Compare the best crypto exchanges in Japan for 2026: regulation, JPY deposits and withdrawals, fees, coins, futures and each exchange's main catch.
Accepts clients from Japan Accepts clients from Japan Accepts clients from JapanAvailable in the EU as Bybit EU Accepts clients from Japan Accepts clients from Japan Accepts clients from Japan Accepts clients from Japan Accepts clients from Japan| Exchange | Spot assetscrypto | Futures assets | Spot feesmaker/taker | Futures feesmaker/taker | Max leverage | Japan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. BTCCVisit | 246 | — | 0.2% / 0.3% | 0.03% / 0.06% | 500× | Yes |
| 2. BitunixVisit | 546 | 520 | 0.08% / 0.1% | 0.02% / 0.06% | 200× | Yes |
| 3. BybitVisit | 380 | 577 | 0.1% / 0.1% | 0.02% / 0.055% | 100× | Yes |
| 4. bitFlyerVisit | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | Yes |
| 5. HTXVisit | 489 | 369 | 0.2% / 0.2% | 0.02% / 0.06% | 200× | Yes |
| 6. BinanceVisit | 507 | 525 | 0.1% / 0.1% | 0.02% / 0.05% | 150× | Yes |
| 7. MEXCVisit | 1,320 | 614 | 0% / 0.05% | 0% / 0.02% | 200× | Yes |
| 8. KrakenVisit | 679 | 177 | 0.4% / 0.8% | 0.02% / 0.05% | 50× | Yes |
| Exchange | Score | Founded | Headquarters | Founder | CEO | KYC | Japan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. BTCCVisit | 7.5 | 2011 | London | Bobby Lee | Mark Lee | No KYC | Yes |
| 2. BitunixVisit | 8.4 | 2021 | Seychelles | Arron Lee | Arron Lee | No KYC | Yes |
| 3. BybitVisit | 9 | 2018 | Dubai | Ben Zhou | Ben Zhou | Required | Yes |
| 4. bitFlyerVisit | 5.7 | 2014 | Tokyo, Japan | Yuzo Kano | Yuzo Kano | Required | Yes |
| 5. HTXVisit | 6.9 | 2013 | Seychelles | Leon Li | Jun Du | No KYC | Yes |
| 6. BinanceVisit | 8.9 | 2017 | Cayman Islands | Changpeng Zhao | Richard Teng | Required | Yes |
| 7. MEXCVisit | 4.2 | 2018 | Singapore | John Chen | John Chen | Required | Yes |
| 8. KrakenVisit | 9.3 | 2011 | San Francisco, USA | Jesse Powell | David Ripley | Required | Yes |
The Japan column is checked live against each exchange's restricted-country list.
BTCC is our top pick for Japan, best suited to futures traders who want high leverage from an exchange that has run since 2011 without being hacked. The rest of this ranking covers the other things a trader in Japan should weigh: yen funding, fees, coin range and security record.
A business must be on the Financial Services Agency (FSA) register to exchange crypto for yen in Japan, and yen normally reaches an exchange by domestic bank transfer over the Zengin system. Crypto margin and derivatives fall under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, which caps leverage for individuals at 2x. A law passed on 15 July 2026 moves crypto trading under that act and adds insider-trading rules, with its crypto provisions taking effect by July 2027. Until then, the FSA register is where you check an exchange’s status.
Futures are the reason to open a BTCC account, with up to 500x leverage and fees of 0.03% for makers and 0.06% for takers. That leverage is far beyond the 2x Japanese rules allow individuals, so even a small price move against you can wipe out a position.
Spot trading covers 246 coins but costs 0.2% for makers and 0.3% for takers, which makes regular buying here expensive. Copy trading and a free demo account let you practise futures with virtual funds first, and BTCC publishes proof of reserves, so you can check that customer deposits are backed.
You can deposit by card, bank transfer, Apple Pay, Google Pay or crypto, and ID checks are optional up to $10,000 in daily withdrawals. BTCC launched in 2011, is based in London and was co-founded by Bobby Lee, with Mark Lee as CEO. The main catch is that withdrawals are crypto only, so turning profits into yen means sending coins to another exchange to sell.
Key points
Low fees across a wide menu make Bitunix a strong all-round account: 546 spot coins, with limit orders charged 0.08% and market orders 0.1%, plus futures on 520 coins at 0.02% and 0.06%. If you want to buy altcoins and trade futures from one account, your costs stay below most exchanges here.
Beyond crypto you can trade 175 stock tokens along with forex, index, commodity and ETF markets, and copy trading and a demo account come included. Leverage runs to 200x, well past Japan's 2x limit for individuals, so treat it as a ceiling rather than a target.
