Most Japanese say they would buy more Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and altcoins if the government agrees to reform the nation’s strict crypto tax rules.

This was the main takeaway from a survey of 1,500 adults conducted in April and commissioned by the Japan Blockchain Association (JBA).

Japanese Crypto Tax Reforms Would Drive Volumes Up, Says JBA

In response to the question: “Do you own BTC or other cryptoassets?” 13% of respondents responded in the affirmative.

However, their response to the follow-up question was telling. The question was: “Would you buy crypto/more crypto if the government were to set a flat 20% tax rate on crypto profits?”

To this, 84% of the 191 respondents who said they hold crypto answered “yes.”

And 12% of the 1,309 non-crypto holders also agreed that they would start buying coins if Tokyo green-lights tax reforms.

Capital Gains Tax Request

The JBA suggested that the survey shows that tax reforms would have a very noticeable effect on the trading volumes of domestic exchanges.

At present, Japanese investors must declare their crypto-related profits on income tax returns, in the “other income” category.

That means that depending on their tax brackets, crypto investors may have to pay taxes of up to 55% on their profits.

In many other nations, crypto is instead subject to capital gains tax. That means that, after a certain threshold, traders are taxed at a flat rate of (typically) 10-20%.

Reform advocates want Tokyo to approve a plan to scrap crypto income tax laws. In their place, they want a flat 20% capital gains levy.

The JBA supports this proposal, as do many key members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, in addition to opposition lawmakers.

However, the regulatory Financial Services Agency (FSA) effectively has the final say on all Japanese crypto policy.

Thus far, all of the FSA recommendations to the Cabinet have been enshrined into law.

The association said: “Cryptoassets are changing from a means of payment for the public to a means of asset accumulation.”

This is in line with the FSA’s own plans to reclassify crypto as a payment tool to an investment vehicle.

The industry body says it is “stepping up its efforts” to convince Tokyo to approve tax reform starting next year.

The JBA is an industry group that comprises some of the nation’s biggest crypto exchanges and blockchain firms.

JBA Submits Petition

The association also announced on July 18 that it has submitted a petition to the FSA calling for it to approve tax reform for crypto profits.

The survey was conducted on April 24 and April 25 this year. Respondents were all Japanese residents aged 20 to 69. Respondents were 60% male and 40% female, with an average age of 38.

The JBA also asked further questions. And 75% of respondents said they would prefer tax bodies to withdraw their payable taxes at source, rather than make separate tax declarations.

The JBA has also asked Tokyo to let crypto traders choose how they want to pay taxes: at source when they sell coins, or after filing declarations.

The survey’s authors also asked the respondents who do not currently hold any coins why they have not invested yet.

To this, 8% of respondents said that they thought that tax levels were too high. But 61% said they thought they lacked sufficient understanding of crypto.

The Japanese media outlet CoinPost reported that the FSA is now “deliberating a proposal to transition cryptoassets to the framework of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.”

“If the transition is approved, cryptoassets will be officially classified as financial products,” the media outlet explained.

Most of the respondents said they work in the private sector. Students made up 5.3% of the respondent pool. And 213 unemployed individuals also submitted responses.

At the time of writing, ETH trading accounts for almost half of the trading volume on bitFlyer, one of the nation’s biggest crypto exchanges.

Journalist

Sead Fadilpašić

Journalist

Sead Fadilpašić

About Author

Sead specializes in writing factual and informative articles to help the public navigate the ever-changing world of crypto. He has extensive experience in the blockchain industry, where he has served…

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June 1, 2025

The Czech Republic has been shaken by a Bitcoin scandal. On Friday, Justice Minister Pavel Blažek resigned, with the opposition set to demand the resignation of the coalition government this week as well.

The situation caught on fire at the end of last week after Blažek, a conservative politician, accepted a large donation in BTC and sold it for about $45.8 million in March, the AP reported. The opposition has raised concerns over the source of the donation.

Blažek received the coins from Tomas Jirikovsky, a convicted criminal. Jirikovsky operated the Sheep Marketplace. In 2017, he went to prison for embezzlement, drug trafficking, and illegal trading of weapons.

Jirikovsky’s lawyer reportedly approached Blažek in March 2025, saying his client would donate 30% of his BTC stash to the ministry. Police had confiscated the wallet containing this BTC and returned it to Jirikovsky after his release in 2021.

Blažek did not check the coins’ origin. “I have no way to investigate the matter, and I wasn’t interested so many years after the case,” he said at a press conference on Thursday. Jirikovsky probably wanted “to repent” through the donation, he said.

He also claimed that courts had not proven that the BTC came from criminal activity.

However, the opposition parties argue that it’s unclear why Jirikovsky gave the coins to the ministry or where the coins came from. They accused Blažek of potential money laundering.

Furthermore, they argue that the state shouldn’t use the money until these points are clear.

Meanwhile, the High Prosecutor’s Office in Olomouc is investigating the case on suspicion of abuse of official authority and laundering of proceeds of crime.

Blažek denied knowledge of wrongdoing. Nonetheless, he said he resigned so not to harm the four-party coalition government led by Prime Minister Petr Fiala. The PM said he believed that Blažek acted with goodwill.

Czech Coalition Government in Danger?

Today, Brno Daily reported that the lower house will hold an urgent session on Thursday. The opposition parties will use the occasion to demand the resignation of the coalition government, the deputy leaders of the ANO and SPD parties, Karel Havlicek and Radim Fiala, said on Sunday.

“We will want the government to find sufficient self-reflection and resign,” Havlicek said. The current cabinet could stay until the parliamentary elections in October, but it shouldn’t have the power to make major decisions.

If the coalition government doesn’t resign,

“We are very strongly considering calling a no-confidence vote in the government.”

Fiala, deputy leader of the far-right SPD, said that his party “will support an extraordinary session” and a vote of no confidence in the government.

However, lower house speaker Jan Skopecek said the opposition’s plans are just “theatre” in the campaign ahead of the elections. He added that Blažek has already resigned, so there is no reason for the cabinet to do so as well.

Moreover, Czech Fiscal Council chair Mojmir Hampl argued that this case raises numerous key technical questions. However, these will not be answered in the pre-election stage.

Meanwhile, Le Monde reported that Jirikovsky had been trying to recover about 1,500 BTC, seized by the police, since his imprisonment. During the trial, the court suspected that the coins came from Nucleus. This is a dark web marketplace that, the report claims, shut down the day after Jirikovsky’s arrest.

Furthermore, BTC market monitors noted that a portion of the Nucleus-linked BTC, dormant since 2016, moved to new wallets in March. This is after Blažek signed the agreement, reports claim.

Jirikovsky claimed that he got to keep the BTC because he had obtained it legally. Blažek claimed he hadn’t made any promises in return for the donation.

All these allegations will likely be brought up during the Thursday emergency session.