Japan's House of Councillors passes a bill to classify crypto assets as financial products.

Japan’s House of Councillors plenary session passed amendments to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act and Payment Services Act on July 15, redefining crypto assets from payment instruments to financial products. Key revisions include: raising the maximum prison term for unregistered financial operations from under 3 years to under 10 years, and increasing the corresponding fine cap from under ¥3 million to under ¥10 million; introducing for the first time regulations on crypto asset insider trading, which ban transactions using non-public material information; and mandating annual information disclosure by specific crypto asset issuers. On the tax front, the system will shift from a maximum 55% comprehensive tax to separate declaration taxation (at a rate of around 20%), with loss carryforward allowed for up to three years. The reforms are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2028. Additionally, the proposed amendments will establish a regulatory framework to support the launch of crypto asset ETFs.