While a license has been mandatory for all crypto exchanges operating within Japan since the amendment of the country's Payment Services Act back in April 2017, the FSA has continued to ratchet up requirements for applicants throughout 2018; some 160 applicants were reported to still be awaiting a decision on an operating license as of mid-October, and as many as 200 today, according to Nikkei. Following the January hack, Coincheck received two business improvement orders from the FSA, with a particular focus on ameliorating its customer protection and anti-money-laundering ( AML ) measures. The exchange further decided to rehaul its shareholder composition and management, becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Monex Group in mid-April.