Japanese Cryptocurrency Exchange Coincheck Plans to Expand in the U.S

Hacked cryptocurrency exchange ‘Coincheck’ which is now owned by Monex Inc. is planning to expand its operations to the United States, a decision taken by its renewed management. According to the reports from Bloomberg, the Monex management believes that expanding to the U.S will help the exchange take a lead in the global crypto-trading industry.

Monex CEO Oki Matsumoto said: “We can broaden our customer base at Coincheck. In the end, we should and we can replicate the profitability they achieved before.”

However, no timeframe has been given currently by the management regarding its expansion plans. The company is currently studying the legal framework for digital currencies in the U.S. Matsumoto said: “The legal framework for cryptocurrency in the US is somehow wandering right now – money transfer, commodity, security. And, the rules are different state by state. So, we have to study this carefully. But the short answer is ‘yes’.”

He also said that after the new management took over, the exchange has stepped up its security measures and has worked towards gaining back the investor confidence. Expanding to the U.S will further help them gain a global presence.

Matsumoto said that even though Japan is one of the most crypto-friendly markets, it still lags in terms of clarifying the regulatory status of some digital currencies as well as some ICO tokens. He said: “Japan may seem like it’s one step ahead in crypto, but in terms of deciding what’s a security or a token and attracting institutional investors, the US and Europe are moving ahead. What the US decides will have a huge impact on Japan.”

Moreover, he also argues that as the cryptocurrency industry gets more mainstream, Japan’s high capital gains of around 55 percent could come as a hindrance for further progress. While talking about the capital gain’s rate, he said: “At that level, it’s hard to even think of crypto as something you’d put in your portfolio. That means it’ll just remain a plaything for speculators.”