SBI Buys Japanese Crypto Exchange TaoTao

Wednesday, 07/10/2020 | 10:07 GMT by Arnab Shome
  • The financial giant now has two licensed cryptocurrency exchange.
SBI Buys Japanese Crypto Exchange TaoTao
Bloomberg

Japanese financial conglomerate, SBI Holdings is diving deeper into digital currencies with the latest acquisition of local crypto exchange, TaoTao.

Announced on Wednesday, SBI Liquidity Market, the group’s foreign exchange and derivatives arm, has acquired a 100 percent stake in TaoTao from its previous owner. However, the terms and financials of the deal were not disclosed.

Formerly known as BitARG, YJFX, a subsidiary of Yahoo! Japan, bought a 40 percent stake in the crypto exchange in 2018. Though the companies did not reveal the monetary size of that deal, reports estimated it to be around JPY 2 billion (around $19 million).

Another Crypto Exchange in the Portfolio

TaoTao is licensed by the Financial Services Agency (FSA) and launched its digital exchange operations last year, offering trading services with a few top digital currencies.

This is the second licensed cryptocurrency exchange of SBI as the group already operates SBI VCTRADE in the Japanese market. The recent acquisition will increase SBI share in the crypto market and will also benefit its existing business with core expertise.

“In the future, we will make maximum use of the management resources such as expertise and knowledge of the SBI Group as a comprehensive financial group, and the customer base and service expertise of the crypto assets that TaoTao has cultivated so far, and the latest, safe and secure crypto assets,” SBI noted in the official press release (translated from Japanese).

The acquisition deal hit the public domain only a day after reports revealed that a partnership between TaoTao and Binance failed.

Meanwhile, the group’s retail Forex platform is also offering contracts for difference (CFD) instruments with three top virtual currencies: Bitcoin, Ripple, and Ethereum.

The Japanese group further invested $30 million to gain a minority stake in crypto liquidity provider B2C2.

Japanese financial conglomerate, SBI Holdings is diving deeper into digital currencies with the latest acquisition of local crypto exchange, TaoTao.

Announced on Wednesday, SBI Liquidity Market, the group’s foreign exchange and derivatives arm, has acquired a 100 percent stake in TaoTao from its previous owner. However, the terms and financials of the deal were not disclosed.

Formerly known as BitARG, YJFX, a subsidiary of Yahoo! Japan, bought a 40 percent stake in the crypto exchange in 2018. Though the companies did not reveal the monetary size of that deal, reports estimated it to be around JPY 2 billion (around $19 million).

Another Crypto Exchange in the Portfolio

TaoTao is licensed by the Financial Services Agency (FSA) and launched its digital exchange operations last year, offering trading services with a few top digital currencies.

This is the second licensed cryptocurrency exchange of SBI as the group already operates SBI VCTRADE in the Japanese market. The recent acquisition will increase SBI share in the crypto market and will also benefit its existing business with core expertise.

“In the future, we will make maximum use of the management resources such as expertise and knowledge of the SBI Group as a comprehensive financial group, and the customer base and service expertise of the crypto assets that TaoTao has cultivated so far, and the latest, safe and secure crypto assets,” SBI noted in the official press release (translated from Japanese).

The acquisition deal hit the public domain only a day after reports revealed that a partnership between TaoTao and Binance failed.

Meanwhile, the group’s retail Forex platform is also offering contracts for difference (CFD) instruments with three top virtual currencies: Bitcoin, Ripple, and Ethereum.

The Japanese group further invested $30 million to gain a minority stake in crypto liquidity provider B2C2.

About the Author: Arnab Shome
Arnab Shome
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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)
  • 7307 Articles
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