Regulation of Crypto-asset Exchanges and the Necessity of International Cooperation

By Naoyuki Iwashita

Abstract

Bitcoin realized anonymous international fund transfers via the Internet. In 2015, FATF proposed to regulate crypto-asset exchanges for AML / CFT, but it is not achieved in most countries yet.

Due to the wide-spread of crypto-asset investment after the sharp rise in the market price in 2017, the situation is changing. Not only from the viewpoint of AML / CFT but also the perspective of protecting individual investors and preventing cybercrime, the public intervention with crypto-asset exchanges has become more necessary. Attention is to be paid that turbulence of crypto-asset prices distorts the resource allocation of semiconductor production, and mining of crypto-assets is wasting global energy. Information sharing and cooperation among international financial authorities are indispensable.