Company:bitFlyer

From HandWiki

bitFlyer
TypePrivate
IndustryCryptocurrency
FoundedJanuary 9, 2014
FounderYuzo Kano
Headquarters
Tokyo
,
Japan
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Kuniyoshi Hayashi, Chief Executive Officer
Websitebitflyer.com

bitFlyer is a private company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and founded in 2014. It operates one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges with 2.5 million users[1] and develops other crypto-related technology.

History

bitFlyer was founded in 2014 by Yuzo Kano, a former derivatives and bonds trader from Goldman Sachs.[2] bitFlyer's cryptocurrency exchange was launched in April 2014, a few months before the once market-dominant bitcoin exchange, Mt. Gox, went out of business.[3] In 2018 the exchange stopped taking new customers after Japanese regulators accused the exchange of not taking actions to stop money laundering and terrorist financing.[4] Regulators stated that most directors were friends of the CEO Yuzo Kano, a former Goldman Sachs trader.[4] By February 2016, it had 100,000 users and was processing about 7 billion yen ($64 million USD) in monthly cryptocurrency transactions, making it the largest Bitcoin exchange in Japan.[5] It raised about $36 million USD in venture capital over three funding rounds.[6] The company established partnerships with retailers, mobile app companies, and payment processors to facilitate smartphone-based cryptocurrency payments at retail locations.[7] bitFlyer also secured regulatory approval to sell cryptocurrency to institutional investors.[8]

bitFlyer expanded internationally to the United States in November 2017 and to Europe in January 2018.[6] By 2018, the company was processing 80 percent of bitcoin transactions in Japan and had grown to 150 employees.[6][9] In 2018, bitFlyer was one of six exchanges ordered to improve their procedures against money laundering, causing bitFlyer to temporarily suspend services while it implemented new systems.[10]

In 2019, bitFlyer created a subsidiary focused on blockchain technology and services.[11]

Services

Users of the bitFlyer exchange can buy/sell cryptocurrency with each other, or buy/sell directly with bitFlyer itself.[3]

bitFlyer's first service was its cryptocurrency exchange, which was initially focused on bitcoin.[9] The company later added futures contracts and bitcoin derivatives to the exchange.[1][6] As of 2017, 75 percent of transactions on bitFlyer are for derivatives, where users make investments based on their prediction of future bitcoin prices.[12]

bitFlyer first introduced its blockchain technology, called Miyabi, in 2016.[13] In 2019, bitFlyer added other cryptocurrencies to its exchange, such as Ethereum and Litecoin.[citation needed] The company also added features to pay for goods at retailers using cryptocurrency and to buy cryptocurrency using credit cards or points from loyalty programs.[14] In June 2020, bitFlyer introduced a blockchain-based voting service called bvote.[15] The company also introduced a blockchain consulting arm.[16]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Popper, Nathaniel (September 1, 2017). "Bitcoin Bug Bites Japan and South Korea as China Clamps Down". https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/01/technology/bitcoin-japan-south-korea.html. 
  2. ↑ Williams-Grut, Oscar (January 24, 2018). "Japan's biggest bitcoin exchange saw $150 billion traded in less than 2 months: 'December was certainly an interesting month'". https://www.insider.com/bitflyer-bitcoin-volume-european-launch-2018-1. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Alpeyev, Pavel (July 22, 2014). "Ex-Goldman Trader's Bitcoin Exchange to Fill Mt. Gox Void". https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-07-22/ex-goldman-trader-opens-bitcoin-exchange-to-fill-mt-gox-void. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Fujikawa, Megumi (June 22, 2018). "Japan's Biggest Bitcoin Exchange Suspends New Business". https://www.wsj.com/articles/japans-biggest-bitcoin-exchange-halts-new-business-1529655557. 
  5. ↑ "ビットコイン取引所大手bitFlyerが貫く「経営の王道」" (in ja). February 25, 2016. https://forbesjapan.com/articles/detail/11314. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "Japan bitcoin bourse group stages Europe expansion". January 23, 2018. https://www.ft.com/content/5bf1462c-ff84-11e7-9650-9c0ad2d7c5b5. 
  7. ↑ Hoshi, Akio (April 5, 2017). "ビットコイン決済が身近に、bitFlyerがビックカメラ2店、Coincheckが26万店展開のAirレジで" (in ja). https://jp.techcrunch.com/2017/04/05/bitcoin_settlement_spreads_for_bitflyer_and_coincheck/. 
  8. ↑ Ponciano, Jonathan (November 28, 2017). "With Regulatory Approval, BitFlyer Launches U.S. Crypto Exchange Targeting Institutional Traders". https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2017/11/28/with-regulatory-approval-bitflyer-launches-u-s-exchange-targeting-institutional-traders/. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Nakamura, Yuji; Sagiike, Hideki; Hyuga, Takahiko (May 10, 2018). "Ex-Goldman trader Yuzo Kano is hiring old rivals to build a cryptocurrency empire in Tokyo". https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/05/10/business/corporate-business/ex-goldman-trader-yuzo-kano-hiring-old-rivals-build-cryptocurrency-empire-tokyo/. 
  10. ↑ Varshney, Neer (June 22, 2018). "Japan's biggest cryptocurrency exchange suspends new registrations amidst regulatory clampdown". https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2018/06/22/bitflyer-japan-cryptocurrency-exchange/. 
  11. ↑ Skinner, Celeste (May 24, 2019). "bitFlyer Sets Up Blockchain Subsidiary, Names Yuzo Kano as CEO". Finance Magnates. https://www.financemagnates.com/executives/moves/bitflyer-sets-up-blockchain-subsidiary-names-yuzo-kano-as-ceo/. 
  12. ↑ "Bitcoin feeding frenzy fuelled by 15 times leverage, says exchange". December 10, 2017. https://www.ft.com/content/7f02cdba-dbd6-11e7-a039-c64b1c09b482. 
  13. ↑ Hoshi, Akio (December 21, 2016). "bitFlyerがブロックチェーン技術Miyabiを発表、新アルゴリズムとスマートコントラクト搭載" (in ja). https://jp.techcrunch.com/2016/12/21/bitflyer-announces-private-blockchain-technology-miyabi/. 
  14. ↑ 拓史, 吉田 (October 12, 2016). "Eコマースはビットコイン普及の呼び水になるか：bitFlyer加納代表" (in ja). https://digiday.jp/platforms/bitcoin-exchange-bitflyer-kano/. 
  15. ↑ "ビットフライヤー、株主総会オンライン向け投票アプリ" (in ja). June 9, 2020. https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXMZO60158560Z00C20A6TJ1000/. 
  16. ↑ McIntosh, Rachel (April 27, 2020). "Japanese Crypto Exchange BitFlyer Launches Blockchain Consulting Service". Finance Magnates. https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/news/japanese-crypto-exchange-bitflyer-launches-blockchain-consulting-service/. 

External links



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