Japanese crypto exchange Bit Flyer has recently announced that its American and European divisions will begin to offer Ethereum-based services to customers. Users will now have the option to trade, buy and sell the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
Bit Flyer Is Moving Up the Financial Ladder
Bit Flyer has been predominantly focused on bitcoin. No other currency has been available through the exchange, which for the most part, has been a mistake on the exchange’s side. While bitcoin is still the largest cryptocurrency and dominates most of the space, competitors like Ripple, Ethereum, Litecoin and EOS have garnered heavy followings over the years, so to deny these currencies their space in the industry would undoubtedly lead to problems for both the exchange and its customers in the future.
Bit Flyer is still relatively new, having only come to fruition about two years ago. Thus, it’s likely that the exchange merely took this time to test out its services and abilities through bitcoin. Now that the platform is getting its feet off the ground, adding Ethereum – the primary competitor to bitcoin – seems like the next viable step. The exchange has also commented that it is targeting both “experienced traders” and “beginners,” so long as they have an inherent interest and love for cryptocurrency.
Andy Bryant, the co-head and COO of the organization’s Europe division, explains in a statement:
At Bit Flyer, we want to offer not just the most popular coins, but the most respected ones too, which makes ETH a logical choice to expand our service offering. Not only has ETH proved itself as a useful altcoin, particularly in relation to smart contracts, it has an incredibly strong community that surrounds it. We’re committed to offering the best customer experience whilst prioritizing security and regulatory standards, and we’re proud to say buy/ sell now offers this capability with ETH.
Bit Flyer ultimately launched its America-based organization back in November 2017, roughly one month before bitcoin reached its all-time high of nearly $20,000 per unit. The European division of the company launched two months later in January of 2018. The company also became one of the first to obtain the infamous BitLicense, which is required granted a crypto company wants to operate or offer its services in New York.
Why Regulation Is Important
Hailey Lennon, head of legal and regulatory affairs at Bit Flyer USA, commented on the growth of regulation in the crypto space, stating:
As crypto regulation is evolving, we work to ensure that everything listed on our exchange complies with the global regulatory standards. We’re excited for today’s announcement, adding ether to our growing portfolio of coins with NYDFS approval, and we’re looking forward to launching more coins in the coming months.