You can fund the account with crypto, a card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or a bank transfer from a $10 minimum, and verifying your ID is optional, with $500,000 in daily withdrawals allowed before you do. Bitunix was founded in 2021, is based in the Seychelles and is run by co-founder and CEO Arron Lee. Withdrawals are crypto only, which means getting back to yen always takes an extra step through another exchange.
Key points
Few exchanges here cover as much ground as Bybit: futures on 577 coins, options on 8 coins, 548 stock tokens and trading bots, alongside 380 spot coins. If you want spot, derivatives and automation under one login, you are unlikely to outgrow it.
A spot trade on Bybit runs 0.1% whichever side you're on, while futures charge 0.02% on limit orders and 0.055% at market, with up to 100x leverage, far more than the 2x Japan allows individuals. Bank transfer works for withdrawals as well as deposits, and a P2P market gives you another route between crypto and cash.
You'll need to verify your ID, and crypto, card, bank transfer, Apple Pay and Google Pay are all accepted for deposits. Bybit dates from 2018 and has its base in Dubai; Ben Zhou, one of its co-founders, runs it as CEO. In February 2025 it was hacked for over $1.5 billion and recovered all users' funds within 72 hours, but it shows even the biggest exchanges can be breached, so don't keep more there than you trade with.
Key points
bitFlyer is the only exchange here headquartered in Japan, based in Tokyo, Japan. That makes it a natural first look for anyone who wants a domestic company, but check its entry on the FSA register before depositing, since only registered businesses may exchange crypto for yen.
The range is narrow: 4 coins to trade and futures on 1 coin, with no copy trading, bots or staking. If you only want a handful of coins, that is enough; if you want altcoins, you will need a second account.
bitFlyer asks every customer to verify their ID and keeps funds in cold storage. It launched in 2014, and Yuzo Kano, one of its co-founders, is also CEO. A real drawback is that bitFlyer doesn't publish proof of reserves, so you can't check that customer deposits are fully backed.
Key points
Yen funding is the draw at HTX, which accepts payments in Japanese yen, so you can put money in without converting through another currency first. Bank transfer and P2P also work for withdrawals, which gives you a way back to cash.
HTX charges 0.2% on spot whether you use a limit or a market order, twice the rate at Bybit or Binance, while futures run 0.02% and 0.06% with up to 200x leverage, far past the level Japanese rules permit for individuals (2x). You get 489 spot coins, futures on 369, options, trading bots and copy trading.
ID checks are optional to start, but withdrawals are capped at 0.6 BTC until you verify. HTX, formerly Huobi, started in 2013 with Leon Li among its co-founders; its headquarters are in the Seychelles, and Jun Du is CEO. Its security record is the worry: $7.9 million in ETH was stolen in 2023 and $258 million was drained in 2024 in incidents linked to related platforms, so keep only your trading balance there.
Key points
Binance has the deepest liquidity of any exchange here, with futures on 525 coins and 507 spot coins across 1,375 trading pairs. Deep order books mean large orders fill close to the quoted price, which matters if you trade in size.
Every spot trade on Binance costs 0.1%, limit or market, and futures run 0.02% and 0.05%, with optional discounts for paying fees in BNB. Options, bots, copy trading, demo trading and 168 stock tokens round it out, but the interface isn't beginner friendly, so expect a learning curve, and the 150x leverage on offer is many times the 2x ceiling for individuals in Japan.
ID verification is required, deposits run by card, bank transfer, Google Pay, P2P or crypto, and bank transfer also works for withdrawals. Binance opened in 2017, co-founded by Changpeng Zhao, and operates from the Cayman Islands under CEO Richard Teng. In October 2022 a hack led to outflows of BNB worth over $500 million, a reminder that coins you aren't trading are safer in your own wallet.
Key points
No exchange here lists more coins than MEXC: 1,320 on spot and futures on 614, with new tokens often appearing here first. A limit order on MEXC spot costs 0% and a market order 0.05%, so it is the cheapest place in this ranking to trade small altcoins.
Futures cost 0% for makers and 0.02% for takers, the lowest here, with up to 200x leverage, far beyond Japan's 2x limit. Many smaller coins trade thinly, so check the order book before buying or you may pay well over the quoted price.
Nothing works until you pass ID verification, not deposits, trades or withdrawals, and you can pay in via PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, card, bank transfer or crypto. MEXC went live in 2018, is headquartered in Singapore and has John Chen, who helped found it, at the helm as CEO. There are many reported cases of MEXC withholding customer funds, so if your account is frozen you may have no quick way to get your money back.
Key points
Kraken has operated since 2011 out of San Francisco under CEO David Ripley, and today holds a 9.3/10 rating. KYC is required for account use, which aligns with Kraken's approach to regulatory compliance across the jurisdictions it serves.
