Following its acquisition of Liquid Group and its subsidiaries Quoine Corporation and Quoine Pte, FTX has officially been able to launch its Japanese cryptocurrency trading arm. Named FTX Japan, this new exchange should, according to Sam Bankman-Fried, open the doors to a potential market of nearly $1 trillion.
FTX launches its exchange in Japan
FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried’s company and the world’s 2nd largest cryptocurrency exchange, is continuing its international expansion by making it official in Japan.
Thanks to its acquisition of fintech Liquid Group and its subsidiaries last February, the new branch of FTX, named “FTX Japan”, will be able to offer spot market and derivatives trading services to Japanese citizens.
It will thus take the place of Quoine, a trading platform developed in 2014, which, as one of its subsidiaries, was part of the deal to acquire Liquid Group. A sine qua non for FTX, without which it would not have been able to enjoy the status of a cryptocurrency exchange service provider.
Japan is currently one of the countries with the strictest regulations regarding crypto-currencies, which is why the path to establish itself there represents a real strategic challenge. Not something that will stop SBF, the philanthropist that nothing stops:
“This acquisition not only gives us a technological advantage, but also allows us to work directly with Japanese regulators in a transparent, constructive and positive way.”
Beyond just cryptocurrencies, FTX Japan already allows for quick deposits and withdrawals of Japanese yen. The headquarters of this new branch takes place directly in Tokyo, the capital of Japan.
FTX, the titan that nothing stops
While the crypto-currency market has been in great difficulty for almost a month and the king Bitcoin is hovering between $27,000 and $32,000 without being able to make up their mind, many yet consequential platforms have had no choice but to review their staff.
One example is Coinbase, a leading exchange with a well known name in the cryptocurrency world, which has had to freeze current and future hiring in order to focus on essential expenses. A global economic context that does not help the platform, which had already suffered a loss of $430 million for the first quarter of this year.
All the more reason for FTX to continue its ascent, which, in direct opposition to its competitors, is gobbling up even more market share, as evidenced by its expansion in Japan. SBF’s platform has also been able to take advantage of the difficulties encountered by Coinbase.
Indeed, in May, FTX passed Coinbase in terms of exchange market share, with 10.8% of shares against 9.6%. Binance remains far ahead, however, with over 64% of the overall share.
And FTX is making sure it is present on all fronts: launching stock trading for its US branch, partnerships with the biggest investment firms like Goldman Sachs, or even billions of dollars for charity where others have never watched their spending so closely.
The gap between the 2 biggest behemoths in terms of cryptocurrency trading, Binance and FTX, has never been tighter, with the 2 entities continually playing neck and neck in terms of investments and expansion.
