In a bold move that may trigger a realignment in the cryptocurrency exchange business, Yahoo Japan next month will acquire 40% of operator
BitARG Exchange Tokyo, then launch a full-blown exchange in about a year’s time.
The Yahoo Japan exchange will be newly built but based on BitARG's system. Yahoo Japan will make additional investments in BitARG, which is registered with the
Financial Services Agency (FSA), early in 2019.
The two companies have reported their capital tie-up plan to the FSA.
The purchase of BitARG shares will be made through Tokyo's YJFX, a wholly-owned Yahoo subsidiary that operates foreign exchange transaction services. YJFX will pay about 2 billion yen (US$19 million) for a 40% stake in BitARG. The stake will be made up of outstanding shares and newly-issued stock. The additional investments will be made from January to March 2019 through another Yahoo group company.
Starting next month, YJFX executives and engineers will be posted to BitARG, where they’ll spend about a year developing the new exchange system. The management and tech team also work on a corporate governance structure, a customer management system, and internal controls.
Line, a Japan-based chat app with more than 600 million registered users, also announced in January that it planned to create a cryptocurrency exchange that would operate not only in Japan, but also Hong Kong and Luxembourg.