One of the world’s top crypto exchanges, Coinbase has teamed up with banking giant Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group [MUFG] that serves over 40 million customers to expand its footprint all the way to Japan. According to the official announcement, the launch of its Japanese arm is a part of its global strategy.
Initially, the Brian Armstrong-led crypto firm will rollout retail products that include the five top assets on the basis of the trading volume. The platform, however, has not revealed which assets will be listed. Eventually, it will introduce more digital assets and products and launch “localized versions” of some of its popular services such as advanced trading, Coinbase for Institutions, etc.
The official blog post also stated,
“Today we are excited to be launching Coinbase in Japan, one of the first countries to embrace crypto and one of the largest markets by crypto trading volumes in the world.”
Coinbase Japan targets both retail and institutional investors
Coinbase had been eyeing the Japanese market for quite some time now. As a matter of fact, the crypto exchange reportedly sought a license approval from the country’s financial regulator the Financial Services Authority [FSA] back in October 2019. A few months later, it firm registered as a crypto exchange after receiving a green signal from the FSA. Additionally, it also registered as a second-class member with Japan’s self-regulatory organization called Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association [JVCEA]
Besides, the all-new Coinbase Japan not only aims to attract retail customers but also plans to cater to institutions if there is a rising demand for institutional-grade services in the country.
Nao Kitazawa, who happens to be the head of Coinbase Japan and a former Morgan Stanley banker had stated along the same line and emphasised the increasing number of institutional investors who have expressed interest in the latest initiative. The exec also revealed that if need be, Coinbase Japan would hire staff for institutional investors.