Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten has announced the launch of an exchange, Coindesk reported. The firm has received approval from the Financial Service Agency (FSA), the Japanese regulator. In addition, the agency is above the JVCEA, which performs market self-regulation.
The exchange Rakuten Wallet, already registered with the Kanto Local Financial Bureau, will replace Everybody’s Bitcoin Inc. Therefore, the purchase of the company occurred in August for US$ 2.4 million by Rakuten. Thus, Rakuten Wallet begins its activities this April, offering the Japanese market a new option for buying and selling cryptocurrencies.
Another exchange that also gained a license to operate in the Japanese market was DeCurret, also starting operations in April. The company has significant shareholders, such as Nomura Holdings, Japan Inc. and MUFG Bank. Initially, the exchange will trade only four cryptocurrencies.
In January, the FSA had already authorized exchange Coincheck, which had a $ 530 million hack at the beginning of last year. With the two new approvals, the number of exchanges licensed in Japan is now 19, according to the FSA announcement.
The Japanese crypto Market
Japan has one of the most advanced regulatory processes in the world in relation to the crypto market. At the end of 2018, the FSA issued a report containing a framework that was considered the finalization of the regulatory process. Therefore, the country continues as a strong market for cryptoasset.
