What's the difference between a dealer desk and an exchange?
Open any Japanese exchange app and you'll usually find two places to buy the same coin. They look similar, but they work differently and cost very different amounts. Getting this one distinction right saves more money than almost anything else on this page.
Dealer desk (販売所, hanbaijo)
The exchange company is your counterparty. Type an amount, tap buy, done. It's the default screen in most beginner-friendly apps.
The catch is the spreadThe gap between the buy and sell price quoted at the same moment. On dealer desks it is the hidden cost of a trade.. Even when the app says "no fee", the price you buy at is higher than the price you could sell at, and that gap is the company's margin.
Exchange (取引所, torihikijo)
Users trade with each other through the order bookThe live list of buy and sell orders at each price. In Japanese apps it is called ita, the board.. Fees are close to zero, and some exchanges even pay you a rebate for adding orders.
You need to choose between a market orderAn order that trades immediately at the best available price. Called nariyuki in Japanese. and a limit orderAn order at a price you choose; it fills only if the market reaches it. Called sashine in Japanese., and fewer coins may be available than on the dealer desk.
A quick example: buy ¥100,000 of bitcoin and sell it straight back. On an order book, fees run from zero to a few hundred yen. On a dealer desk with a 2% spread each way, about ¥4,000 disappears. A sensible rule is dealer desk for your first small purchases while you learn the app, order book once the amounts grow. Exchanges that let you act as a makerThe side that places an order and waits on the book, adding liquidity. Makers often pay lower or negative fees. can make it cheaper still; compare real costs in our exchange fee comparison.
Each entry below gives the English term, then the Japanese you'll see on screen, with a romanized reading where it helps. Every term has its own anchor, so you can share a link straight to one definition. Where we have a full guide on the topic, there's a link to it.
Terms: A–B
- Addressアドレス
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The string of letters and numbers you send crypto to, like a bank account number. The same coin can exist on several networks, and sending on the wrong one can lose the funds, so check both before you withdraw.
- Airdropエアドロップ
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Free tokens distributed by a project. Tax treatment can depend on how you receive them, so record the date and amount and ask the tax office if you are unsure.
- Altcoinアルトコイン
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Any crypto other than bitcoin, such as Ethereum, XRP or Solana. Bitcoin still makes up about 60% of spot volume on Japanese exchanges (JVCEA, August 2026), with XRP unusually popular at around 13%.
- Annual transaction report年間取引報告書 (nenkan torihiki hokokusho)
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A yearly statement each Japanese exchange issues with your trades and profit or loss. You use it to file your tax return; if you use several exchanges, collect one from each.
More: Crypto tax
- Average-cost methods総平均法・移動平均法 (sō-heikin-hō / idō-heikin-hō)
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The two ways Japan lets individuals calculate the cost of their coins: total average (one average for the whole year) or moving average (recalculated after each purchase). Switching requires notifying the tax office.
More: Crypto tax
- Blockchainブロックチェーン
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A shared ledger where transactions are grouped into blocks and chained together across many computers, making past records very hard to alter.
Terms: C
- CARF暗号資産等報告枠組み
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The OECD's Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework for sharing crypto account data between tax authorities. Since 1 January 2026, Japanese exchanges ask customers to declare their country of tax residence and any foreign tax ID number. It's why your exchange may ask for a foreign TIN.
More: Crypto for foreigners
- CBDC中央銀行デジタル通貨
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A digital currency issued by a central bank. The Bank of Japan has run a pilot programme since April 2023, but its June 2026 report says it has not decided whether to issue a digital yen.
- Cold walletコールドウォレット
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Storage that keeps private keys offline, away from the internet. Registered Japanese exchanges must hold customer crypto using this kind of secure custody.
- Comprehensive taxation総合課税 (sōgō kazei)
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The system that adds different kinds of income together and taxes the total at progressive rates. Crypto gains in Japan are taxed this way for now, so the more you earn overall, the higher the rate.
More: Crypto tax
- Convenience-store depositコンビニ入金 (konbini nyūkin)
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Paying yen into an exchange account at a convenience store. Coincheck, BitTrade and Zaif offer it, but each deposit costs roughly ¥500 to ¥1,000.
More: Ways to pay
- Crypto asset暗号資産 (angō shisan)
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The official legal term in Japan since May 2020, replacing "virtual currency". It covers property value that moves over the internet and can be exchanged for yen or other legal tender.
