Bitflyer, a Japan-based crypto exchange, is seriously trying to expand its operations into the American market. It has taken a significant step towards this by acquiring a small, us-based crypto exchange. One of Bitflyer’s founders, Yuzo Kano, recently revealed during a recent Bloomberg interview that, “since we ain’t that big, we want to acquire a small exchange.”
No Specific Target For The Exchange Acquisition
When pressed further on whether the exchange already has some targets in mind, Yuzo responded in the negative. He only said, “Bitflyer won’t mind acquiring a Japan-based exchange or an international exchange so long as such exchange meets the requirements we want from such an exchange.”
Bitflyer started operations seven years ago and has grown to be one of the top Japan-based crypto exchanges with three million users with an estimated assets’ worth about $9b. Yuzo further revealed, “no one knows us outside Japan even though there is almost no Japanese crypto trader or investor that doesn’t know about us.”
Making The Moves Already
Bitflyer aims to capture at least 10% of America’s crypto market share. The company is already making its moves towards achieving this goal. In Q1 2021, the company’s US subsidiary was granted a financial operation license by the state of Connecticut and has since started offering its services since that time. But Yuzo admitted that Bitflyer might struggle to penetrate the American crypto market as almost every American already owns an account with Coinbase.
Bitflyer is not just focused on expanding into the American market. Yuzo further revealed that the firm is also interested in penetrating other Asian markets and is already awaiting license approval from Singapore’s financial watchdogs. Aside from seeking expansion overseas and expanding their services into such regions, the crypto exchange plans to start providing NFT-related services and products.
Binance Seeks More Funds For Service Expansion
As one exchange moves to be recognized internationally, another is seeking funds to expand its service offerings. According to a new announcement by Changpeng Zhao (Binance boss), Binance’s America subsidiary is set to raise more funds within the next two months.
Suppose it does go through with this fundraising event. In that case, Binance will follow the footsteps of another top crypto exchange, Gemini, which has generated about $400m from venture capitalists in its ongoing fundraising round. Zhao made this revelation during a recent Bloomberg event held in Singapore.
The Binance chief further revealed that Binance US might opt for an IPO instead of seeking funds from venture capitalists. He cited the example of Coinbase, which used the IPO option to raise funds without involving venture capitalists. In recent times, the value of virtual assets has risen sharply, trading volume on crypto exchanges has also soared as crypto adoption becomes more popular. A CryptoCompare data revealed that Binance trade volume two months ago was estimated at $799m compared to its trade volume in June when it was $455m – an indication of an almost 200% rise in trading volume.