The Japanese crypto exchange DMM Bitcoin announced on Friday that it had been hacked for more than $300 million worth of BTC. The exchange said it lost 4502.9 BTC ($305 million) in what the crypto investigative firm Chainalysis called “the seventh-largest crypto hack ever.” DMM Bitcoin announced the hack on Friday morning and promised it […]
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In partnership with Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings, crypto exchange Bitbank revealed plans to establish JADAT, a crypto-specialized custodian.
In a new development for East Asia, Japanese crypto exchange Bitbank announced a partnership with financial holding company Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings with the goal of establishing Japan Digital Asset Trust (JADAT).
According to an announcement sent to Cointelegraph on Tuesday, JADAT will be created to offer custodial services along with auditing and wallet insurance. The company is designed to facilitate the entrance of institutional players into the Japanese digital asset market.
Once established, the firm will specialize in custody services for digital asset holdings including cryptocurrency, security tokens on public blockchains, stablecoins and nonfungible-tokens (NFTs).
Bitbank is one of the largest crypto exchanges in Asia, with a monthly trading volume of over $5 billion. On the other hand, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings is a publicly-trading holding and specialized trust bank group. According to the announcement, the firms will use their expertise to contribute to the development of JADAT.
At the moment, the crypto exchange and the financial holdings firm signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), where both parties agreed to explore the possibilities of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings investing in JADAT.
Last week, one of Japan's largest investment banks called Nomura revealed plans to create a crypto subsidiary outside the country. This follows a recent move from the firm to offer Bitcoin (BTC) derivatives to its clients in Asia. The new subsidiary will be focusing on helping institutions invest their funds in crypto and NFTs.
Related: Square Enix to sell Tomb Raider franchise and invest in new initiatives such as blockchain
Earlier in May, e-commerce platform SBI Motor Japan announced that it's accepting BTC and XRP (XRP) as methods of payment. According to SBI Holdings, the e-commerce platform exports 5,000 used cars to Africa annually. This means that the African market can purchase cars using crypto from the company.
It follows a history of crypto projects from Kakao, including its Ground X blockchain subsidiary, which won the South Korean Central Banks’ CBDC tender last year.
Kakao Piccoma, a Japanese digital comics' subscription service and subsidiary of the Korean internet company Kakao, has purchased a 50% controlling stake in the Japanese cryptocurrency exchange, Sakura Exchange Bitcoin (SEBC).
That makes Kakao its largest shareholder and the deal is also expected to help Kakao offer cryptocurrency services on its Piccoma webtoon platform, and expand aggresively into Web3, according to local media reports. Piccoma is the largest webtoon platform in Japan, and in 2021 its app marked $1 billion in consumer spend after six years in the Japanese market.
The amount Kakao paid for its stake in the exchange has not been disclosed.
SEBC is one of only 30 crypto-asset exchanges registered in Japan with the Financial Services Agency (FSA) and lists 11 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP, and Litecoin (LTC).
Related: Japan plans to tighten crypto exchange regulation to enforce sanctions
In mid-March, Kakao’s founder Kim Beom-soo, also known as Brian Kim, stepped down from the board of directors to focus on the company’s affiliate brands, especially on the Kakao Piccoma brand in Japan. The acquisition of SEBC is the first merger and acquisition move from Kakao since Kim resigned.
Kakao has showed interest in the crypto space before. In August last year Kakao launched two blockchain companies in Singapore, the Klaytn Foundation, a non-profit organization and Krust, a global accelerator for blockchain technology adoption.
Kakao also runs a specialized blockchain subsidiary called Ground X, which won a central bank digital currency (CBDC) tender from the Bank of Korea in July 2021, becoming the chief technology supplier for blockchain-based digital won simulations.
Prior, the company also was an early investor in the Upbit exchange, the first crypto exchange to file with South Korea’s financial regulators.
A major crypto exchange in Japan is going public in the U.S. in a $1.25 billion merger deal. Coincheck is regulated by the Financial Sevices Agency (FSA). It will be listed on Nasdaq under the symbol “CNCK.” Japanese Crypto Exchange Coincheck to List on Nasdaq Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck revealed Tuesday its plan to go […]