[DigitalToday reporter Chi-gyu Hwang (황치규)] Japan’s Financial Services Agency has asked cryptocurrency exchanges to introduce additional safeguards, including delayed withdrawals and pre-registration of withdrawal addresses. Cointelegraph reported on Thursday that the FSA, together with the National Police Agency, asked the industry to take such steps in response to worsening account misuse and user losses.

The core of the request focuses on restricting users from withdrawing cryptocurrency to external destinations for a certain period after depositing fiat currency or buying digital assets.

It is a response to a rise in cases where funds obtained through fraud are moved into exchange accounts and then quickly withdrawn.

Under the request, exchanges should also consider requiring users to register withdrawal addresses in advance and allowing newly added addresses to be used only after a set waiting period. The FSA and the National Police Agency delivered the request to the Japan Virtual and Crypto Assets Exchange Association, a self-regulatory body for Japan’s cryptocurrency exchanges.

Additional safeguards proposed include setting withdrawal limits by user, strengthening monitoring of trading and access environments, introducing phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication, and checking whether the name of the bank remitter matches the name on the exchange account.

The measures are not binding rules. The FSA said each exchange should decide how to adopt them based on its operating model and services, and the level of risk of account misuse.