Liquid Ties with Virtual Currency Partners, Plans US Expansion

Tuesday, 30/04/2019 | 06:43 GMT by Arnab Shome
  • The firm recently gained the status of a Unicorn startup
Liquid Ties with Virtual Currency Partners, Plans US Expansion
FM

Japanese crypto Trading Platform Liquid.com and Virtual Currency Partners (VCP) joined hands to form a joint venture - Liquid Financial USA Inc. (Liquid USA) - to enter the US market.

The joint venture has already registered with FinCEN and established offices in two cities in the country - New York and Georgia. The company is now pushing to get approvals from various US regulators to start its services in all states in the country.

Commenting on the expansion, Mike Kayamori, Liquid’s co-founder and CEO, said: “The US is one of the world's largest markets for cryptocurrency and we have received widespread expressions of interest from our community, corporate and institutional customers to serve the US market.”

Launched in 2014, Liquid is a subsidiary of Japanese fintech giant Quoine. The platform allows its users to access a global network of cryptocurrency exchanges.

“This joint venture and the acquisition of IQX represents our commitment to expand in the US, and we look forward to working closely with Virtual Currency Partners to accelerate our platform growth. I am personally honored and excited to be working again with Barry Schiffman, the Co-founder and former Executive Managing Director at Globespan Capital Partners, a mentor of mine from my days at Globespan dating back to 2003,” Kayamori added.

A strategic partnership

The partnership with VCP will also boost the company’s aim of expansion in the new market. Barry Schiffman, the chairman of VCP, has over 30 years of experience in investing in high-growth companies. He served as the executive managing director of JAFCO Ventures, the US arm of leading Japan venture capital fund JAFCO, before co-founding Globespan Capital Partners.

“After nearly a year of studying the cryptocurrency space and researching a number of players, we were extremely impressed with Liquid and the strong foundation it built for itself as Japan's first FSA-approved cryptocurrency exchange and one of the top 5 cryptocurrency exchanges in the world,” Schiffman said.

Earlier this month, the Liquid revealed that it has closed its Series C funding round which took its valuation to a billion. With this, the Japanese company has become one of a handful of crypto-related startups to gain a “Unicorn ” status.

Japanese crypto Trading Platform Liquid.com and Virtual Currency Partners (VCP) joined hands to form a joint venture - Liquid Financial USA Inc. (Liquid USA) - to enter the US market.

The joint venture has already registered with FinCEN and established offices in two cities in the country - New York and Georgia. The company is now pushing to get approvals from various US regulators to start its services in all states in the country.

Commenting on the expansion, Mike Kayamori, Liquid’s co-founder and CEO, said: “The US is one of the world's largest markets for cryptocurrency and we have received widespread expressions of interest from our community, corporate and institutional customers to serve the US market.”

Launched in 2014, Liquid is a subsidiary of Japanese fintech giant Quoine. The platform allows its users to access a global network of cryptocurrency exchanges.

“This joint venture and the acquisition of IQX represents our commitment to expand in the US, and we look forward to working closely with Virtual Currency Partners to accelerate our platform growth. I am personally honored and excited to be working again with Barry Schiffman, the Co-founder and former Executive Managing Director at Globespan Capital Partners, a mentor of mine from my days at Globespan dating back to 2003,” Kayamori added.

A strategic partnership

The partnership with VCP will also boost the company’s aim of expansion in the new market. Barry Schiffman, the chairman of VCP, has over 30 years of experience in investing in high-growth companies. He served as the executive managing director of JAFCO Ventures, the US arm of leading Japan venture capital fund JAFCO, before co-founding Globespan Capital Partners.

“After nearly a year of studying the cryptocurrency space and researching a number of players, we were extremely impressed with Liquid and the strong foundation it built for itself as Japan's first FSA-approved cryptocurrency exchange and one of the top 5 cryptocurrency exchanges in the world,” Schiffman said.

Earlier this month, the Liquid revealed that it has closed its Series C funding round which took its valuation to a billion. With this, the Japanese company has become one of a handful of crypto-related startups to gain a “Unicorn ” status.

About the Author: Arnab Shome
Arnab Shome
  • 7315 Articles
  • 133 Followers
About the Author: Arnab Shome
Arnab Shome is an electronics engineer-turned-financial editor. He holds a Bachelor of Technology from the National Institute of Technology, Agartala. He entered the retail trading industry about a decade ago, covering the cryptocurrency market for Finance Magnates, and later expanded his coverage to include forex and CFDs as well. His work at Finance Magnates includes C-level interviews, data-driven analysis, opinion pieces, and scoops of industry exclusives. He also contributes to Finance Magnates’ quarterly industry report. Area of coverage: 1. CFD broker-related news 2. Industry-related Regulatory updates and developments 3. New retail trading trends 4. Prop trading industry updates 5. Executive interviews Education: Bachelor of Technology - National Institute of Technology, Agartala (India)
  • 7315 Articles
  • 133 Followers

More from the Author

CryptoCurrency

!"#$%&'()*+,-./0123456789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|} !"#$%&'()*+,-./0123456789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}