Leading US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced it will launch operations in Japan yesterday. The exchange will be partnering with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), a banking institution with more than 40 million customers, to make it easy for residents of Japan to purchase and sell cryptocurrencies.
Coinbase Launches in Japan
Coinbase, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, has launched operations in Japan, offering part of its products and services to Japanese customers. The blog post communicating the news confirms Coinbase will strive to offer an easy-to-use and regulated cryptocurrency product to users in the country. In this sense, Coinbase stated:
In line with our global strategy, we will aim to be the easiest to use and most trusted exchange in Japan that’s fully compliant with local regulations.
The company will also evolve products via localization to offer its full line of products to the Japanese market, including advanced trading, Coinbase for Institutions, and more in the future. However, the service will launch offering “a suite of five top assets based on trading volume.” More products are to be added later on.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Partnership
Coinbase did not enter the Japanese market alone. The company revealed a partnership with the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), a large Japanese bank with more than 40 million customers in the country. The bank will provide direct deposit services allowing its customer base to transfer funds to the exchange quickly through a service called “MUFG Quick Deposit.”
The exchange was approved to enter Japanese markets in June through a direct subsidiary by the FSA, the Japanese cryptocurrency regulator. At the time, the regulator approved the platform to conduct trading of bitcoin (BTC), bitcoin cash (BCH), ether (ETH), stellar lumen (XLM), and litecoin (LTC).
Coinbase has had eyes set on the Asian country since 2018 when it announced the launch of a local office in Japan. At that time, the exchange stated this movement was part of its effort to accelerate the global adoption of cryptocurrency and vowed to work with regulators to offer the same kind of compliance as in the U.S markets.
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