Popular cryptocurrency exchange Binance has said that it will resume its full services in Japan market by August 2023. The largest cryptocurrency exchange by trade volume received a warning from the Japanese regulator Financial Services Agency (FSA) in 2021 for operating without authorization. This led to the company exiting the country even though it claimed to be in dialogue with local regulators.
Two years later, the crypto exchange announced that it will return to the country. The move to reenter the country was made possible by the successful Binance acquisition of Sakura Exchange BitCoin (SEBC) in November 2022.
The acquired exchange SEBC is fully regulated by the FSA which means that the takeover will enable Binance to function properly in the region. All existing services on SEBC were terminated on May 31, and a new service will be launched in August under the new name “Binance Japan.”
Current users will be able to migrate to the new platform after August 1 using a new identity verification process.
Related Reading: Nearly 2 Million BNB Tokens Burned in Binance Quarterly Burn Schedule
Japan as a web3 innovation hub
Meanwhile, Japan’s prime minister Fumio Kishida has been advocating for web3 innovation and laws that would encourage big players in the crypto industry to do business in the country, consequently making Japan a hub for crypto developments.
Also, in his defining “New Capitalism” policy framework, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida identified crypto and web3 as engines for Japan’s economic growth. In a pre-recorded video address at the WebX conference in Tokyo, PM Kishida underlined this rhetoric and said that Japan’s policy-making effort will include a combination of user protection measures and incentives to strengthen the local web3 ecosystem.
In a statement, Binance CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao expressed his excitement seeing Japan emerging as a leader in the Web3 regulatory environment. According to him, he thinks it is an example for the rest of the world to imitate.
CZ: Japan is a flagship leader for Web3 regulatory environments.
Earlier today, @cz_binance virtually addressed the WebX conference in Japan, recognising the country's clear approach towards the industry. pic.twitter.com/TeLRUaH5Hy
— Binance (@binance) July 25, 2023
“And to that end, Binance is extremely happy to be able to participate in the Japanese market again, from the acquisition of the SEBC platform last November, and we were going to launch the full service in August,” he said.
It is also worth remembering that Coinbase and Kraken exited Japan in January 2023 due to “market conditions.”
