Japan's Financial Services Agency collaborates with GMO Coin and Bitbank to develop a crypto anti-money laundering pilot program, accelerating institutional investor deployment

On March 3, Japanese regulators are seeking assistance from the private sector to strengthen anti-money laundering (AML) measures for cryptocurrencies. The Financial Services Agency (FSA) announced that over the next three months, it will support pilot projects involving companies such as GMO Coin, Bitbank, and Chainalysis Japan to test compliance for cryptocurrency transactions, stablecoins, and NFTs.

Aleksander Gora, Head of Identity and Digital Trust at security services firm Teranode Group, stated that global trends show the private sector is playing an increasingly important role in AML enforcement, as it has access to transaction data and technological resources. The FSA aims to achieve cross-agency information sharing through the private sector framework, including wallets suspected of fraud, to enhance the effectiveness of AML measures.

Additionally, several major Japanese companies are participating in the pilot, including Rakuten Group’s crypto division, Nomura Securities, and Hitachi Group. Shiv Shankar noted that Japan’s cautious regulation combined with forward-looking technology makes a model where standards are set by the government and implemented by private companies very suitable for the local environment. This collaboration is expected to promote the integration of cryptocurrencies into the mainstream financial system and support Tokyo’s goal of full cryptocurrency adoption by 2028.

In the financial sector, Nomura Securities is seeking to obtain a Japanese operating license for its European crypto exchange, while Daiwa Securities Group and SMBC Nikko Securities are considering similar initiatives. As banks and securities firms launch yen-pegged stablecoins and expand crypto financial services, cross-sector cooperation will be key to improving compliance and market confidence. Market observers believe this trend could attract more institutional investors to Japan’s crypto market and strengthen efforts to prevent money laundering risks.