Binance Opens Doors in Japan

Binance is officially launching its local Japanese crypto exchange, Binance Japan, by changing the name of an already existing Japanese cryptocurrency exchange named Sakura Exchange BitCoin Inc. Technically, Japanese users could already access Binance’s global platform, but in the case of many countries, these global platforms can be a kind of a gray area to maneuver. 

Binance Japan will give Binance direct and regulated access to the 125 million inhabitants of the island nation. By launching locally regulated exchange services in Japan, Binance hopes to get a piece of the nation’s huge digital economy. Although currently only a small number of Japanese people use crypto, the potential market is huge. Last year, Japan had approximately 3,7 million active crypto investors, up almost 20% from 3,2 million in 2021.

Binance’s second try 

It is not the first time that Binance tries to get access to the Japanese market. Binance was actually locally available in Japan, but in 2018 the company had no choice, but to close down its local crypto exchange, after it had failed to obtain a license from the local regulators. 

Since that time, however, the country famous for its strict laws seems to have become more relaxed about crypto. This was not the only time regulators have caused headaches for Binance. Just this year, Binance had similar troubles with local regulators in Canada and The Netherlands, not to mention the constant friction between the United States’ SEC and Binance, which has been going on for years now.

After failing to obtain its license in Japan, the cryptocurrency exchange changed its tactics. In 2022 it managed to acquire a local crypto exchange named SEBC (Sakura Exchange BitCoin), which already had a valid license. With this move, Binance managed to get direct access to the Japanese market again, without having to bother with the regulators. To no surprise, SEBC is now known as Binance Japan, making the transformation pretty much complete. The 34 tokens Binance Japan currently offers seems rather low, compared to other platforms around the world, but remember that listing all kinds of random altcoins will raise more eyebrows than usual due to the laws of the country. Furthermore, Binance Japan already offers the highest number of tokens out of all the officially registered local cryptocurrency exchanges.

Here’s a list of services available for Binance Japan customers:

Future plans

The launch will be followed by a short transition period starting on the 14th of August, during which Japanese users of the global Binance platform will be able to transfer their accounts to the Binance Japan crypto exchange, should they wish to do so. 

Japanese yen withdrawals are set to go live after the 20th of August. CZ plans to expand the available trading options, but this will likely go a little slower, if Binance Japan wants to retain its Japanese license. Some of the most popular tokens already available for trading are BTC, ETH, ADA, DOGE and SOL.

Users can also already earn daily rewards and make automatic crypto investments. Japan’s technological development level is exceptional and now that they are finally opening up to Web3, Binance hopes to be at the forefront of the country’s digital Web3 transformation.

SimpleSwap will follow the news on Binance and let you know about the most important updates. If you want to learn more about crypto in Asia, make sure to read these two articles: Popular Cryptocurrencies From Asia and Crypto Projects From Asia: 2023 Edition. Stay with us to learn more about Crypto World! 

SimpleSwap reminds you that this article is provided for informational purposes only and does not provide investment advice. All purchases and cryptocurrency investments are your own responsibility.