More: Regulation
- Crypto-asset exchange service provider暗号資産交換業者 (angō shisan kōkan gyōsha)
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A company registered with the Financial Services Agency to buy, sell and exchange crypto for customers. There were 27 at the end of September 2026. Once the amended FIEA takes effect they'll be called 暗号資産取引業者.
More: FSA-registered exchanges
- Crypto ETF暗号資産ETF
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An exchange-traded fund tracking crypto prices. None was listed in Japan as of October 2026; the tax reform assumes a change to the investment-trust rules first.
More: 20% tax reform
- Crypto lending貸暗号資産 (kashi angō shisan)
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Lending your coins to an exchange in return for a fee. You usually cannot sell or move them during the term, the fee is income when received, and the amended FIEA brings this business under regulation.
Terms: D–E
- DAO分散型自律組織
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A decentralized autonomous organization that decides things by member votes instead of a single manager. Japan's best-known example is Yamakoshi, where NFT-holding 'digital villagers' vote on local projects.
More: Web3 games & NFT
- Dealer desk販売所 (hanbaijo)
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The 'shop' inside a Japanese exchange app, where the company itself sells to you. Easy and instant, but the price includes a spread that often makes it costlier than the order book.
More: Fee comparison
- DCA / recurring purchase積立 (tsumitate)
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Buying a fixed yen amount automatically every day or month. It spreads your entry price over time, and most Japanese exchanges offer it.
More: How to buy Bitcoin
- DeFi分散型金融
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Decentralized finance: lending, borrowing and swapping run by smart contracts with no company in the middle. It isn't covered by Japan's exchange protections if something goes wrong.
- DEX分散型取引所
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A decentralized exchange that swaps tokens straight from users' wallets. Trades on a DEX stay outside Japan's planned 20% separate taxation.
More: 20% tax reform
- eKYCオンライン本人確認
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Online identity checks: photographing your ID and face with your phone, or reading the chip in a My Number card. It lets you open a Japanese exchange account without waiting for a postcard, often on the same day.
More: How to buy Bitcoin
- Electronic payment instrument電子決済手段 (denshi kessai shudan)
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Japan's legal category for most stablecoins, defined in the Payment Services Act. Dealers must register separately; SBI VC Trade and Coincheck were the two registered as of August 2026.
More: Yen stablecoins
Terms: F–K
- Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA)金融商品取引法 (kinshōhō)
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Japan's securities law. An amendment enacted on 15 July 2026 moves crypto under it, with insider-trading rules, on a date set by cabinet order within a year of promulgation.
More: Regulation
- Gas feeガス代 (gasu-dai)
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The network fee paid to process a transaction on chains like Ethereum. It rises when the network is busy, and is separate from any withdrawal fee your exchange charges.
- Green list / white listグリーンリスト・ホワイトリスト
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'White list' is informal shorthand for coins that registered Japanese exchanges may handle. The green list is a formal JVCEA scheme: listed coins can be added by eligible members without the association's pre-review.
More: FSA-registered exchanges
- Halving半減期 (hangenki)
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The roughly four-yearly cut in half of bitcoin's mining reward, which slows the creation of new coins.
- Hardware walletハードウェアウォレット
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A dedicated device that keeps your private keys offline. Tampered devices have been reported, so buy new from the maker or an authorized reseller, never second-hand.
More: Wallets
- Hot walletホットウォレット
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A wallet whose keys sit on an internet-connected device. Convenient for quick transfers, but a bigger target for hackers.
- IEOIEO
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An initial exchange offering, where an exchange vets a new token and sells it to its customers. GMO Coin ran one in 2022 for FC Ryukyu Coin, the fan token of an Okinawa football club.
More: Japanese coins
- Insider-trading rulesインサイダー取引規制
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A ban on trading on undisclosed material information. The amended FIEA extends it to crypto, with criminal penalties and administrative fines.
- Instant deposit即時入金 (sokuji nyūkin)
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Yen deposits from partner banks that show up in your exchange account almost immediately. GMO Coin, for example, supports instant deposits from Docomo SMTB Net Bank, PayPay Bank and Japan Post Bank.
More: Ways to pay
- JPYCJPYC
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A stablecoin pegged one-to-one to the yen, issued by JPYC Inc. as a licensed funds-transfer business since 27 October 2025. Each transfer is capped at ¥1 million under that licence.
More: Yen stablecoins
- JVCEA日本暗号資産等取引業協会
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The Japan Virtual and Crypto assets Exchange Association, the industry's self-regulatory body. It pre-reviews new coin listings and enforces the 2x leverage cap for individuals.
