Japan’s Financial Services Agency and National Police Agency asked cryptocurrency exchanges on Aug. 6 to introduce withdrawal delays, address registration and stronger fraud controls as authorities respond to rising scam losses involving digital assets. 

The request went to the Japan Virtual and Crypto Assets Exchange Association, the industry’s self-regulatory body.The measures are requests rather than a binding rule. The FSA did not set a nationwide waiting period. Exchanges should tailor controls to their services and risk profiles. System changes may be phased.

Withdrawal delays are part of an 11-point anti-fraud package

The FSA wants exchanges to restrict crypto withdrawals for a period after customers deposit fiat currency or buy digital assets. It also asked platforms to require users to register withdrawal destinations in advance and impose another waiting period after a new address is added. The regulator did not specify either period’s length.

Exchanges were also asked to set withdrawal limits using customer risk, assets held, transaction purposes and previous activity. Regulators want firms to review customers who rapidly make large or frequent withdrawals after restrictions end, adding friction where scam proceeds can leave an exchange.

The request goes beyond withdrawal timing. Exchanges should strengthen transaction and access monitoring, detect activity inconsistent with customer profiles and identify accounts using devices linked to known misuse. Authorities also want suspicious transactions handled faster through holds, withdrawal restrictions or account freezes.

For higher-risk activity, regulators requested phishing-resistant multifactor authentication and stronger impersonation checks. Platforms should compare the name of a bank remitter with the crypto account holder and respond to mismatches. Exchanges are also expected to share fraud indicators and provide information rapidly to police.

Scam losses explain Japan’s tougher exchange controls

The National Police Agency’s latest published figures show why regulators are increasing pressure. Through May 2026, Japan recorded 18,067 special fraud cases, with losses reaching 151.47 billion yen. SNS investment scams accounted for 5,099 cases and 70.04 billion yen in losses, while SNS romance scams caused another 20.2 billion yen.

The trend was already visible in 2025. Police recorded 9,523 SNS investment scam cases with 128.8 billion yen lost. Romance scams reached 5,645 cases and 54.64 billion yen. Crypto-transfer romance scams rose to 2,177 cases, with 24.77 billion yen lost, helping explain the focus on digital-asset transfers.

Japan had already targeted the banking side. In February 2024, the FSA and police urged financial institutions to block transfers to crypto exchange accounts when the sender name differed from the originating bank account and strengthen monitoring of suspicious transfers. The latest request extends similar safeguards into exchange withdrawal systems.

As previously reported, Japan has also been tightening crypto oversight while moving digital assets closer to mainstream financial regulation. The withdrawal initiative fits that wider emphasis on investor protection and compliance.

What changes for Japanese crypto exchange users

The immediate effect will depend on each exchange. Because the FSA prescribed no single waiting period, users should not assume every Japanese platform will apply identical delays. Some operators already maintain withdrawal restrictions. SBI VC Trade, for example, says funds tied to certain quick deposits cannot be withdrawn or transferred as crypto until the eighth day.

For users, visible changes could include slower first-time withdrawals, mandatory address registration, personalized limits and more verification when activity differs from normal behavior. A customer adding a new wallet and immediately attempting a large transfer could face additional checks or a temporary hold.

The safeguards may also affect legitimate users who need rapid access to self-custody wallets. However, the FSA says implementation should reflect each operator’s business model and misuse experience. It does not order exchanges to impose a blanket freeze on every withdrawal.

Travel Rule requirements already require exchanges to collect and share identifying information for certain transfers. Japan’s newest request adds transaction friction and behavioral monitoring to those identity-based controls.

What happens next for Japan’s crypto exchanges

The FSA and police asked the JVCEA and member exchanges to strengthen the measures from August. Exchanges must assess which controls require policy or system changes and how quickly they can deploy them. The official request says planned implementation is acceptable where immediate technical changes are difficult.

No uniform start date or mandatory delay length was announced. The next developments to watch are exchange-specific notices, possible JVCEA guidance and any later move by the FSA to convert parts of the request into formal supervisory requirements. Until then, implementation is likely to vary by platform in practice.

