Content adapted from this Zerohedge.com article : Source
by Tyler Durden
While bitcoin traders spend sleepless nights, drenched in sweat whether South Korea will unexpectedly ban the trading of crypto currencies on the country's exchanges, sending the price of cryptos tumbling (it won't any time soon as it just prohibited anonymous accounts while making real-name crypto trading mandatory, thereby confirming that no shutdown is imminent), what is really taking place is continued growth to meet rising global demand for crypto trading, and as the FT reports, BitFlyer, the Tokyo-based operator of one of the world's largest bitcoin exchanges, is expanding in Europe after it was issued a Payment Institution license to operate in the European Union.
Yuzo Kano, the founder and CEO of bitFlyer, said in the press release,
"I am proud that we are now the most compliant virtual currency exchange in the world; this coveted regulatory status gives our customers, our company and the virtual currency industry as a whole a very positive future outlook."
The exchange - which is one of the largest in the world with up to 30% of the global market and controls 80% of bitcoin trading in Japan - is launching its European service on Tuesday, after it received a license from Europe's financial regulator. BitFlyer's arrival in Europe comes at a time when larger exchanges seek to legitimize a marketplace where investors, to date, have been afforded few protections despite the risk of extreme price volatility, hacks and service outages.
The company was granted a payment institution licence from Luxembourg's Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier, meaning it will have to carry out anti-money laundering checks when signing up customers, as a bank would. It also secured a banking partnership with an unnamed European bank. >
"We're delighted that one of the most successful Japanese start-ups chose Luxembourg as their EU platform," Pierre Gramegna, the country's finance minister said on Tuesday.
Why the expansion? Simple: the platform, which allows users to store bitcoin and place complex trades, said it was responding to increased demand for cryptocurrency trading among professional and institutional investors. That audience is currently "underserved" in Europe, the company said.
According to its chief executive, Yuzo Kano, a former Goldman trader, BitFlyer is now the "most compliant virtual currency exchange in the world." Kano said that "approved regulatory status is fundamental to the long-term future of bitcoin and the virtual currency industry."
A harbinger of what the future of bitcoin trading looks like, BitFlyer - which also launched in the US in November - has become one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, raising $36m in venture capital funding, from blue-chip backers including Mitsubishi UFJ, Mizuho and Sumitomo Mitsui banks. In 2017, it facilitated more than $250 billion of cryptocurrency trading on its platform, of which more than half, or $150 billion, came in the final months of the year as prices surged.
Speaking to the FT last month, Kano said that soaring demand among Japanese investors for leveraged bitcoin trading, in particular, had driven prices higher. On its Tokyo platform, users are able to trade bitcoin proper as well as bitcoin derivatives with leverage of up to 15 times their cash deposits.
For now European traders won't have access to 15x leverage: the platform "won't be offering leverage to start with but will be working with the regulator to discuss that in future", said Andy Bryant, chief operating officer of the European division. Bryant added that the company would now be the only licensed European exchange offering cross-border trading with Japan, which he called "the deepest and largest market in the world"
In the beginning, BitFlyer will only offer trading of bitcoin/euro pairs but said it planned to support other virtual currencies like Litecoin and Ethereum, and more fiat currencies in the coming months.
Well done to them for seeing a gap in the market and filling it. The European markets tend to be forgotten because in comparison they are no where near as large as USA, China, Japan etc but that's only if you look at country to country - look at Europe as a whole and they are comparative in size. The cross border trading is a major incentive especially with Britain coming out of the EU and France wanting to as well as it will help establish a trading agreement between countries which will benefit both
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@zer0hedge...bro Interesting. The most indebted country on the planet likes bitcoin...It should be apparent to everyone that debt really doesn't matter at this point. Everyone is extending credit to themselves pretending that there will be things of real value to satisfy all those paper/digital claims...However, the currency crisis may still be years away as this time it will be a global event.There are no more liquidities on the market, and tons of bagholders who dream of seeing prices rising again to dump their wallets. The bull is fully loaded. I don't think we're going nowhere but towards a suckers rally with a potential double top at the maximum. The financial nature of gold is that gold itself is a value, - as a material for making jewelry.Bitcoin and all the other so-called crypto-currencies have two components - technological and financial...thank you for sharing with us....
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With all the leverage they are offering in Japan, we might see something spectacular very soon. Crazy how people are willing to lose everything on a pipe dream.
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Do you think bro that cryptocurrency market can be collapsed??
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It's great to see exchanges of this size moving to the European market. I looked in to the exchange and they look excellent, with seemingly less processing issues than some that are currently widely used in Europe.
I think that big exchanges like this moving across continents will be overall extremely positive for the cryptocurrency markets, it's exciting to say the least!
Thanks for this update, these articles are really useful!
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Yes bro what you said is really correct..if this big tradings will be continue in europ for few days ..the prices will be hiked and all we are get profits..
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I'm thinking big picture - not just a few days, but an exchange like this gaining volume over 2018 as a whole would be the best situation in my opinion - I'm in it for the long haul!
