Crypto Exchange Launching In Summer 2018 by Japan’s SBI

Business Insider Japan reports that SBI Holdings which is today Japanese banking giant is planning to launch its SBI Virtual Currencies exchange in the summer of this year. The new exchange will be the first fully crypto exchange in the country owned by the bank.

In the report, referring to the president of the SBI Yoshitaka Kitao, is said that the exchange will support such coins as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash and other cryptocurrencies.

According to the suggestion of Kitao Bitcoin Cash would be treated as a Settlement Currency, while Ripple would be the currency of remittances. The deficit of bitcoins makes it expensive and tedious as a settlement currency, he said.

In fact there are 16 virtual exchange operators in Japan noted Business Insider Japan, but at any rate seven companies have so far informed the FSA about the withdrawal policy.

In October 2016 the company first disclosed its plans for a crypto-exchange market. SBI Virtual Currency Co., Ltd. was established in November 2016 with 300 million yen in working capital. However, in December 2017, SBI announced its partnership with the Bitcoin Huobi trading platform and said it would launch the exchange in early 2018.

Yet, ensuing the Coincheck hack as well as the FSA’s strict regulatory actions, SBI deferred the started full-scale exchange, pointing to enhance its security measures.

It is reported that the SBI bought a 40 percent stake in the Taiwanese cryptographic hardware purse of CoolBitX, whose main offering is its CoolWallet.

SBI as well led an investment round in bitFlyer, Japan’s largest and best-funded crypto exchange. The firm has also co-launched SBI Ripple Asia with Ripple to develop the adoption of blockchain cross-border payments.