Japanese banking giant SBI Holdings plans to launch its cryptocurrency exchange, SBI Virtual Currencies, in summer this year, according to Business Insider Japan. The new exchange would be the country's first wholly bank-owned crypto exchange.
The report, citing SBI president Yoshitaka Kitao, said the exchange will support coins such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, and other cryptocurrencies.
Kitao suggested that Bitcoin Cash would be regarded as the settlement currency, while Ripple would be a remittance currency. Bitcoin's scarcity makes it expensive and tiring as a settlement currency, he said.
Business Insider Japan noted that there were 16 deemed virtual currency exchange operators in Japan, but at least seven companies so far have informed the FSA of the withdrawal policy.
It was in October 2016 that the company first revealed its crypto exchange plans. SBI Virtual Currencies Co., Ltd. was established in November, 2016 with 300 million yen in working capital. In December 2017, SBI announced its partnership with Bitcoin trading platform Huobi, and said it would launch the exchange in early 2018.
SBI also completed its registration as a cryptocurrency exchange operator with Japan's Financial Services Agency and started limited service for some customers.
However, following the Coincheck hack as well as the FSA's strict regulatory actions, SBI postponed the launch of the full-scale exchange, aiming to improve its security measures.
SBI reportedly bought 40 percent stake in Taiwanese crypto hardware wallet company CoolBitX, whose primary offering is its CoolWallet.
SBI is also said to have 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.
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