BitFlyer USA, Inc. announced today that it will launch its US-based Bitcoin exchange by the Fall of 2017, having already gained regulatory approval to operate in 34 states. bitFlyer’s new office is based in the financial district of San Francisco.
“While bitFlyer, Inc. is headquartered in Japan, my vision was always to create a global company, and I am excited that the US will be its first step toward global expansion,” said bitFlyer Chief Executive Officer Yuzo Kano, “Bitcoin is a global currency, now our exchange will be global too.”
bitFlyer, Inc. is already the dominant virtual currency exchange in Japan , and supports multiple virtual 1 currency trading pairs, including Ether and Bitcoin Cash. Since being founded in 2014, bitFlyer, Inc. has facilitated over $40 billion in Bitcoin trades, $30 billion of which came in 2017 YTD. bitFlyer’s launch 2 in the US marks the company’s first expansion into a new market.
“There is a concept of ‘Mrs. Watanabe’ in the Japanese forex market; she is the personification of household trading in Japan” said bitFlyer’s Chief Operating Officer Bartek Ringwelski, “bitFlyer aims to be the first exchange to allow US Bitcoin traders to trade with Mrs. Watanabe.”
bitFlyer will initially target professional traders and institutions in the US, offering BTC/USD trading at launch and then expand to support other trading pairs and products. “We invested in bitFlyer, Inc. because of its ambitions to be a global exchange with a strong presence in the US,” Recruit Strategic Partners’ President & Managing Director Joe Saijo said, “I’m thrilled to see the company take this important step forward.”
1 As of August 17, 2017. Source: https://www.coinhills.com/market/btc-jpy/
2 Total monthly Japanese JPY-BTC volume, including margin trading as of June 30, 2017. Source: https://jpbitcoin.com/market/volume