Japan is one these countries where Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are quickly taking off, by the look of things. It is not entirely surprising to learn there are quite a few cryptocurrency exchanges available in the region. Some of the names on the list below will be well known to bitcoin users, although there are some surprising names on there as well.
4. SBI Virtual Currencies
This is perhaps one of those exchange platforms very few people have heard of. That would not be entirely surprising either as SBI Virtual Currencies has not been around for all that long. What makes this particular exchange so remarkable is how it is Japan’s first bank-backed exchange, which goes to show there is quite a growing demand for access to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other currencies. The launch of this exchange was first announced in October of 2016.
3. Zaif
Zaif is one of the oldest Japanese Bitcoin exchanges in existence right now. The company has made quite a name for itself in recent years, even when the regulatory landscape was not overly kind to Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in the country. Then again, Zaif stuck with their business model and slowly started to gain more traction in the country.
Among the supported currencies on the Zaif exchange are Bitcoin and Monacoin, as well as BitCrystals, Counterparty, and NEM. It is interesting to note this exchange does not support Ethereum trading at this stage, even though that market may be added to the platform in the future. Zaif also provides an opportunity to buy cryptocurrency with a credit card.
2. bitFlyer
Everyone in the cryptocurrency world will have heard of the bitFlyer exchange by now, as it is one of the largest cryptocurrency platforms in the country. Not only does bitFlyer provide exchange services, but they were also the first to support cryptocurrency-related auctions through their built-in marketplace. The company mainly focuses on providing fiat-to-Bitcoin services to residents in Japan and other countries.
1. Coincheck
Another major exchange in Japan goes by the name of Coincheck. This particular platform has the largest offering of available cryptocurrencies as of right now. In fact, the list of supported coins includes some of the usual suspects, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Monero, Dash, and Ripple. However, the platform also supports Ethereum Classic, Lisk, Factom, Augur, ZCash, NEM, Litecoin, and Dash. All things considered, this is a very solid list of supported currencies.
The primary purpose of Coincheck is to provide a gateway between these cryptocurrencies and the Japanese Yen. Moreover, there is an option for leveraged trading, as well as spot trading. It is good to see Japanese exchanges warm up to the cryptocurrency ecosystem as a whole, especially now that the new regulation has gone into effect a few weeks ago.
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