A source familiar with the matter told that the figure of the deal could be somewhere in between 2 billion – 3 billion yen.
By Bhushan Akolkar
Updated
3 mins read
As the crypto market ends its longtime consolidation phase and looks to chart-out an optimistic path for the year ahead, we have some good news pouring in from different corners. In the last two days, the crypto markets have added over $70 billion to its valuations with over 20% as reports of more institutional players joining the crypto mania, emerge.
Amidst the ongoing regulatory concerns in Japan, a good new coming today is that Japan Yahoo corporation has officially announced to buy a minority stake in Tokyo-based digital currency exchange ‘BitARG’. This is a big news knowing the fact that Yahoo Japan is the country’s biggest online auction site as well as a reputed Financial Service provider.
As reported by Reuters, Yahoo Japan in a statement said that the company is willing to buy a 40% stake in BitARG crypto exchange with services lined-up to be launched later this year in the autumn. ARG also confirmed this announcement by saying that it would accept a minority stake by the ‘Z Corporation’ which is Yahoo Japan’s fully owned subsidiary.
The exchange operator wrote: “As a result of this capital participation, the Company will be able to utilize the service operation and security expertise of the Yahoo Japan Group, which will make it easier for customers to prepare for the start of the exchange service managed by the Company and to improve the operation after the commencement We will promote the provision of secure exchange services.”
However, the financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed but a source familiar with the matter told Reuters that the figure could be somewhere in between 2 billion – 3 billion yen, which translates to $18.5 million and $27.8 million, for the 40% stake in BitARG. It has to be noted that BitARG has already received a license from Japan’s regulatory watchdog – The Financial Service agency (FSA) – to carry out its crypto trading operations in the country.
There are also other reports that to scale BitARG’s operations in 2019, Yahoo Japan will consider making additional investments in the crypto exchange through its other subsidiaries.
Yahoo’s entry in the crypto space that there has been a growing interest among multinationals to explore the cryptocurrency space further. Another such news arrived earlier this week when Japanese financial brokerage firm ‘Monex’ announced a 100% acquisition of the Coincheck exchange.
Coincheck is the same cryptocurrency exchange which suffered a loss of $500 million USD being a victim of cryptojacking, earlier this year in January. After the acquisition, Monex said that it will completely change the management of Coincheck bringing more transparency and winning back the investor’s trust again. The Coincheck acquisition will take place for a value of around $34 million.
Another Japanese banking giant SBI Holdings too has announced plans of launching its own cryptocurrency exchange after having enhanced the security measures following the scrutiny by the FSA post the Coincheck theft.
Bhushan is a FinTech enthusiast and holds a good flair in understanding financial markets. His interest in economics and finance draw his attention towards the new emerging Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrency markets. He is continuously in a learning process and keeps himself motivated by sharing his acquired knowledge. In free time he reads thriller fictions novels and sometimes explore his culinary skills.
