ambcrypto.com
Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten has completed the registration procedure of the cryptocurrency exchange Rakuten Wallet. The exchange will go live in April and the news was confirmed by the company’s press release, published on March 25.
The registration process comes after the company proposed a change in the name of the exchange from ‘Everybody’s Bitcoin’ to ‘Rakuten Wallet’ earlier this month. Towards the end of March, the services of Everybody’s Bitcoin will cede and resume under the new name in April.
The press release stated:
“Rakuten Wallet will contribute to the sound growth of the market as a virtual currency exchange company, and will further enhance security and provide enhanced services.”
Rakuten acquired Everybody’s Bitcoin in August 2018, for 265 million yen ($2.4 million, at the time), to provide added impetus to its fintech services. Coincidentally, the popular Japanese messaging platform, Line, on the same day, rolled out their native coin ‘Link’ with the exchange Bitbox.
The Japanese e-commerce giant has been a proponent of blockchain for several years, establishing a Blockchain Lab in the United Kingdom in 2016 to focus on payment systems. Furthermore, the company even rolled out a blockchain-pivoted loyalty program, titled the Rakuten Coin.
Rakuten Wallet has been registered with the Kanto Local Finance Bureau, under the country’s Ministry of Finance, and will operate as a cryptocurrency exchange service provider under the Japanese Payment Services Act. The exchange will be headquartered in Setagaya-ku, Tokyo and Tatsuya Yamada will serve as its President.
The Kanto Finance Bureau, in April 2018, had issued an order to the exchange to restructure its management, which would include the creation of a business improvement plan and a restructure of its internal control systems. The press release added that the order has been adhered to.
Japan’s top regulatory body, the Financial Services Agency [FSA], issued a similar order to six cryptocurrency exchanges in June 2018, namely, bitFlyer, Bit Point, BitBank, TC Box, Quoine, and Tech Bureau.