Coinsquare Plans Asian Expansion

By Hannah July 13, 2018 Digital Currency No Comments

Canadian-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinsquare is planning a big development into Japan as it plans to go public later this year.

The exchange, headquartered in Toronto, made this confirmation this week that is created a partnership with DLTa21, a “global blockchain investment bank,” to introduce a centralized cryptocurrency exchange in Japan.

The exchange, which operates in Canada’s third-largest cryptocurrency trading platform, will offer the infrastructure for the new exchange, while DLTa21, which has offices in both Canada and Japan, will lead regulatory compliance and other efforts at the local level.

After getting the regulatory acceptance, the Japanese platform will be the first to launch under the DLTa21X brand, which the two companies hope to expand into other Asian markets in the future.

“Working with a world-leading investment firm like DLTA 21 to bring a safe, secure, easy digital currency buying and trading experience to Japan is a thrilling next step in Coinsquare’s mission,” said Cole Diamond, Coinsquare CEO, in a statement accompanying the announcement. “Japan is a unique market and we’re looking forward to offering our platform’s capabilities to the Japanese market.”

This expansion into Japan comes as Coinsquare is planning to go public on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX).

Earlier this year, the firm revealed that it plans to maintain its initial public offering (IPO) early as September. During the period, the firm noted that it planned to gather about $120 million (C$150 million) and then use those funds to finance a direct expansion into the U.S. and U.K., where it plans to target Coinbase’s major market share.

“The United States and the U.K. market are next,” Diamond told Bloomberg in January. “We believe that we will be a strong competitor to Coinbase and other exchanges in the U.S. by the end of the year.”

Coinbase also confirmed last month that it had opened an office in Japan and was partnering “hand-in-hand” with regulators at the Financial Services Agency (FSA) to enable compliance with local laws.