In an interview with mainstream media outlet Bloomberg, Monex CEO Oki Matsumoto said that they are interested and expressed that it will be a "very good thing" for them if there will be less competition within the local market. Matsumoto also highlighted that the crypto market within Japan has a lot of potential because companies may be looking into investing in digital assets or using nonfungible tokens for their marketing campaigns. According to the CEO, Monex wants to position itself as one of the few options for local players when such a time comes. FTX Japan, one of the four …

Coincheck Inc., a Japan-based crypto exchange with over 1.5 million verified customers, is eyeing Nasdaq listing after a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger with Thunder Bridge Capital Partners IV, Inc. The combined holding company would be called Coincheck Group, N.V and is expected to list on Nasdaq after finalization of the deal by the second quarter of 2022 with a ticker symbol “CNCK.” SPACs are publicly traded corporations that do not conduct business. They sell their stock to the public in order to obtain funding for the future acquisition of a private company. The value of the merger deal …

According to research by Messari, the top three online brokerage firms in Japan are experiencing surging revenue from their cryptocurrency exchange services. In its Asian Crypto Landscape report, Messari noted the operating revenue and net worth of exchange platforms operated by Japan’s top securities brokers is quickly catching up to that of their crypto-native rivals. Messari researcher Mira Christanto tweeted that Japan’s three-largest brokers by customer deposits — SBI, Rakuten, and Monex — all operate crypto exchange platforms. Christanto also noted that many large asset managers are lobbying Japanese lawmakers to allow them to offer expanded cryptocurrency services and products, …

Earlier this fall, the Bank of Japan announced its plans to begin testing a central bank digital currency proof-of-concept in 2021. Further details of the institution’s approach to development and collaborations have since emerged, with indications that the private sector is poised to play a prime role, at least in the testing phase. Earlier today, Reuters reported that the CEO of the Japanese financial services giant Monex Inc. is welcoming the central bank’s more proactive stance toward central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs. CEO Oki Matsumoto argued that any move to introduce a CBDC would be positive for the digitalization …

This week’s headlines from Japan included one of country's leaders describing Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto's dream as meaningful, LayerX Labs collaborating with a Japanese university for blockchain research, the FINSUM blockchain conference hosts notable discussion on security tokens offerings, and the head of Monex Group saying Japan is falling behind the U.S. on STOs. Check out some of this week’s crypto and blockchain headlines, originally reported by Cointelegraph Japan. Japanese Financial Services Agency head describes Bitcoin as impactful At the end of Tokyo's 2020 Blockchain Global Governance Conference, or BG2C, also called FINSUM, Ryozo Himino, the secretary of Japan's Financial …

United States-based TradeStation, a subsidiary of Japanese firm Monex Group, is planning to launch a crypto lending service. The plan was announced in Monex’s earning report published on July 29. Called “Crypto Earn” the new lending service is “C2B2B” that lends institutions borrowed assets from clients. Last November, TradeStation launched a cryptocurrency brokerage platform via a newly-launched offshoot called TradeStation Crypto. They initially supported Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Ripple (XRP). TradeStation launched its app this month and currently, crypto trading is available in 40 states in the U.S. Monex Group, which is also the …

BitFlyer, the biggest crypto exchange in Japan in terms of trading volume, has announced a partnership with Brave, the privacy-protecting browser. According to the announcement, BitFlyer and Brave will develop “a crypto asset wallet for Brave browser users”. No further details about the new crypto wallet have been made available. Japanese users of Brave browser are rewarded with Basic Attention Token Points (BAP), due to regulations that prevent them from earning the cryptocurrency BAT, or trading their points for money on exchanges. The announcement is likely to fuel speculation that the new crypto wallet could pave the way to enable …

Monex Securities, a major Japanese online securities company, launched a cryptocurrency contract-for-difference service today. This marks the first time that a major online Japanese securities company has offered a crypto CFD. A CFD is a type of derivative in which the "buyer" of the contract pays the "seller" the difference between the current price of an asset and the price of that asset at a future date stipulated in the contract. According to a Monex announcement on July 8, the CFD is available for Bitcoin (BTC)/yen, Ether (ETH)/yen, XRP/yen, and Bitcoin Cash (BCH)/yen trading pairs. The leverage rate limit is …

The number of cryptocurrency and blockchain-related companies in Japan increased by more than 30% this year. Monex Group's Monex Crypto Bank told Cointelegraph Japan on June 30 that there are 430 crypto and blockchain-related companies in Japan as of May 2020. This represents a 30.7% jump from the 329 companies reported in July 2019. The data is part of the “Blockchain Data Book 2020” that Monex Crypto Bank released on Wednesday, detailing the conditions of the Japanese blockchain industry. Monex Group runs Coincheck, one of the biggest crypto exchanges in Japan. Many firms have a primary focus on blockchain and …