BSV blockchain steps into Japan as Bitcoin Association joins local industry group

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The BSV blockchain industry is again making moves into some of Asia’s biggest markets. In Japan, Switzerland-based Bitcoin Association was this week accepted as an associate member of the Japan Cryptoasset Business Association (JCBA). The industry group has 112 members covering a spectrum of activities within—and associated with—blockchain technology in Japan.

One of Bitcoin Association Ambassadors to Japan, Masumi Hamahira, said he encourages those in the BSV industry to produce more presentation materials in Japanese, to help JCBA’s other members become more aware of BSV’s positions. Naming scalability and its focus on enterprise as two main advantages, he said it was important to maintain a gentle attitude when dealing with the Japanese industry, looking at positive points and education.

Hamahira has a background in banking with a speciality in Islamic Finance, having lived for a long period in Malaysia and working as an IF advisor at MUFG, one of Japan’s largest banks.

Those interested in the Japanese market should get in touch

Speaking to CoinGeek, he also urged those interested to get in touch with him via Twitter (@MasumiHamahira). The other Bitcoin Association Ambassador in Japan is long-time Bitcoin advocate Ken Shishido (@KenShishido).

“It is a good step for BSV to join the JCBA,” Hamahira said, “because so many big Japanese blockchain organizations are JCBA members. The Bitcoin Association can work with blockchain and cryptoasset business professionals from financial institutions, exchanges and technology providers, to lawyers, accountants, and regulators.

“The Bitcoin Association also can attend subcommittees of JCBA such as PR, security and systems, tax, custody, stablecoins, use cases, mining, ICO/IEOs, finance, staking, NFTs and DeFi so that the Association can now share the development and progress of the BSV ecosystem with Japanese professionals to enhance their awareness of BSV globally.”

JCBA Managing Director Seiji Yuji also welcomed Bitcoin Association to the group, saying it would contribute to the overall growth of the industry.

“At the JCBA, we work collectively with our members for the healthy development and expansion of the cryptoasset sector and related businesses. I expect that the activities of Bitcoin Association for BSV, working together as part of our own association, will contribute to the development of the cryptoasset industry and I look forward to working alongside them.”

As well as bringing together various representatives from the blockchain and digital asset industry to discuss issues of importance, the JCBA has also worked with regulators such as the FSA and Consumer Affairs Agency to develop positive public policy, and assisted in educating the wider public.

BSV has a tough road ahead in Japan

BSV faces some hurdles in Japan. For starters, it’s not actually possible to trade BSV assets on any exchanges in the country. Japan was the first country to formally recognize and regulate digital assets. However, its regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) set strict rules for assets that local exchanges may trade. 

At present, this includes an eclectic mix of well-known and lesser-known tokens, such as BTC, ETH, BCH, LTC, XRP and ETC—as well as Monacoin (MONA), Lisk (LSK), BAT, XEM, Stellar Lumens (XLM), Tezos (XTZ) and DOT. To join this list, BSV would need to have demand from local traders and exchanges in order to lobby the FSA.

The situation has meant that coverage of BSV news and overall awareness of its advantages (or even its existence) has remained limited in Japan outside of the digital asset industry.

In the time since it was founded in 2016, the JCBA has played a large role in growing the blockchain and digital asset industry in Japan. Despite strong initial curiosity for Bitcoin thanks to its creator’s Japanese pseudonym, the industry had a rocky start thanks to failed exchange Mt Gox having its headquarters in Tokyo.

Rather than ban digital asset trading altogether, Japan chose to examine and regulate the industry instead. Today it’s home to some of the world’s largest trading volumes, and billboards advertising Bitcoin and digital asset trading have been common in large public spaces for years.

“Remember, Japan was the first country to regulate cryptoassets,” Hamahira said. “Mt Gox was located in Japan. ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’ is from Tominaga Nakamoto, as you know. We will see the sharing of BSV in the land of the rising sun. It depends on us, including you! Let us go ahead!”

Watch: Bitcoin Association Founding President Jimmy Nguyen speech at CoinGeek New York, “BSV Blockchain: It’s About Time”