New rules would require identification of clients
Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso says the government plans to regulate trading of bitcoins and other virtual currencies through its Financial Services Agency. Operators will have to register with the FSA, obtain a license, confirm the identities of their clients, and also “improve their internal management systems,” according to Calvinayre.com.
The plan comes after the arrest of Mark Karpeles, CEO of failed bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox. Karpeles was arrested in Tokyo for changing transaction records to increase the balance of an account that was held in his name.
Investigators also learned that Mt. Gox ran out of money six months before it filed for bankruptcy in February 2014, and was short by about 850,000 bitcoins valued at ¥48 billion (US$7.6 billion) at the time.
In addition, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Mt. Gox illegally operated fund transfer services in the United States. The department seized $5 million from the Tokyo-based firm.
