Coinbase intends to keep the same simple approach to customer onboarding that made it the most popular U.S.-based crypto exchange
Coinbase, the leading U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange platform, has launched in Japan, the company announced earlier today.
According to Coinbase, Japan is an important crypto market and is well known in crypto circles as one of the earliest countries to permit cryptocurrency trading. The company also notes the strict regulatory requirements in place.
“Consistent with our global strategy, we will strive to be the easiest to use and most trusted exchange in Japan that is fully compliant with local regulations,” the company wrote in the blog post.
Coinbase plans to start with a range of retail products, including listings for the five largest digital assets by trading volume. The company expects to add more assets and introduce additional products as market demand grows.
The exchange also plans to roll out more localized versions of some popular crypto-related services, including advanced trading and Coinbase for Institutions.
Coinbase revealed it is entering the Japanese market in partnership with one of the country’s leading financial groups, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG). MUFG serves more than 40 million customers, and Coinbase says the partnership will help millions of bank account holders access fiat on/off ramps quickly and easily through the bank’s fast deposit services.
The official launch in Japan follows Coinbase’s registration with the Financial Services Agency (FSA), Japan’s financial regulator, in mid-June. That approval paved the way for the exchange’s entry into the Japanese market and identified five cryptocurrencies the exchange could list: Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH), Stellar (XLM) and Litecoin (LTC).