Yahoo! Japan-backed cryptocurrency exchange Taotao confirmed in a tweet that it is set to launch the operations of its virtual currency exchange at noon on May 30, 2019. It had earlier begun pre-registrations on March 25 to start operations in mid-May.
The exchange stated in mid-May that it had to postpone the opening to the end of May "in order to establish a system that enables customers to use as a safe and secure virtual currency exchange."
It has currently stopped accepting applications for opening an account after being open for pre-registrations for account opening from March 25 to April 17.
During the pre-registration period, prospective users participated in a promotional giveaway scheme by signing up for an account. Reports said the exchange was offering 1,000 Japanese yen to its 500 random future clients, if they trade more than 250,000 yen worth digital assets.
Taotao, formerly BitARG Exchange, will initially trade only two cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). In addition, it will introduce margin positions for three more cryptocurrencies - Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Ripple (XRP).
The exchange is 40 percent owned by Yahoo! Japan's foreign exchange business unit YJFX, which completed the acquisition of a 40 percent stake in BitARG in April last year and was later renamed Taotao.
In March last year, Japan's Nikkei Asian Review had reported that Yahoo Japan, which dominates the Japanese internet, was planning to establish itself in the cryptocurrency business by taking a 40 percent stake in a bitcoin exchange BitARG.
Yahoo! Japan then planned to open a full-fledged cryptocurrency exchange "in April 2019 or later," the Nikkei report said.
Taotao is one of the few exchanges to have received the regulatory approval from Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) to list virtual currencies against fiat on the Japanese market amid the strict monitoring by regulators following several hacks and thefts in the industry.
Japan is one of the most cryptocurrency-friendly economies where more than 3.5 million people are estimated to be trading with digital currencies.
Following the hacking of a couple of crypto exchanges last year, Japan's financial regulator made a widespread crackdown on the country's cryptocurrency exchanges to step up consumer protection.
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