San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase has announced that the exchange is moving into the Japanese market. The exchange giant have also announced that they have hired fintech expert and ex-Morgan Stanley investment banker Nao Kitazawa as their CEO.
Currently, the company is operating in 32 countries and support USD, EUR, GBP, CAD and BTC for trading. Coinbase Asian presence is now limited to office in Singapore. In the announcement, Coinbase outlines the reasoning behind its global expansion and the hiring of Nao Kitazawa as the new division’s CEO.
“As part of our effort to accelerate the global adoption of cryptocurrency, today we’re announcing the launch of Coinbase’s office in Japan. Under the leadership of the highly-respected and admired fintech leader, Nao Kitazawa, our new office will lay the foundation for Japan’s crypto investors to access a range of Coinbase’s products.
As in other markets, we plan to take a deliberate approach to our rollout in Japan, which means working hand-in-hand with the Japanese FSA to ensure compliance with local laws at every stage.”
Since, Kitazawa is sitting member of the Fintech Association of Japan, he will be able to guide the company in obtaining the necessary regulatory clearance from the FSA. Kitazawa is a cryptocurrency enthusiast. The company believes he possesses the right set of skills to help them capture the Japanese cryptocurrency market.
The exchange operator, which would need a license to expand into Japan, is in active discussions with Japan’s Financial Services Agency, or FSA, Coinbase spokesman Elliott Suthers said in an email.
Last year Japanese authorities introduced Payment Services Act, which requires all crypto exchanges in the country obtain FSA license. There are 16 fully licensed venues operating in the country with 16 more operating under special permission while their applications are processed.
Last month, Coinbase made a number of substantial announcements, including its acquisition of Paradex, a crypto trading platform that leverages ERC-20 relay tokens to enable more expansive trading options in a decentralized fashion. Paradex’s platform will be integrated into the company’s new professional trading product, Coinbase Pro, which was unveiled as a re-branded GDAX.
Read more: Coinbase Acquires Crypto Trading Relay Platform Paradex
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