Monero

The Cyber Police Bureau of the National Police Agency announced on September 7 that it has concluded an agreement with Microsoft Japan regarding measures against cyber incidents. The agreement focuses on preventing cyber incidents, curbing the spread of damage, sharing information useful for investigations, and educational and awareness-raising activities for the next generation. In the "2026 Police White Paper" released on August 25, the NPA revealed that the number of cybercrime cases cleared in 2025 increased by 14.8% year-on-year to 15,108, setting a new record high. The white paper noted that in cases of special fraud and social media investment fraud, funds were transferred to cryptocurrency accounts, and laundering methods included exchanging for Monero (XMR), which is considered difficult to trace, using mixing services, and cashing out through unregistered peer-to-peer brokers. The amount of damage from unauthorized transfers via internet banking reached a record high of 10.397 billion yen, and money laundering offenses also rose by 39.7% year-on-year to 1,792 cases. In light of these circumstances, the NPA, jointly with the Financial Services Agency, has requested all cryptocurrency exchange operators to strengthen restrictions on withdrawals, and the agreement with Microsoft Japan is positioned as part of these efforts.

On August 25, the National Police Agency released the 2026 Police White Paper, revealing that the number of cybercrime cases cleared in 2025 reached 15,108, up 14.8% from the previous year, marking a record high. The amount of damage from unauthorized transfers in internet banking reached approximately 10.397 billion yen, also a record high. The number of money laundering cases cleared increased to 1,792, up 39.7% year-on-year. The white paper reported on the actual state of crypto asset abuse, including methods of transferring funds obtained through unauthorized access and phishing to crypto asset accounts, conversion into the highly anonymous crypto asset Monero (XMR), mixing techniques, and complex money laundering structures via unregistered peer-to-peer exchangers. It also highlighted the results of cooperation with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the case of approximately 48.2 billion yen stolen from domestic exchanges by the North Korean group "TraderTraitor." Meanwhile, the Cyber Special Investigation Division's on-chain analysis and promotion of international joint investigations have led to the identification of suspects and the preservation of crypto assets for confiscation. The National Police Agency, jointly with the Financial Services Agency, requested the Japan Virtual and Crypto assets Exchange Association (JVCEA) to strengthen withdrawal restrictions for all crypto asset exchange businesses, urging measures such as imposing withdrawal restrictions for a certain period after purchase or deposit, pre-registration of withdrawal addresses, and freezing accounts for suspicious transactions.

The privacy coin market outperformed the broader crypto market after Chinese prosecutors proposed in a research paper that the use of crypto mixers and privacy coins should be treated as circumstances giving rise to a presumption of money laundering intent. The total market cap of the privacy coin sector rose 7% to 16.1 billion dollars, with Zcash up 10.5% and Monero up 2.5%. The paper, published on the official website of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, recommends measures such as mandating the preparation of fund flow analysis reports during investigations and introducing evidentiary rules that treat mixer usage as a circumstance giving rise to a presumption of intent, in order to close the law enforcement gaps created by blockchain anonymity.