Japan Watchdog Adds Two Dubious FX Brands to Caution List

According to information on the Japanese regulator’s website, the Kanto finance bureau added Angelo Limited and NEXTART to its warning list today and cited that the two FX brands lack registration in the country.

Both firms either made solicitations or offered services online in Japan and/or in Japanese while not being permitted to do so. The firms' Japanese customers are not afforded the protections available to customers of firms properly licensed and regulated in the country.

The firms on Kanto’s list may have regulations in other jurisdictions, but this is not sufficient as no such passports are recognized, and firms need to obtain JFSA authorization to do business in Japan.

This was the case with some CySEC CySEC The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) is a financial regulatory authority of Cyprus. CySEC is one of the key watchdog authorities for brokerages in Europe, whose financial regulations and operations comply with the European MiFID financial harmonization law.Founded in 2001, CySEC is instrumental in providing licensing and registration for forex brokers and previously binary options providers.CySEC is responsible for a variety of different functions, which includes the supervision The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) is a financial regulatory authority of Cyprus. CySEC is one of the key watchdog authorities for brokerages in Europe, whose financial regulations and operations comply with the European MiFID financial harmonization law.Founded in 2001, CySEC is instrumental in providing licensing and registration for forex brokers and previously binary options providers.CySEC is responsible for a variety of different functions, which includes the supervision Read this Term-regulated brokers, such as Infin Markets, which is already a fully regulated brokerage in Cyprus. However, while the broker is regulated with the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Exchange An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv Read this Term Commission, it is not registered in Japan and thus does not have the permission to conduct business in the country.

Meanwhile, the agency noted that the information used in the warnings was obtained from solicitation materials and may be inaccurate.

Binary Options Bubble Continues

Additionally, the Kanto finance bureau warned that shady binary options brokers have resurfaced as of late, having added some unregulated brands to its caution list. Despite the regulator’s best efforts, the internet is still infested with binary con artists hunting for potential victims.

Notably, most of these firms offer binary options with expiration times as short as 30 seconds. This type of bet is not legal in Japan and runs against local regulations, which prohibit offering such short-term binary options.

Binary options are treated as financial derivative instruments under Japanese law. The ‘yes or no’ bets were popular in the country for many years and also highly regulated. Further, the Japanese financial authority that regulates binary options releases a monthly report, which aggregates the volumes of regulated Japanese operators, to show how the market is faring.

In addition, investors are able to check on the Japanese Financial Services Authority (JFSA) website to confirm if a company is registered and regulated in the country. However, Kanto’s list features names of unauthorized investment services providers targeting Japanese investors.