More: Regulation
- KYC / AML本人確認・マネロン対策
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Know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering checks. Under Japan's Act on Prevention of Transfer of Criminal Proceeds, exchanges must verify identity and report suspicious transactions.
Terms: L–M
- Layer 2レイヤー2
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A processing layer built on top of a main blockchain to cut fees and speed things up. The Japanese gaming chain Oasys calls its layer-2 chains Verses.
More: Web3 games & NFT
- Lightning Networkライトニングネットワーク
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A payment layer on top of bitcoin for fast, cheap small payments. Most Japanese cafés and bars that accept bitcoin take Lightning.
More: Where to spend
- Limit order指値 (sashine)
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An order at a price you set, such as 'buy 1 BTC at ¥12 million'. It only fills if the market reaches your price, which protects you from paying more than planned.
- Maker / takerメイカー・テイカー
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Makers place orders that wait on the order book; takers trade against orders already there. Japanese exchanges price the two differently, and some pay makers a rebate.
More: Fee comparison
- Margin trading証拠金取引 (shōkokin torihiki)
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Trading with borrowed exposure on top of your deposit. For individuals in Japan, crypto leverage is capped at 2x.
More: Regulation
- Market order成行 (nariyuki)
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An order that trades immediately at the best price currently on the book. It always fills, but in a thin market the price can be worse than you expected.
- Meme coinミームコイン
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A coin born from an internet joke or mascot, such as Dogecoin. Prices swing on hype, and copycat scams are common.
More: Scams
- Miningマイニング
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Running computers to confirm bitcoin transactions in return for new coins. A natural-gas mining project has been announced in Hokkaido. Rewards are taxable income when received.
More: Sapporo & Hokkaido
- Miscellaneous income雑所得 (zatsu shotoku)
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Japan's catch-all income category, where crypto gains go today. It's added to your salary and taxed at 5–45% national plus 10% resident tax, up to 55% in total.
More: Crypto tax
- My Numberマイナンバー (mai nambā)
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Japan's 12-digit individual number for residents, and the IC card that carries it. The card can be used for online identity checks, and after the tax reform exchanges will report customers' trades to the tax office with their My Number.
Terms: N–R
- NFT非代替性トークン
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A non-fungible token: a unique on-chain record of who owns a specific digital item. In Japan, gains on NFTs that can be exchanged for crypto or other valuables are taxable.
More: Web3 games & NFT
- Order book板 (ita)
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The live list of buy and sell orders at each price on an exchange. Japanese apps call it ita, literally "board".
- Order-book exchange取引所 (torihikijo)
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The 'market' inside a Japanese exchange app, where users trade with each other via the order book. Fees are near zero, but you need to understand market and limit orders.
More: Fee comparison
- OTC相対取引 (aitai torihiki)
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Over-the-counter trading: a one-to-one deal with a desk at an agreed price, used for large amounts. Japanese OTC desks settle in yen and typically start around ¥10 million.
More: OTC desks
- P2P個人間取引
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Peer-to-peer trading between individuals without an exchange. Doing it as a business without registration can be illegal in Japan, and buyers risk frozen bank accounts if the counterparty's money is dirty.
More: P2P crypto
- Payment Services Act資金決済法 (shikin kessai hō)
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The law that created Japan's exchange registration system in April 2017 and defines stablecoins. Crypto trading moves to the FIEA, but stablecoins stay under this act.
- Private key秘密鍵 (himitsu kagi)
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The secret code that controls your crypto. Anyone with it can move your funds; lose it and nobody can recover them.
More: Wallets
- Quick depositクイック入金
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An online-banking deposit that credits your exchange account right away. Some exchanges then block withdrawals of an equivalent amount for a set period.
More: Ways to pay
- Remitter name matching振込名義 (furikomi meigi)
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The sender name shown on a bank transfer. Deposits to Japanese exchanges must come from an account in your own name; banks increasingly block transfers where the names don't match.
More: Ways to pay
- Residence card在留カード (zairyū kādo)
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The ID card issued to mid- and long-term foreign residents. It is accepted for exchange account checks; tourists on short-term stays don't have one and usually can't open Japanese exchange accounts.
More: Crypto for foreigners
Terms: S
- Seed phraseシードフレーズ
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The 12 to 24 words that restore a wallet. Write them on paper, keep them offline and never type them into a website.
More: Wallets
- Segregated management分別管理 (bunbetsu kanri)
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The legal duty for exchanges to keep customers' yen and crypto separate from the company's own assets, so they are protected if the firm fails.
