bitFlyer Сommits to Global Expansion, Launching US Bitcoin Exchange Fall 2017  

August 18th, 2017 at 4:46 pm UTC · 3 min read

bitFlyer Сommits to Global Expansion, Launching US Bitcoin Exchange Fall 2017  
Photo: bitFlyer USA, Inc.

bitFlyer USA, Inc. (“bitFlyer”) announced today that it will launch its US-based Bitcoin exchange (https://bitflyer.com/en-us/) by the Fall of 2017, having already gained regulatory approval to operate in 34 states. bitFlyer’s new office is based in the financial district of San Francisco.

“While bitFlyer, Inc. is headquartered in Japan, my vision was always to create a global company, and I am excited that the US will be its first step toward global expansion,” said bitFlyer Chief Executive Officer Yuzo Kano, “Bitcoin is a global currency, now our exchange will be global too.”

bitFlyer, Inc. is already the dominant virtual currency exchange in Japan , and supports multiple virtual 1 currency trading pairs, including Ether and Bitcoin Cash. Since being founded in 2014, bitFlyer, Inc. has facilitated over $40 billion in Bitcoin trades, $30 billion of which came in 2017 YTD. bitFlyer’s launch 2 in the US marks the company’s first expansion into a new market.

“There is a concept of ‘Mrs. Watanabe’ in the Japanese forex market; she is the personification of household trading in Japan” said bitFlyer’s Chief Operating Officer Bartek Ringwelski, “bitFlyer aims to be the first exchange to allow US Bitcoin traders to trade with Mrs. Watanabe.”

bitFlyer will initially target professional traders and institutions in the US, offering BTC/USD trading at launch and then expand to support other trading pairs and products. “We invested in bitFlyer, Inc. because of its ambitions to be a global exchange with a strong presence in the US,” Recruit Strategic Partners’ President & Managing Director Joe Saijo said, “I’m thrilled to see the company take this important step forward.”

1 As of August 17, 2017. Source: https://www.coinhills.com/market/btc-jpy/
2 Total monthly Japanese JPY-BTC volume, including margin trading as of June 30, 2017. Source: https://jpbitcoin.com/market/volume

About bitFlyer USA, Inc.

bitFlyer USA, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of bitFlyer, Inc., a leading Bitcoin and blockchain company based in Japan. The US office is located in San Francisco and operates an exchange platform for US traders to buy and sell Bitcoin for USD. Started in 2016, bitFlyer USA aims to launch publicly by Fall of 2017. bitFlyer USA, Inc., corporate site: www.bitflyer.com/en-us

About bitFlyer, Inc.

bitFlyer, Inc. is the largest Bitcoin and blockchain company in Japan and has raised over 4.1 billion yen (~$36 million) in venture capital funding. The company is working on innovations through the development of Bitcoin and blockchain technologies in the fintech industry and operates bitFlyer, a comprehensive Bitcoin platform that provides a Bitcoin market and exchange, Bitcoin payment services, Bitcoin advertising services, and more. bitFlyer, Inc. is also involved in the research and development of new services that utilize blockchain technology as well as blockchain inspection and analysis. bitFlyer, Inc., corporate site: www.bitflyer.com

About Recruit Strategic Partners

Recruit Strategic Partners is a 100% subsidiary of Recruit Holdings in Japan. The company focuses on investing in innovative startups from all around the world. Its mission is to support its portfolio companies to expand its business in the Japanese market and the company offers its accumulated industry expertise and knowledge to achieve this. Recruit Strategic Partners is also in charge of the management and operation of the fund funded by Recruit Holdings.

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