Investing.com - Japan took a bold step in making bitcoin legal tender. Now it is taking the
lead in trying to bring greater transparency to the industry by compiling domestic cryptocurrency
trading statistics.
A joint study by the Financial Services Authority and the Japanese Cryptocurrency Business
Association shows there are at least 3.5 million individuals in Japan trading cryptocurrencies.
About 85% of that crypto trader population is between 20 and 50 years old. The largest group is
investors in their 30s at 34%.
Annual bitcoin trading soared from $22 million in 2014 to $97 billion in 2017.
Trading using bitcoin as an underlying asset, such as futures, grew even more,
jumping from $2 million in 2014 to $543 billion last year.
The data is based on trading at Japan's 17 authorized exchanges.