Rakuten Wallet, Inc., a cryptocurrency exchange under the umbrella of the major e-commerce and internet service firm Rakuten Inc., announced that it will launch a cryptocurrency service in Japan from June. The company will open the application process to create new accounts from April 15.

 

Rakuten bought all shares of everybody’s bitcoin Inc. through its consolidated subsidiary Rakuten Card Co., Ltd. in August 2018, jumping headfirst into the cryptocurrency business. The company name everybody’s bitcoin Inc. was changed to Rakuten Wallet, Inc. on March 1, and the company’s status with Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) went from quasi-operator to formal cryptocurrency operator on March 25.

 

Rakuten is not the only company launching a cryptocurrency-related service in Japan; since the end of March, a number of cryptocurrency exchanges backed by major firms have announced their schedules for service launches in succession, evident of the market’s vitality. Multiple exchanges are set to become operational from April to June.

 

DeCurret Inc., a cryptocurrency exchange that registered with the FSA on March 25, on the same day Rakuten Wallet was registered, will begin offering a cryptocurrency trading service from April 16. 19 major Japanese corporations including East Japan Railway Company (JR East), the general trading company ITOCHU Corporation, the advertising agency DENTSU INC., and the finance giant MUFG Bank, Ltd. invest in DeCurret. Recently, it had been reported that JR East is considering collaborating with DeCurret to introduce cryptocurrency as a way to charge SUICA IC cards, which accept money for boarding tickets that can also be used as digital money.

 

The major FX and securities trading firm MONEY PARTNER GROUP CO., LTD. is also expected to establish a wholly owned subsidiary that primarily operates as a cryptocurrency operator in May. TaoTao, Inc., a cryptocurrency exchange with investment from Yahoo Japan Corporation is expected to launch in May as well.

 

As these cryptocurrency exchanges backed by major firms are now positioned to offer a variety of services, their vitality is likely to become more relevant in Japan.

 

*This article was written by Fisco