apan’s relationship with Bitcoin has been going on for longer than we can remember, yet it was only one month ago, when the Japanese Government stated that they would begin recognizing Bitcoin as a legal payment method, on the 1st of April, 2017.
This has led to an increase in the value of the bitcoin price, alongside with more interest in the Japanese bitcoin market, by companies operating throughout the Nippon country. With this in mind, recent reports indicate that over 10 Japanese companies are currently planning, or launching their very own bitcoin and digital currency exchanges. This would help cover the continuously growing demand for the digital currency, while also making trading a bit cheaper in the country, which is great news for the Japanese Bitcoin community.
To put things better into perspective, a company known by the name of SBI Holdings, has just managed to set up its department of SBI Virtual Currencies, which will act as an easy-to-use exchange between digital currencies like Bitcoin and Ether, and the Japanese Yen, thus making it easier for the Japanese to purchase and sell the currency whenever they see fit. Not only this, as another company known as the GMO Internet Group is also bound to increase the number of digital currencies it trades, in order to cover the growing demand from the community. Some other companies such as the Kabu Securities, or the Money Partners Group are planning to enter the market as well.
Starting from the second month of summer, the Japanese consumption tax will stop applying to the purchases of digital currency, thus increasing the interest that investors have in digital currencies even more. It’s important to point out the fact that to control this growing number of Japanese exchanges, all of them will be required to obtain a license, by filling certain criteria, including finance and management structures, as reported by the Finance Ministry.
Back in 2014, Mt. Gox, the exchange that was hacked and led to a huge decrease of bitcoin’s value, reported that not even minimum guidelines were offered by the government, and this was understandable since the currency hadn’t yet covered that much ground.
At this moment in time, reports indicate that 18 companies are going to apply for the license in question. This number includes both the 10 new exchanges which are planning to enter the market, but also the ones that have been operating until now.
The growing interest in Bitcoin is definitely understandable, considering the fact that in one year alone, the price of the digital currency has managed to triple, and the market cap of Bitcoin has reached $35.8 billion.
Based on everything that has been outlined so far, what do you personally think about the growing interest in Bitcoin, and the new Japanese digital currency exchanges that will soon enter the market? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.