A bipartisan ethics proposal being discussed as a potential path to advancing the US crypto market-structure bill could offer a major tax benefit to President Donald Trump, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

Bloomberg said the proposal—an addendum tied to ethics rules intended to address Democratic concerns about conflicts of interest—would require Trump to divest from crypto-related businesses. According to people familiar with the matter, it may also allow him to defer capital gains taxes on any divestitures, potentially resulting in tax savings in the millions.

Key takeaways

• Bloomberg reports a new ethics addendum could be linked to passage of the US crypto market-structure bill.
• The proposal would reportedly require presidential divestment from crypto-related business interests.
• A reported option to defer capital gains taxes on divestitures could create millions in potential tax savings.
• Democrats have previously flagged Trump’s crypto ties as a major hurdle to moving the market-structure legislation.
• Trump’s latest disclosed crypto-related income includes large revenue figures tied to token and memecoin licensing and sales.

Ethics addendum tied to market-structure push

Democratic lawmakers have repeatedly argued that the president’s financial exposure to crypto ventures makes it harder to support market-structure legislation without stronger conflict-of-interest guardrails. Bloomberg’s Thursday report frames the ethics proposal as another attempt to break that impasse.

While the addendum reportedly has not been made public, Bloomberg said it includes a divestiture requirement. The reporting also suggests an accompanying tax mechanism that would let Trump defer capital gains taxes if divestiture is required under the ethics rules.

Cointelegraph reached out to the White House for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

Why Democrats may scrutinize the tax-deferment angle

Even if divestment requirements were designed to reduce perceived conflicts, the reported tax-deferral benefit could complicate the political dynamics. Bloomberg noted that Democrats who are already wary about whether Trump’s financial interests are genuinely curbed may raise further questions if divestitures come with meaningful tax advantages.

That tension reflects a broader challenge in conflict-of-interest policy: divestment can change exposure, but the way tax rules interact with divestment can affect how fully a candidate or officeholder is seen to be stepping away.

Earlier coverage from Cointelegraph has described how concerns about Trump’s crypto conflicts have been central to resistance to the market-structure bill, and how senators were working on additional ethics language to clear a path forward. The new detail Bloomberg reported—tax deferral tied to divestiture—adds a fresh issue lawmakers may debate during negotiations.

New disclosure highlights scale of crypto-related income

One reason the ethics debate has been so intense is the extent of Trump’s disclosed financial involvement. Trump’s annual financial disclosure report for 2025, released at the end of June, listed $1.4 billion in income from crypto-related ventures during the prior year.

Bloomberg’s report, drawing on the disclosure, said the largest portion came from licensing and sale of memecoins, including Official Trump (TRUMP). The disclosure reportedly showed about $635 million in “royalties” from a “license agreement with Celebration Coins.”

The filing also indicated that World Liberty Financial—Trump’s family-associated DeFi platform—was a second major earner. Bloomberg said the disclosure attributed about $588 million to “proceeds from token sales.”

In addition, the disclosure reportedly listed $197 from the sale of an equity interest in a stablecoin venture.

Cointelegraph previously reported on the disclosures and their implications for the debate around crypto oversight, including details about stablecoin-related disclosures and the president’s crypto-connected business structures.

Corporate ties and ownership stakes remain part of the story

Separate disclosures about World Liberty’s website also reportedly show that DT Marks DEFI LLC, an entity affiliated with Trump and certain family members, owns approximately 38% of the equity interests in World Liberty’s parent company.

This kind of ownership stake is likely to matter as lawmakers weigh what “divestment” should mean in practice—especially when exposure can come not only from direct business operations, but also from equity structures and downstream licensing arrangements.

With the ethics addendum not yet publicly available, it remains unclear how detailed the divestiture requirement would be and whether it would extend to every category of financial involvement reflected in the disclosure.

