[NEWS] Mercari's Bitcoin trading service surpasses 100,000 account openings in just two weeks since its launch

Mercari Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Mercari Inc. that plans and develops cryptocurrency (virtual currency) and blockchain-related services, announced on the 3rd that the number of people opening accounts for Mercari's Bitcoin (BTC) trading service has exceeded 100,000.

Mercari launched its Bitcoin trading service within the Mercari app on the 9th of last month. In the announcement, it said that the number of accounts opened reached 100,000 in about two weeks from the 16th, when all users were able to apply.

According to Mercari Coin, the number of cryptocurrency trading accounts in Japan is currently about 6.4 million (as of January 2023). The average number of monthly accounts opened in the past year from February last year to January this year was about 60,000, and the number of accounts opened on Mercari has far exceeded that figure, even though it has only been about two weeks.

Mercari's Bitcoin trading service is completed within the Mercari app, and it is characterized by the fact that you can start buying and selling Bitcoin immediately. In addition, you can purchase Bitcoin from 1 yen using sales revenue and points earned by listing items on Mercari, etc. According to Mercoin, 77% of the 100,000 users who have opened an account since the service began to date have no experience trading crypto assets. In addition, 97% of the 100,000 users completed eKYC (identity verification) on the Mercari app before opening an account.

▶︎Results of a survey on "experience trading crypto assets" on Mercari

Mercoin explains that since 65% of users who purchased Bitcoin have a Merpay balance, the fact that they can start trading Bitcoin using their sales on Mercari may be contributing to the increase in users.

The fact that users can immediately transfer their balance to Merpay after selling Bitcoin is also thought to be an attractive point for users. Since it can also be used to pay at Mercari and Merpay affiliated stores, it can be said that the convenience of not only purchasing Bitcoin but also selling it is contributing to the increase in users.

Mercari is showing its intention to continue expanding the number of crypto asset users in Japan, and will strengthen recruitment to promote business development.

As part of this, on the 20th of this month, Mercoin CEO Keita Nakamura and other executives will hold a recruitment briefing to discuss Mercoin and Merpay's growth strategy and future.

Reference:Press release
Image: Mercoin press release