Japan: 331 Cryptocurrency Investors Made More Than $1 Million In Profits Last Year

Tha National Tax Agency (NTA) of Japan is fully aware that more than 331 investors in the Japanese cryptocurrency sector recorded a profit of $1 million through trading, generating more than $331 million. The news comes from the mainstream media outlets in South Korea and Japan JoongAng and Nikkei.

By the end of 2017, NTA reported that 21.98 million people in Japan declared taxes to the government, generating more than 41.4 billion yen. The amount of taxes that was garnered last year, as such, increased by more than 3% from 2016, mostly because of the improvements in Japan’s economy.

Of all the 21.98 million individuals that filed taxes, 549 recorded non-operational or non-working profits of $1 million which usually include investments in stocks, assets, commodities, and properties. Of all the 549 that did this, 331 were cryptocurrency investors that made well over million dollars in profit in Japanese cryptocurrency market.

The Japanese government did not clarify its policy on cryptocurrency taxes and investors admitted their lack of confidence in the market. According to one blockchain technology consultant:

“The government hasn’t clarified certain details, so you’re left unsure whether you’ve got it right or not,”

Still, many industry experts believe that the number seems too low to be true and emphasized that many investors opted not to declare their earnings. As another analyst said:

“If the rapid growth of the cryptocurrency sector in late 2017 is considered, 331 is a number that is simply too low to be true. A large portion of cryptocurrency investors probably did not declare their earnings to the government,”

It is very likely that South Korea will follow the roadmap of Japan’s voluntary tax, especially after banning domestic initial coin offerings (ICOs) in order to “minimize risk”.