BitFlyer’s Tale of Crypto Exchanges

Japanese crypto exchange BitFlyer is on a course to become the world’s first company handling the crypto gold on three continents. BitFlyer now has certification to operate in Europe, after having been licensed in Japan and the United States.
The world of crypto currencies is all agog. Dozens, if not hundreds of new entrants are already driving forays in the unprobed waters of the crypto world. The sector is already beginning to feel crowded, and several alternatives to the established digital coins are already shaping up high and tall.
It is hardly about coins that we are going to talk here today. Well, in a sense crypto currencies will always dominate our discourse. Still, have you asked yourselves about the operators that carry out transactions in cryptocurrencies?
If you know about these crypto companies, it is hopefully not because of the latest headlines, which have unearthed a lot about the underbelly of the crypto world, or its less famed side. Japan and South Korea have been hit the hardest. However, criminals from the world over have proven quite democratic in their appetites.
BitFlyer, a crypto exchange that is a real global trotter
In the commotion, BitFlyer is pouncing at opportunities quick. On Tuesday, 23 January 2018, the Japan-based company, founded by a former Japanese Goldman trader, announced that the company had obtained a license to operate in Europe.
The Financial Surveillance Financial Sector (FSFF) in Luxembourg gave the greenlight to BitFlyer to go ahead with the inauguration of its activities across the European Union. Now, the House of Financial Technology Foundation (The LHoFT) need to sanction the move and allow the Japanese exchange to spearhead with its platform across the union.
BitFlyer founder Yuzo Kano said that he had already had international plans prior to the launch of his platform back in 2014, drawing from the heady success of the Bitcoin. Mr Kano has been largely successful too as 35% of all bitcoin exchanges in the world are managed in Japanese yen and BitFlyer is in charge of 70% of these transactions.
To do right by crypto currencies
BitFlyer intends to focus on industrial clients first, offering them exclusive access to the gargantuan market for cryptocurrencies in Japan. BitFlyer easily outstrips heavyweights such as Bitifinex in terms of the amount of Bitcoins it handles. The Japanese company is a less-pronounced actor in the sector of Ethereum and Ripple (XRP), which are dominated, by OKEx and Bithumb respectively.
Crank up the volumes
The expansion into foreign markets is not random. As China mounts pressure on cryptocurrencies, companies that manage such transactions have been seeking an international outlet. The move began in mid-2017 and it is likely to continue in a new and more context of uncertainty.
Rogue regimes have been employing hackers to steal precious digitalised chunks of gold and fund their activities. It is understandable that international regulatory bodies will seek to clamp down on any asset that may fund illegal activities.
Will BitFlyer will ever suffer a hackers attack?
As is the case with crypto companies, they hardly make headlines unless there is some fishy. The recent spate of attacks on established companies in both Japan and South Korea is reason enough.
BitFlyer has decided to buck this trend and establish and cast itself in a different light. It is not ruled out that the company may suffer some future attack and how it handles this potential danger will be indicative.
As regulator tighten the screws though, it is very likely that BitFlyer and similar companies who have an established trackrecord of trustworthiness may have a more difficult time of offering their services, both at home and abroad.
US Expansion
BitFlyer started back in 2014 and raised a total of $36 million in venture funding. Shortly after the company moved on to expand in new markets. The United States allows BitFlyer to operate in 42 states. It is unlikely that any further operation would be sanction in the near future, as the world is preparing to introduce new regulations. Both Coinbase and Gemini, rival companies, have right to operate in 48 and 46 states respectively.
When the event was announced, BitFlyer CEO Yuzo Kano said “I am excited that the US will be its first step toward global expansion. Bitcoin is a global currency, now our exchange will be global too.”