Monex wants to buy FTX Japan amid bankruptcy proceedings: Report

Monex CEO Oki Matsumoto said that it will be a “very good thing” for them if there will be less competition in the market.

FTX Japan, one of the four FTX assets put on sale, caught the eye of Monex Group, an online brokerage firm based in Tokyo. 

In an interview with mainstream media outlet Bloomberg, Monex CEO Oki Matsumoto said that they are interested and expressed that it will be a “very good thing” for them if there will be less competition within the local market.

Matsumoto also highlighted that the crypto market within Japan has a lot of potential because companies may be looking into investing in digital assets or using nonfungible tokens for their marketing campaigns.

According to the CEO, Monex wants to position itself as one of the few options for local players when such a time comes.

Monex also owns a majority of the Japanese Bitcoin wallet and exchange service Coincheck which expressed its intent to list the crypto exchange on Nasdaq last year. According to Matsumoto, there are no changes in their plans to list Coincheck on the Nasdaq exchange. 

Related: Crypto exchange Coincheck plans Nasdaq listing in July 2023

FTX Japan is one of the four FTX assets that was approved to be put up for sale amid the bankruptcy proceedings. Other assets include the stock-clearing platform Embed, the derivatives platform LedgerX and the Europe-based arm of the exchange, FTX Europe. Those interested in buying are allowed by the court to perform their due diligence and look into the assets for sale.

Monex is not the only firm eyeing the FTX asset. On Jan. 10, a court filing confirmed that there are around 117 entities that expressed their interest in purchasing the embattled exchange’s assets that are up for sale. According to the information, 41 buyers are looking into FTX Japan.