bitbank preparing to list on the stock exchange: What are the exchange's intentions in aiming for a listing?

The cryptocurrency industry has begun to move in anticipation of new capital inflows

Bitbank is a cryptocurrency exchange that began its service in 2014. It is operated by Bitbank Co., Ltd. It has been leading the domestic Web 3.0 industry for nearly 10 years, including installing Japan's first Bitcoin ATM and launching the "bitcheck wallet" wallet service, which allows users to purchase cryptocurrency with a credit card.

In September 2021, the company announced that it would raise a total of 7.5 billion yen from Mixi Co., Ltd., known for operating "mixi," the pioneer of SNS in Japan, and developing the game app "Monster Strike," and Ceres Co., Ltd., which operates multiple web media. In addition, it has entered into a capital and business alliance with Mixi and is currently an equity method affiliate of the company.

Bitbank Co., Ltd.'s preparations for listing on the stock exchange, which were suddenly announced on July 31, 2024, were announced in Mixi's IR information. Currently, Bitbank's shares are held by Mixi, Inc. at 26.99% and Ceres, Inc. at 23.05%. Bitbank CEO Hirosue Noriyuki holds 30.69%.

Looking back, the industry was also shaken five years ago when rumors of a cryptocurrency exchange, bitFlyer, going public were circulating. However, these rumors have not yet come to fruition, and as an alternative, Coincheck, an exchange under the Monex Group, is aiming to go public in the US through a "SPAC listing (see page 20 for details)".

In this situation, the news that a super-large company like Mixi is aiming to go public on a cryptocurrency exchange, and on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a sign that the evaluation of cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan has moved to the next phase.

One of the triggers for this movement was the listing of a Bitcoin spot ETF in the US, which was introduced on the previous page. With the possibility of large amounts of capital flowing into the cryptocurrency market from investors other than the cryptocurrency enthusiasts who have supported the market up until now, each company has begun to move actively with the aim of becoming a leading company of the next era.

Characteristics of Japanese institutional investors

• 54% of the total intend to invest in crypto assets
• 25% of institutional investors are negative about crypto assets
• Bitcoin and Ethereum are the most popular stocks