Rakuten Gets Closer to Opening Cryptocurrency Exchange
The Japanese internet giant moved a stage closer to the launch of its digital asset exchange, by inviting registrations.
Rakuten Wallet, the upcoming Japanese digital asset exchange, is a step closer to launching, as potential traders are invited to create accounts.
“We are pleased to announce that we have started accepting applications for opening new accounts for the asset (virtual currency) trading service "Rakuten Wallet,” the company stated in its official announcement.
The new exchange will work under the brand Rakuten Wallet, changing from the initial registration as Everybody’s Bitcoin. The market operator is fully approved by the Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA).
Advantage will be given to customers with accounts in Rakuten Bank, who can immediately fill in registration forms.
Japan has been known for its relatively liberal stance on digital asset trading, allowing fiat-to-crypto services. However, the requirement for a local bank account means that the markets are relatively limited. In the past, trading against the Japanese yen was the major price setting mechanism for Bitcoin (BTC), before stablecoins took over.
Still, the country offers a wide selection of exchanges with fully legalized fiat services, an advantage over markets where fiat-to-crypto exchanges are banned or discouraged.
After a successful first quarter, the digital asset market is showing signs of recovery. Now, there are also hopes that the Asian markets may revive, increasing fiat inflows.
For now, it is unknown which assets would be added to the Rakuten Wallet service and exchange. A recent partnership has been revealed, this time with TaEl (WABI), a blockchain startup using cryptography to verify the authenticity of products. WABI is currently staging a recovery, rising from lows around $0.13 toward $0.40.
The advantage of Rakuten, known as the Japanese Amazon, would also be the potential for retail spending. Japan has several prominent digital assets, including MonaCoin (MONA) and NEM (XEM). The markets are also highly supportive of Dogecoin (DOGE), used either for trading or for spending.