More: FSA-registered exchanges
- Separate taxation分離課税 (bunri kazei)
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Taxing one type of income at a flat rate instead of adding it to your salary. Under the March 2026 reform, gains on specified crypto assets will be taxed at 20.315%, starting in 2028 at the earliest.
More: 20% tax reform
- Specified crypto assets特定暗号資産 (tokutei angō shisan)
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The coins that will qualify for the 20.315% rate: those handled by registered operators under the FIEA register, and only when traded through those operators.
More: 20% tax reform
- Spreadスプレッド
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The gap between the buy and sell price at the same moment. On a dealer desk advertised as 'no fees', the spread is the fee, and it can widen to several percent in volatile markets.
More: Fee comparison
- Stablecoinステーブルコイン
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A token designed to hold a steady value against a currency, such as JPYC for the yen or USDC for the US dollar. Japanese law treats most as electronic payment instruments.
More: Yen stablecoins
- Stakingステーキング
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Locking up coins to help run a network in exchange for rewards. In Japan the rewards count as income at their value when you receive them.
- Stop order逆指値 (gyaku-sashine)
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An order that triggers when the price hits a level you set, such as 'sell if it drops to X'. Commonly used as a stop-loss.
Terms: T–Z
- Tax return確定申告 (kakutei shinkoku)
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Japan's annual self-assessment for the January to December tax year, normally filed between 16 February and 15 March, online via e-Tax or on paper.
More: Crypto tax
- Travel Ruleトラベルルール
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The rule, applied in Japan since 1 June 2023, that exchanges pass sender and recipient details along with crypto transfers. It is why withdrawals to your own wallet need a declaration and why some exchange-to-exchange transfers fail.
More: Wallets
- Two-factor authentication二段階認証 (nidankai ninshō)
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A second login check, such as a code from an authenticator app, on top of your password. Turn it on for every exchange account.
More: Scams
- Virtual currency仮想通貨 (kasō tsūka)
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The older legal term, replaced by 'crypto asset' in May 2020. Japanese people still say kasō tsūka in everyday speech and searches.
- Walletウォレット
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An app or device that stores and sends crypto. It may be custodial (the exchange holds the keys) or self-custody like MetaMask, where you hold them.
More: Wallets
Terms are shifting with the law
Japan is midway through two big changes: the FIEA amendment enacted in July 2026 and the tax reform enacted in March 2026. Some labels will change, for example registered exchanges will become 暗号資産取引業者 once the FIEA rules take effect. For legal definitions, see the FSA's crypto-asset page (Japanese); for tax treatment, the National Tax Agency FAQ. Our regulation guide and Japan crypto tax guide put it all in context.
Japanese crypto terms: FAQ
What is the difference between hanbaijo and torihikijo?
Hanbaijo (販売所) is the dealer desk, where the exchange company sells to you at its own price including a spread. Torihikijo (取引所) is the order-book market where users trade with each other for fees close to zero. Most Japanese exchange apps offer both, often on different tabs.
Is it called crypto asset or virtual currency in Japan?
Both refer to the same thing. The legal term changed from virtual currency (仮想通貨, kasō tsūka) to crypto asset (暗号資産, angō shisan) in May 2020. Official documents use angō shisan; everyday Japanese and search queries still lean on kasō tsūka.
What does zatsu shotoku mean for my crypto?
Zatsu shotoku (雑所得) is miscellaneous income, the category Japan puts crypto gains in today. It is added to your other income and taxed at progressive rates of up to 55% including resident tax. A flat 20.315% rate for specified crypto assets is legislated but expected to start in 2028 at the earliest.
Why does my Japanese exchange ask where I am tax resident?
Because of CARF, the OECD's crypto reporting framework. Since 1 January 2026, Japanese exchanges must collect a self-certification of tax residence and any foreign tax identification number, so that account information can be shared with other countries' tax authorities.
What is the Travel Rule and why did my withdrawal get stuck?
Since June 2023, Japanese exchanges must send sender and recipient details with crypto transfers. Exchanges use different messaging systems, so some exchange-to-exchange routes don't work, and withdrawals to your own wallet usually require a declaration or a pre-registered address.
Sources
- Financial Services Agency: register of crypto-asset exchange service providers
- National Tax Agency crypto-asset tax FAQ (Japanese)
- National Tax Agency: FY2026 tax reform summary (Japanese)
- FSA: explanatory material for the FIEA amendment bill (Japanese)
- JVCEA self-regulatory rules (Japanese)
- National Tax Agency: CARF overview (Japanese)
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