Global regulators intensify cross-border oversight as the SEC and Japan’s FSA deepen cooperation on crypto supervision, digital assets, and investor protection, signaling tighter alignment across two of the world’s most influential capital markets.
US SEC and Japan’s FSA Expand Crypto and Cross-Border Oversight Talks
International regulatory cooperation remains central to global capital market oversight. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Feb. 27 that it convened the Spring SEC-FSA Financial Regulatory Dialogue with Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) in Tokyo, focusing on cross-border supervision, crypto oversight, and investor protection initiatives.
“Our work with colleagues across the Pacific is critical to protecting investors, and I look forward to future opportunities for cooperation between our authorities,” the SEC commissioner added. Vice Minister for International Affairs Miyoshi Toshiyuki described the engagement as strengthening a longstanding partnership between the two regulators and emphasized continued cooperation to promote global market integrity and enhance investor safeguards.
As of late February, the SEC has shifted from a regulation-by-enforcement posture to a more guidance-based framework under a new administration seeking to position the United States as a global crypto hub. The agency has withdrawn several enforcement cases tied solely to unregistered broker-dealer or exchange allegations, issued a January statement clarifying pathways for tokenized securities within existing disclosure rules, and acknowledged under the GENIUS Act that payment stablecoins are not securities, placing primary oversight with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve.
Meanwhile, Japan’s FSA is advancing a sweeping overhaul to integrate digital assets into its core financial system. The regulator is reportedly moving 105 major cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ethereum, from the Payment Services Act to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, treating them as financial products comparable to stocks and bonds. Authorities are pursuing tax reform to reduce crypto gains levies from as high as 55% to a flat 20%, aligning them with capital gains on equities, while introducing insider trading prohibitions enforced by the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission. The FSA is also reviewing rules that would allow banks to hold cryptocurrencies for investment and enable subsidiaries to operate licensed exchanges.