Table of Contents
In the third installment of this series, we will provide an overview of the cryptocurrency exchange OKCoinJapan in the cryptocurrency market, which is gaining momentum centered around Bitcoin (BTC).
Recently, BTC has reached a new all-time high due to the approval of a Bitcoin spot ETF by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in January this year and expectations for the BTC halving scheduled for mid-April.
In addition, the approval of an Ethereum (ETH) spot ETF in the U.S. is also attracting attention, with the final deadline for the SEC's ETF approval review reaching May 23rd.
If an Ethereum spot ETF is approved following BTC, BTC and ETH, which account for approximately 70% of the total market capitalization of crypto assets, will be positioned as assets equivalent to traditional financial products.
The handling of ETFs in Japan will be discussed at a later date, but if these global trends spread domestically and the door is opened to institutional investors, it is expected that capital inflows into the crypto asset market will become more active.
Cryptocurrency investment is spreading in Japan, and the number of user accounts announced by the Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association (JVCEA) was 9.17 million as of the end of January.
Currently, there are 29 cryptocurrency exchange companies, including ours, and each company is forming its own strategy and contributing to the expansion of the market size. Due to the recent revitalization of the market, the number of user accounts in Japan has rapidly increased, increasing 41.92% compared to January last year.
OKCoinJapan has also expanded the number of accounts, trading volume, traders, and number of stocks handled, which are indicators of a cryptocurrency exchange, and has achieved its greatest results since its founding, thanks to the positive evaluations of our customers.
In particular, since the beginning of this year, we have quickly implemented the first domestic staking service for SUI and the handling of APT, which is the first listed cryptocurrency in Japan, and have received positive evaluations from many customers.
As we are finally entering the early majority phase, we believe that the role of CeFi is not just to handle cryptocurrencies, but also to promote awareness of the cryptocurrencies we handle through the dissemination of educational and enlightening content such as "Learn & Earn".
We believe that our important role as an entry point to Web 3.0 is to first have customers learn about the nature and characteristics of blockchain and each token, and then hold cryptocurrencies as payment for that education, creating a clue for interest.
As the range of cryptocurrencies we handle becomes even more diverse in the future, our most recent concrete initiative is to build cooperative relationships with various cryptocurrency projects and launch campaigns that allow customers to learn about each cryptocurrency while having fun.
We will continue to work passionately to improve our services so that our customers can make broad use of their cryptocurrencies, and strive to liven up the entire industry.
◉ Daisuke Hakkaku
OKCoin Japan Co., Ltd. Executive Officer and COO After graduating from university, he joined a financial IT company, where he was in charge of supporting the introduction of stock trading systems and new business ventures. In 2018, he was involved in the establishment of a cryptocurrency-related company as a new business, and was in charge of the exchange registration and handling of cryptocurrencies, which was the first scheme in Japan. In 2022, he joined OKCoin Japan Co., Ltd. and was in charge of promoting new services and marketing.
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