• The Regulation and the Legal Status Regarding Virtual Currencies-Focus on Japanese Law

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine Japanese legal regulations regarding virtual currency businesses and the characterization of virtual currencies’ legal status and to thereby promote Taiwan’s design of laws in similar fields. In 2016, the newly-revised Japanese Payment Services Act was enforced for the regulation of virtual currency businesses for the first time. In addition, the Japanese government followed the practices of AML/CFT to revise the Act on Prevention of Transfer of Criminal Proceeds. However, despite these new laws, the Japanese model of regulating virtual currency businesses appears to be insufficient. Moreover, the Japanese system encourages various virtual currency businesses to monitor themselves through self-organization. The Japanese government seems to have adopted a model that promotes the acceleration of financial technology. Regarding the legal status of virtual currencies, the Tokyo District Court ruled in 2015 that Bitcoin, a virtual currency, is not regulated by the Civil Code and that, therefore, no individual can claim ownership over it. As a result of this seemingly innovative concept, many Japanese elite legal scholars have begun to discuss the topic, and they have produced numerous worthwhile contributions to the literature. In sum, our findings indicate that the Taiwanese research efforts on critical, new concerns related to FinTech can benefit from the relevant Japanese research.

Keywords: Virtual Currency, Bitcoin, Regulation of Fintech, Payment Service Act of Japan