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Former FSA commissioner joins DeCurret as crypto advisor

The former commissioner of Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) Toshihide Endo will join the ranks of DeCurret, a Tokyo-based crypto exchange starting April 1, 2021. According to the press release on DeCurret’s official website, Endo will serve as a special advisor.

Endo is said to guide the company on management policies, as well as strategies for digital currency and crypto-asset businesses. Moreover, the former commissioner’s advice would help promote the business in their goal to become one of the leading companies in digital currency.

Prior to joining the crypto exchange platform, Endo served FSA as a commissioner from 2018 to 2020. The former commissioner oversaw the banking and financial regulation of Japan including the country’s digital currency trading.

Moreover, he oversaw the regulatory scrutiny of DeCurret when digital coins were stolen from the platform in 2018.

In a 2018 interview with Reuters, Endo mentioned that there was no intention to curb the crypto industry excessively. Additionally, he said that he would seek to strike balance between protecting clients as well as promoting technological innovation.

DeCurret study group

It isn’t the first time DeCurret asked help from Japanese regulatory authorities for their projects. In June 2020, DeCurret hosted a study group chaired by Hiromi Yamaoka, the former Bank of Japan (BoJ) head of payments and settlement systems.

On top of that, DeCurret’s study group included the three largest banks in Japan namely Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), Mizuho Financial Group, and Mitsuri Financial Group.

The goal of the study group was to look over and examine challenges and solutions on digital currencies and digital settlement infrastructures. Aside from the three banks, representatives from BoJ and FSA were included in the group.

Moreover, the study group discussed preexisting worries about cryptocurrencies and digital payments. Concerns over privacy protection issues, crime prevention measures and technology risks were addressed in the study group.

‘These [concerns] have resulted in the needs for a direction for the realization of valuable digital currencies in Japan,’ DeCurret said in a statement announcing the study group’s launch.

Various digital payment systems other than DeCurret are competing in the Japanese market.

Japan is currently one of the countries with progressive crypto regulations. Under the country’s Payment Services Act (PSA), Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies are considered legal properties.

In mid-March 2021, BoJ also announced that they are drawing up plans to create a national digital currency. Haruhiko Kuroda, the governor of the financial institution, said that the plans for the digital asset will begin experimentation later this year. However, there are no indications that a central Japanese cryptocurrency will be utilized by the institution.

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