bitFlyer Links Japanese, European Platforms to ‘Boost Bitcoin Liquidity’

Tim Alper
Last updated: | 1 min read

Japanese market-leading crypto exchange bitFlyer said it has linked its bitFlyer Europe operations with its domestic platform – allowing European traders to access bitcoin (BTC)-Japanese yen trading pairs in what it said is a “world-first.”

Source: Adobe/promesaartstudio

“It’s cross-border trading,” tweeted bitFlyer CEO Yuzo Kano.

Hed added,

“Finally, Europe and Japan are connected! Overseas companies cannot provide services to Japanese residents without registering as an exchange [in Japan].”

All Japan-based crypto firms must apply for an operating license from the regulatory Financial Services Authority (FSA).

Kano added that the move would help ensure that price differences for Japanese and European traders would become smaller – by gravitating toward prices at areas where liquidity was higher.

And he added that the move would naturally boost BTC usage, with the token becoming the “universal currency” of cross-border trading.

In a press release, the firm stated that its “long-term objective” was “to have all spot trading pairs available across all regions, including BTC/JPY in the United States, BTC/USD in Europe and Japan, and BTC/EUR in Japan and the United States.”

The FSA has policed a large range of overseas exchanges that have attempted to tap into the Japanese crypto market – sending cease-and-desist warnings to unregistered overseas companies attempting to target Japanese nationals.

bitFlyer noted,

“Before now, it’s been virtually impossible for traders with euros to participate in the BTC/JPY trading pair without going through multiple extra steps and/or sign up processes, bringing unwanted inconvenience and delays.”

The firm also claimed that as “Japan’s leading exchange,” over “70% of the JPY trading volume passes through” its Tokyo-based platform – and that the move “consolidated its position as a global player.”

The 24-hour BTC/JPY trading volume on bitFlyer stands at more than USD 44m, while total trading volume hit almost USD 49m, according to data from Coinpaprika.

Trading volume on bitFlyer:

Source: coinpaprika.com

At pixel time (08:18 UTC), BTC trades at USD 10,726 and is unchanged in a day. The price is up by almost 3% in a week, trimming its monthly losses to less than 8%.

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