On the trading side, Kraken lists 679 spot assets and 177 futures assets, with futures leverage available up to 50x. Spot trading carries a maker fee of 0.4% and a taker fee of 0.8%, while futures fees are notably lower at 0.02% maker and 0.05% taker. This fee structure makes Kraken more competitive for active futures traders than for casual spot buyers.
Security infrastructure includes proof of reserves, cold storage for user funds, two-factor authentication, wallet whitelisting, and a withdrawal password option, though passphrase support is not offered. Kraken's security track record includes one notable incident in 2024, when security firm CertiK exploited a bug to withdraw funds from Kraken's treasury; the funds were fully returned after a public dispute, and no customer assets were affected.
Funding is flexible, with support for crypto, bank transfers, ACH, SEPA, card payments, PayPal, Google Pay, and Apple Pay. Kraken does restrict access in Belarus, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Syria, so traders should confirm eligibility based on their location.
Our editorial team selected, tested and ranked the best crypto exchanges for traders in Japan. We picked exchanges that accept users in Japan and ordered them on the whole package. The order is an editorial judgment of that package, while the CWR Score on each card rates that exchange on its own, so some exchanges placed lower have a higher score.
Yes. Buying, holding and trading crypto is legal in Japan. A business that exchanges crypto for yen in Japan must register with the Financial Services Agency (FSA), whose register listed 27 crypto-asset exchange service providers on 1 September 2026. The FSA also publishes the names of unregistered domestic and overseas firms it has sent warning letters to. Crypto margin and derivatives trading falls under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, and leverage for individuals is capped at 2x.
The rules are about to change. A law passed on 15 July 2026 moves crypto trading from the Payment Services Act to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, treats crypto as a financial product separate from securities and adds insider-trading rules. Its crypto provisions must take effect by July 2027; until then, the FSA register is where you check that an exchange is registered.
In Japan, profit from selling crypto, swapping one coin for another or paying for goods with it generally counts as miscellaneous income. It is added to your other income and taxed at progressive national income tax rates from 5% to 45%, plus surtaxes equal to 2.1% of that tax and a 10% local inhabitant tax. Losses can’t be offset against salary or other income, and rewards from staking, lending or mining count as income at their market value when you receive them.
Salaried employees must file a return if their income outside salary, crypto included, is more than 200,000 yen in the year. The government’s December 2025 tax reform outline plans a flat 20% rate (15% national, 5% local) on gains from selling eligible crypto through registered exchanges, with losses carried forward for three years. It would apply from 1 January of the year after the amended Financial Instruments and Exchange Act takes effect, which must happen by July 2027.
This is a general overview, not tax advice. Tax rules change and depend on your situation, so check with the National Tax Agency (NTA) or a tax adviser before you file.
Official sources, checked September 2026: NTA: tax treatment of crypto assets FAQ (December 2025); NTA: income tax rates (Tax Answer No. 2260); Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications: individual inhabitant tax; Ministry of Finance: FY2026 tax reform outline (crypto separate taxation).
Getting your first Bitcoin or Ethereum in Japan takes a few steps once you have chosen where to trade.
BTCC is the pick for futures traders in Japan who want high leverage from an exchange with a clean security history, though its crypto-only withdrawals mean you need a second route back to yen. Bitunix and Bybit suit traders who want low fees and a broad product range, HTX is the choice if yen payments matter most, and bitFlyer is the only exchange here headquartered in Japan. Whichever you choose, check the FSA register before sending yen, remember that Japanese rules cap leverage for individuals at 2x, and keep only your trading balance on any exchange.
Yes. Buying, holding and trading crypto is legal in Japan. A business that exchanges crypto for yen must be registered with the Financial Services Agency, which publishes a register of crypto-asset exchange service providers and names unregistered firms it has warned.
BTCC is our top pick, best for futures traders who want high leverage from an exchange that has run since 2011 without a hack. If you want to fund in yen, HTX accepts yen payments, and bitFlyer is the only exchange here headquartered in Japan.
Crypto margin and derivatives trading falls under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, which caps leverage for individuals at 2x. Several exchanges here advertise far higher leverage, such as up to 500x on BTCC, which multiplies losses as quickly as gains.
Look it up on the Financial Services Agency register of crypto-asset exchange service providers, which listed 27 firms on 1 September 2026. A law passed on 15 July 2026 moves crypto trading under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act by July 2027, but until then the FSA register is where you check.
No. Both exchanges pay out only in crypto, so to get yen back you have to send your coins to an exchange that pays out in yen and sell them there. Bybit, HTX and Binance offer bank transfer withdrawals.
Crypto gains can be taxable in Japan. See "How is crypto taxed in Japan?" above for how it works, and keep a record of every trade.
In the EU, Bybit serves customers through a separate platform, Bybit EU, which is licensed under MiCA.
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