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Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) has asked Apple and Google to halt downloads of five unregistered crypto exchanges, showing its strong focus on rules in the country. The FSA wants to stop downloads for five exchanges.
This includes Bybit Fintech from Dubai, MEXC Global and LBank Exchange from Singapore, and KuCoin from Seychelles, along with Bitget from Singapore. Although the FSA’s request was made by the end of January 2025, Apple took down the apps from its App Store on February 6, 2025, stopping Japanese users from downloading them.
Japan is being more careful with crypto compared to other Asian markets, aiming to protect users, including crypto players of the best no-KYC online casinos. While Hong Kong has greenlit the first spot of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs), Japan’s regulators are still cautious about the risks and ups and downs of crypto ETFs.
Yet, experts say the move to block downloads of unregistered crypto exchanges does not mean a crackdown on retail crypto investing. ‘This isn’t about shutting down crypto investing. It’s about drawing a line in the sand and saying, “If you want to play in our market, you’ve got to play by our rules”. And honestly, I think that’s exactly the right move’, Anndy Lian, author and blockchain expert, said.
‘Japan has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to regulating digital assets, and this is just another example of them prioritizing consumer protection and market integrity’, Lian added. The regulatory choice came almost five months after the FSA shared a new tax plan for 2025.
This plan would treat crypto assets like regular financial assets. Lian noted that Japan’s strict rules do not mean a ‘war on crypto’, but rather a focus on keeping investors safe and ensuring accountability.
He also mentioned that the regulatory framework is seen as a way to protect investors from past issues, such as the Mt. Gox incident. Lian said that it was suggested that if exchanges want to serve users in Japan, they just need to follow the rules.
Tokyo-based Mt. Gox was a major BTC exchange that fell apart in 2014 due to a hack, leading to losses of more than $9.4 billion for over 127,000 investors. In a key step for the industry’s acceptance, Mt. Gox finished 41.5% of its BTC payouts to creditors, giving out a total of 59,000 BTCs on July 30, 2024.
Ripple (XRP) and Bitcoin (BTC) value falls
BTC, XRP, and many other coins dropped, wrapping up a week of ups and downs as traders faced worries over President Donald Trump’s tariff plan. CoinDesk data shows that BTC, the top digital coin, fell 1.1% to $97,068.
The report was based on It mostly bounced back from the selloff on February 3, 2025, due to Trump’s tariff threats, which made investors pull back from risky assets. However, it has had a hard time staying above the $100,000 mark.
XRP, a well-known altcoin used for transactions on Ripple’s payment platform, dropped 4.9% to $2.31, well below its peak of $3.4 in mid-January 2025. Some of the reasons for the slowdown in crypto are that trading volumes are low, and the market mood is declining as Trump has not yet fulfilled his promise to set up a strategic reserve of BTC.
As the sector waits for news on new rules, coins are also affected by broader economic factors. These factors might cause the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates high for an extended time, keeping crypto users, including players of the best no-KYC online casinos on their toes.
Reviewed and edited by Albert Fang.
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Article Title: Japan Wants Crypto Exchange Apps Removed; XRP and BTC Falls
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