Crypto Exchange FTX Launches in Japan Following Domestic Acquisition

FTX’s new Japan-based exchange service comes on the heels of its acquisition of domestic company Liquid Group in February

article-image

Blockworks exclusive art by axel rangel

share

key takeaways

  • FTX can now service the Japanese crypto market which possesses a potential $1 trillion, CEO Sam Bankman-Fried said
  • The exchange will offer both spot and derivatives products, courtesy of its Type 1 Financial Instruments Business license

Cryptocurrency exchange FTX has expanded its presence to Japan following its acquisition of a regulated domestic marketplace earlier this year.

In February, FTX acquired Japan-based fintech firm Liquid Group and its subsidiaries, granting the exchange access to the firm’s Type 1 Financial Instruments Business license.

Formerly known as Quoine Corporation, FTX Japan K.K is expected to offer Japanese customers a platform for spot and derivatives trading.

FTX – ever hungry for more business – continues to gobble up crypto and blockchain companies as it hopes to position itself as the pre-eminent marketplace for crypto trading.

Last year, the exchange’s US arm bought crypto derivatives platform LedgerX to get its hands on Ledger’s license to offer bitcoin fractional derivatives contracts. The exchange acquired the mobile news and portfolio tracking app Blockfolio in 2020 before renaming it FTX a year later.

Its most recent acquisition has allowed FTX to piggyback off of Liquid’s status as an existing licensed cryptoasset exchange services provider in a move that was critical to FTX’s expansion in the country, FTX’s CEO Sam Bankman-Fried said.

“The acquisition not only gives us a technological advantage but also allows us to work directly with Japanese regulators in a transparent, constructive and positive manner,” Bankman-Fried said in the statement.

In January, FTX garnered an additional $400 million in funding via a Series C raise meant to broaden its services and acquisitions into international markets, allowing it to pick up licenses from domestic companies.

Japan’s “highly regulated market” for crypto trading possesses a potential $1 trillion, Bankman-Fried said, adding that his company would now be able to service the domestic market in both perpetual and spot trading.

“We look forward to further revolutionizing the Japanese digital asset ecosystem through FTX Japan,” he said.


Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter.

Get alpha directly in your inbox with the 0xResearch newsletter — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Unlocked by Template.png

Research

RTK networks are critical to enabling a world of ubiquitous autonomous drones, vehicles, and industrial robots. We believe the GEOD token enables both a cost and product advantage for the GEODNET RTK network, which will allow it to out-compete multi-billion dollar incumbents Trimble and Hexagon.

article-image

As EIP-4844 “blobs” transform the economics of Ethereum layer-2s, a growing debate pits long-term scalability against immediate ETH value

article-image

Prosecutors argued that FTX co-founder Gary Wang cooperated in their case against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried

article-image

The two largest crypto exchanges respectively run the second- and sixth-largest Solana validators

article-image

MicroStrategy’s bitcoin buying has exploded — it now holds 1.7% of the asset’s circulating supply

article-image

The MiCA era will reward the prepared and punish the rest

article-image

The market is, presumably, confused about what a Trump win means for the social media company