I just saw something interesting about what Japan Exchange Group is doing with companies that accumulate cryptocurrencies. It turns out that recently, Japanese stock exchanges implemented a quite restrictive measure: if a listed company has crypto assets exceeding 50% of its total assets, it simply does not enter the main indices like the TOPIX.

The curious thing is that the decision was already announced in early April, and although current components will not be affected, the measure will take effect at the end of the year. Japan Exchange Group mainly justified this due to concerns about stability: they see that the price volatility of cryptocurrencies could affect both stock prices and the integrity of the stock exchange indices themselves.

In reality, this reflects an interesting tension. On one hand, companies can hold crypto assets on their balance sheets, but Japanese stock exchanges want to maintain certain stability standards in their benchmark indices. It’s like a filter: if your business model is too exposed to crypto volatility, you don’t make it into the club of the major companies in the index.

The public consultation has already begun, so there will be time for companies and other stakeholders to give their opinions before Japanese stock exchanges formally implement this. It will be interesting to see if other jurisdictions consider similar measures.