USDT → JPY

Buying USDT with Japanese yen: why the P2P price often sits well above the dollar rate

Japan was one of the first countries to regulate crypto exchanges. Under the Payment Services Act, since 1 April 2017 anyone offering exchange between crypto-assets and legal tender in Japan must register with the Financial Services Agency (FSA) as a crypto-asset exchange service provider. The FSA tells users to confirm that a provider is registered before using it.

Stablecoins have their own rules. Under the amended Payment Services Act, from 1 June 2023 stablecoins tied to legal tender are treated as electronic payment instruments, and intermediating them requires separate registration as an electronic payment instruments exchange service provider. SBI VC Trade was reported in March 2025 to be the first firm registered this way, allowing it to handle USDC.

Binance's position in Japan matters here. The FSA warned Binance in 2018 and again in 2021 for serving Japanese residents without registration, and Binance's global platform stopped serving residents of Japan on 1 December 2023, moving users to the local Binance Japan. As a result the yen P2P market is thin: few ads, mostly small listings from individuals.

Because the market is thin, yen quotes often sit well above the dollar reference, with buy prices commonly several percent or more higher while sell prices sit below the rate, leaving a wide spread. Most ads use PayPay and bank transfer, with some Kyash and au PAY. Also know that in Japan, once a fraud victim reports to the police and the bank, the bank investigates and freezes the receiving account, so yen of unknown origin can drag your account in.