TechFlow news, December 9 — According to Yahoo, Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) has added a new Q&A section in the revised "Q&A on Financial Instruments Business and Related Matters," explicitly stating for the first time that offering derivative products in Japan based on overseas-listed cryptocurrency ETFs is "inappropriate."
The FSA noted that overseas cryptocurrency ETF prices are effectively linked to spot cryptocurrency prices, and thus contracts for difference (CFDs) based on such ETFs may fall under the category of "derivative transactions related to cryptocurrencies or financial indicators" as defined by the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act. Given that Japan has not yet permitted the establishment or sale of cryptocurrency ETFs, offering such products amid insufficient investor protection frameworks "raises concerns regarding investor protection."
As a result, IG Securities, which previously offered CFD products based on U.S.-listed spot cryptocurrency ETFs such as BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), has announced the termination of these trading services.
