After the hack that hit Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck, Coincheck announced on January 26 that it would have to refund more than $500 million to the 260,000 customers who were wanted. The attack has been called “The Largest Digital Currency Theft in History.” because it was the highest profile case in several hacks that affected Japanese cryptocurrency companies. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Despite the risks that Japan has faced and with what is happening with neighboring countries, China and South Korea, which are stuck on regulating the use of virtual currencies, Japan will not give up having the title of being the first country to validate cryptocurrency as legal tender. Historically, the Japanese economy has suffered decades of inactivity since the 1990s and has been faced with a huge national debt and other problems such as a shrinking population and tax base. However, the Tokyo government is banking on cryptocurrencies and related technologies as the next opportunity to improve the Japanese economy while other regional economies such as China and South Korea oppose them. While the People's Bank of China (PBoC) and Chinese authorities banned initial coin offerings (ICOs) along with cryptocurrency trading in September 2017, South Korea also dealt a major blow to the cryptocurrency market by banning anonymous trading of cryptocurrencies, the Japanese government has been much more welcoming. China has banned cryptocurrency exchanges and almost all related activities, while South Korea has banned anonymous transactions, one of cryptocurrencies' biggest attractions, but stopped short of the outright ban that initially appeared to be a threat. Japanese authorities, by contrast, have been much more welcoming. Takashi Shiono, an economist at Credit Suisse in Tokyo, was quoted as saying: "It is estimated that tax revenues from the cryptocurrency business, including capital gains taxes on individual investors and corporations, could amount to 1 trillion yen (9.2 billion dollars), although it is very speculative at this stage. "It came as a shock in April last year when Japan started accepting cryptocurrencies as an officially recognized transaction method. Ken Kawai, partner at law firm Anderson Mori & Tomotsune and advisor to finance and technology startups, said: “The government wants to facilitate fintech through cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. “Digital currencies are quite popular among young Japanese, driven by the thought of making strong profits in an economy that has seen ultra-low interest rates for many years and low returns from traditional assets, and by the hope that these restrictive measures on the use of currencies virtual currencies from other countries around the world will attract more investors to Tokyo Keep in mind: This is just one example Get a custom paper now from our expert writers After the attack on Coincheck, some analysts they expect to see an increase in Japanese regulation for cryptocurrencies but less than other countries to remain competitive.