Another Japanese cryptocurrency exchange is coming to fruition, and enthusiasts are having mixed reactions to the news.
Japan and Crypto Haven’t Always Gotten Along
Japan has had a very up-and-down relationship with cryptocurrencies. On the one hand, the country is home to some of the most legitimate cryptocurrency regulation known to the space. It has been involved in cryptocurrencies for many years and trades digital assets almost as much as it does its national fiat, the yen.
On the other hand, getting to this point has been rather rough. The country is home to the two largest cryptocurrency hacks to ever take place, Mt. Gox and Coincheck. Mt. Gox occurred in February 2014 when more than $400 million in bitcoins – the record holder for most money stolen in a crypto hack at the time – went up in smoke practically overnight.
This record stood for nearly four years until Coincheck occurred. This time, the loss exceeded half-a-billion dollars in assorted crypto funds, and the stats made Mt. Gox look like small beans by comparison.
As a result, the country’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) had to get involved. They began monitoring cryptocurrency exchanges for any lagging security protocols and began sending threatening letters to platforms that did not measure up in some way. The time had come to either shape up or ship out; any exchanges that did not adhere to present safety rules would likely face the prospects of being shut down permanently.
To be fair, the FSA has done its job in getting the country’s crypto industry up to par, and things are running smoothly as of late. Exchanges like Mt. Gox and Coincheck have been working to repay all the losses, though the process has been relatively slow.
The new exchange, known as TaoTao, is set to begin operations on May 30. For now, only trading in ether tokens and bitcoins will be available, though the company has mentioned that both bitcoin cash and Litecoin trading will be added in the coming weeks. Originally, TaoTao was set to make its official debut in mid-May, though this was ultimately pushed back for reasons not yet understood.
We Can “Blame” BTC for Higher Trading
Japan is home to several new bitcoin and cryptocurrency traders following the recent surge in crypto prices beginning in early April. At press time, for example, bitcoin is trading for over $8,800, and is expected to reach $9,000 by the end of the week at the latest. It’s a glorious sight to see; the granddaddy of all crypto is well on its way to hitting a price mark it hasn’t hit in over a year. What will investors think, and can we expect to see further rallies as more trading becomes prominent?
Currently, the FSA is reviewing TaoTao’s anti-money laundering tactics to ensure they are strong enough to prevent illicit activity.