to the industry.