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I dont know even if europeans are using european exchanges. The likes of binance, bitfi, bittrex etc are the preferred ones to trade on.
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It depends on where you're from but you're right by and large. I see this changing though with a bit exchange like this moving in.
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yes, although it will need a lot of time to add support for more cryptos. But this is a long-term game and they are positioning themselves very good for the future
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Yes, agreed! Thanks for the comments :)
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I agree @lukebrn.
The expansion of these exchanges is only a positive for the entire sector.
Europe is a big market that needs to accessing. This is just the start of something big.
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Cheers for the comment! Agreed, being from Europe, I know I will give this a try anyway. Might do a post on it!
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Yeah European market is on its right track.
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Very clever move by BitFlyer. Europe is a large market and people generally have money to invest. Leverage of 15x on bitcoin is insane in my opinion and I dont think regulators in Europe will allow such margin anytime soon.
Demand for cryptocurrencies will open the door for more sophisticated ways to trade them. I am definitely interested in their platform and will check it out.
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It can only be good news...
I agree 15x is absolutely nuts...leveraging that much on any asset is crazy but to do it on something as volatile as BTC is really over the top.
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Yes ! I think you are better off throwing dices in a casino. Also today I have written an article, about ETF's trading on NYSE. I find them well-structured to be honest. You can check the article HERE
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Yeah that's very clever move by Bitflyer.
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BitFlyer, who wants to make the crypto currencies one of the daily usage habits, agreed with Visa and will apply prepaid card application. Users will be able to download BitCoin to their cards via BitFly accounts and will be able to use it wherever Visa is valid. According to a statement made by BitFlyer, Visa-sponsored bitcoin prepaid cards will be available in more than 200 countries and over 40 million businesses.
The only limit on any non-registration or non-membership card is the maximum amount of bitcoin charge. Users can not upload more than 30,000 (about 270 US dollars) at a time.
BitFlyer's issuance of a Visa-supported prepaid bitcoin card to the market is a turning point in East Asia. Certainly crypto currencies have attracted attention in Asia, especially in China, but it is also true that there is less interest in the East Asian region. After this step, the demand for cryptographic currencies will increase in the eastern regions of Asia.
Although the prepaid cards offered by BitFlyer seem to be a disadvantage at first sight only to support the Japanese yen, it is also certain that the crypto currency BitCoin can be quickly converted into any government-supported currency and converted into different currencies.
Because of this breakthrough, BitFlyer has a more priority plan. As you said, when you start trading with other crypto currencies. Especially east asia and europe will be number one choice. @zer0hedge
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Bitflyer agreed with visa !! Then it will be helpful to many people.
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Things are expanding. For all the doom and gloom the media presents, it is amazing to see the ones who are actually in the business expanding. What is the disconnect? I would say that what the media is saying is a bit awry.
We are going to see more news like this throughout 2018. This is going to be a big year for cryptocurrency with many moves that make it more mainstream.
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Yeah u r right ,The media is really saying awry.
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While bitcoin traders spend sleepless nights, drenched in sweat whether South Korea will unexpectedly ban the trading of crypto currencies on the country's exchanges, sending the price of cryptos tumbling
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The exchange is by far the biggest in Japan, trading about $180 million worth of bitcoin per day.
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BitFlyer is now the "most compliant virtual currency exchange in the world." Kano said that "approved regulatory status is fundamental to the long-term future of bitcoin and the virtual currency industry."
A harbinger of what the future of bitcoin trading looks like, BitFlyer - which also launched in the US in November - has become one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, raising $36m in venture capital funding, from blue-chip backers including Mitsubishi UFJ, Mizuho and Sumitomo Mitsui banks.
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So with these improvements, Tokyo-based Bitbank CEO Noriyuki Hirosue says they will pay a fee for the MUFG Trust, but customers will feel more confident with this application.
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This is great news and the fact that the BitFlyer will open European units will give a new impetus to Bitcoin and I hope the course will begin to increase. By the way, the BitFlyer developers said in the future they will add support for other crypto-currencies, including Ethereum Classic and Bitcoin Cash. Thank you @zer0hedge
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15x leverage works well for pump n dump crowd.
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IMO Amazon is getting ready to shock the world in late spring or early summer with the launch of what will be seen as the largest ICO AND crypto exchange in the world, which would then also become one of the primary lightning network hubs as well. Should be interesting!
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thanks for information!
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Wow that's amazing news, thanks for sharing friend
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While bitcoin traders spend sleepless nights, soppy in sweat whether South Korea will sharply ban the trading of crypto currencies upon the country's exchanges, sending the price of cryptos tumbling
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well information in exchanges ,,, keep it up
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Very good news for cryptocurrency...
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So much for all the FUD.
This sector is constantly growing. I expect this year to be a huge year for the whole crypto industry. More and more people are beginning to talk about it.
By 2019 it will be almost ubiquitous.
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that's great info
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i enjoy your post! thanks
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well i think that is a great news i mean ... i like this
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