本文目的係針對虛擬貨幣之監理與私法定位，以日本法之發展為借鏡，對我國法制設計提出淺見。日本在2016年修正支付服務法，將虛擬貨幣交換業者納入規範，並針對反洗錢、反資恐議題配合修法，而在規範方式上採低度監管，重視業者組成之自律組織所扮演之監督功能，顯示日本政府鼓勵金融科技創新之態度。而由於日本東京地方法院在2015年一則民事判決中，不認為比特幣為民法上所稱之物，引起日本法界對虛擬貨幣法律定位之探討，此等議論均可作為同是大陸法系之我國借鏡。

The purpose of this study is to examine Japanese legal regulations regarding virtual currency businesses and the characterization of virtual currencies' legal status and to thereby promote Taiwan's design of laws in similar fields. In 2016, the newly-revised Japanese Payment Services Act was enforced for the regulation of virtual currency businesses for the first time. In addition, the Japanese government followed the practices of AML/CFT to revise the Act on Prevention of Transfer of Criminal Proceeds. However, despite these new laws, the Japanese model of regulating virtual currency businesses appears to be insufficient. Moreover, the Japanese system encourages various virtual currency businesses to monitor themselves through self-organization. The Japanese government seems to have adopted a model that promotes the acceleration of financial technology. Regarding the legal status of virtual currencies, the Tokyo District Court ruled in 2015 that Bitcoin, a virtual currency, is not regulated by the Civil Code and that, therefore, no individual can claim ownership over it. As a result of this seemingly innovative concept, many Japanese elite legal scholars have begun to discuss the topic, and they have produced numerous worthwhile contributions to the literature. In sum, our findings indicate that the Taiwanese research efforts on critical, new concerns related to FinTech can benefit from the relevant Japanese research.