Japanese Exchange BitFlyer Raises $236k in Growth Funding

Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange bitFlyer has raised $236,000 in growth investment from Barry Silbert's Bitcoin Opportunity Corp.

AccessTimeIconOct 16, 2014 at 1:57 p.m. UTC
Updated Aug 18, 2021 at 3:24 p.m. UTC

Presented By Icon

Election 2024 coverage presented by

Stand with crypto

Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange bitFlyer has raised $236,000 in investment that the firm says will be used to fund additional services, as well as expansion outside Japan.

BitFlyer previously raised $1.6m in July with the goal of becoming the leading player in the country's expanding bitcoin market.

  • Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
    13:18
    Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
  • Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
    05:10
    Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
  • The first video of the year 2024
    04:07
    The first video of the year 2024
  • The last regression video of the year 3.67.0
    40:07
    The last regression video of the year 3.67.0
  • Notably, the latest funding was provided by Barry Silbert’s Bitcoin Opportunity Corp (BOC), which has invested in a large number of bitcoin startups including Coinbase, Circle, BitPay, Safello and others. This is the first time, however, that the BOC has invested in a Japanese company.

    “While bitcoin awareness and adoption is probably a couple years behind the United States, I’m highly confident that Japan will be a large market for bitcoin given the tech savvy, financially sophisticated population.”

    Growth plans

    The company hopes the new funding will help it achieve its ambitious plans in the bitcoin space.

    As well as allowing people to buy and sell bitcoin, bitFlyer partnered with GMO Payment Gateway to provide a bitcoin payment option to 48,000 online merchants in late September. Earlier the same month, the firm launched Japan's first bitcoin crowdfunding platform, ‘fundFlyer’.

    Among other new services, the funding will allow bitFlyer to offer its first convertible bond.

    The company said: "This investment scheme will enable investors to convert their holdings into future issued class shares, allowing for quick and efficient fundraising."

    Singapore expansion?

    BitFlyer CEO Yuzo Kano told Bloomberg the BOC funding would also allow the firm to expand overseas, adding:

    “Singapore is a likely target, although nothing has been decided yet. It will have to be somewhere favorable to bitcoin, so probably not the US.”

    Although Japan received something of a shock when it found itself at the centre of the Mt Gox fiasco, the country has since decided to take a hands-off approach to bitcoin, letting the industry largely regulate itself.

    The Japan Authority of Digital Asset (JADA), an industry body with government backing, was recently set up with the aim of establishing standards and codes of conduct for its members.

    “Japan is way ahead of other countries when it comes to cooperation between bitcoin operators and regulators, which you don’t see in the US, Europe or Singapore,” Kano said.

    Yen image via Shutterstock

    Disclosure

    Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information have been updated.

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of the Bullish group, which owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish group equity-based compensation. Bullish was incubated by technology investor Block.one.


    Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.