For now, readers should watch whether the ethics language becomes public and how it is interpreted in Congress—particularly around what divestment would cover and whether Democratic lawmakers view the reported tax deferral as compatible with the goal of reducing genuine conflict. The outcome could shape not only the market-structure bill’s prospects, but also the standard future administrations may face when crypto policy intersects with personal financial interests.

Wintermute USA has registered as a broker dealer with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and joined FINRA, giving the crypto market maker a regulated foothold in American securities markets. 

Wintermute announced the registration on Aug. 6, saying the New York based affiliate will focus on proprietary trading and exchange traded product services.

The move brings Wintermute closer to traditional market making roles that were previously unavailable to its U.S. operation. The Wall Street Journal reported that the firm is now eligible to seek designated market maker status on exchanges including the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. That status is not automatic and would require additional exchange approvals.

Wintermute USA gains access to regulated securities trading

Under the new registration, Wintermute USA can trade traditional equities and equity options for its own account, provide liquidity to national securities exchanges and over the counter counterparties, and act as an authorized participant for exchange traded products. The company also said the unit can self clear digital asset securities transactions for its proprietary account.

Wintermute stressed that the U.S. business is focused exclusively on proprietary trading and ETP services. The registration places the entity under SEC oversight and FINRA membership requirements, including rules covering capital, supervision, recordkeeping and trading conduct. Wintermute also cautioned that FINRA registration should not be viewed as a regulatory endorsement.

The firm already has experience around U.S. crypto funds. SEC filings for Fidelity’s Bitcoin and Ether products have listed Wintermute Trading Ltd as a trading counterparty, while firms such as Jane Street and Virtu have served as authorized participants. Becoming a registered U.S. broker dealer creates a route for Wintermute USA to pursue roles that require securities market registration, although each fund or exchange relationship would still require separate agreements and approvals.

Wintermute wants a larger role in ETF market making

The Wall Street Journal reported that Wintermute USA has already secured ETF issuers as clients. CEO Evgeny Gaevoy said the company plans to start in markets close to its existing expertise, including commodities and digital asset ETFs, before considering a broader move into tokenized equities if regulators permit it.

Gaevoy also set an ambitious competitive target. He said Wintermute wants to challenge established firms including Jump Trading, Jane Street and Citadel Securities “within three to five years.” That goal remains forward looking. Wintermute has not disclosed market share targets, expected U.S. revenue or a timetable for obtaining designated market maker status.

The company says its global group handles more than $10 billion in average daily trading volume across more than 60 centralized and decentralized venues. That scale gives Wintermute experience in automated pricing and liquidity provision, but regulated U.S. equity market making has different operational, capital and compliance requirements.

Tokenized equities form the longer term opportunity

Wintermute’s interest in tokenized stocks predates the broker dealer registration. In September 2025, the firm submitted feedback to the SEC Crypto Task Force asking regulators to clarify how registered dealers can trade tokenized securities for their own accounts, self custody those assets and settle transactions onchain.

The registration therefore gives Wintermute a regulated entity that could participate if U.S. rules for tokenized securities continue developing. NYSE has also pursued a framework for tokenized securities to trade alongside conventional shares while using established clearing infrastructure. Those initiatives show how crypto native trading firms and traditional exchanges are moving toward overlapping market structures.

Wintermute had already been building its U.S. presence before securing the registration. As crypto.news reported in May 2025, it opened a New York headquarters and appointed former Blockchain Association executive Ron Hammond to lead advocacy.

What happens next for Wintermute USA

The immediate next step is execution rather than another automatic regulatory milestone. Wintermute USA can operate within the permissions described in its registration, but becoming an authorized participant for particular ETFs or a designated market maker on an exchange requires additional arrangements.

Likewise, the planned tokenized equity expansion depends on regulatory permission and market infrastructure that is still evolving. Wintermute’s own release described its tokenization ambitions as part of a future strategy rather than an approved business line.

For now, the broker dealer registration gives Wintermute a regulated platform for proprietary securities trading and ETP services in the U.S. It also narrows a structural gap between the firm’s crypto market making operation and traditional Wall Street firms that already sit inside ETF creation, redemption and exchange market making systems.