Crypto exchange Binance is set to reenter Japan after acquiring the regulated crypto exchange platform Sakura Exchange Bitcoin (SEBC). Binance acquired the exchange — a Japan Financial Services Agency-licensed business — in November 2022, intending to reenter the Japanese crypto market.
According to a report published in a local daily, SEBC would terminate its current crypto exchange and brokerage services by May 31 and reopen as Binance Japan after June 2023. The SEBC notice didn’t announce any official launch date.
Users of the SEBC exchange must withdraw their funds before the deadline of May 28. Any funds remaining in these accounts will be automatically converted to Japanese yen by June 5 and transferred to users’ bank accounts. The users of Binance Japan would have to carry out new identity verification and Know Your Customer checks.
Binance’s reentry into Japan through an acquired entity comes nearly five years after its primary bid to obtain an independent license failed. Binance had to fold its Japan operations in 2018 after financial regulators warned it was operating without regulatory clearance from the authorities.
The leading crypto exchange has faced regulatory compliance issues in over a dozen nations. However, the exchange platform has managed to mend its relations with regulators. In many countries where it has struggled to obtain an independent license, Binance reentered these markets by acquiring stakes in regulated entities.
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Before its reentry to the Japanese market, Binance managed to reenter the Malaysian crypto market after acquiring a stake in a regulated exchange platform. The exchange also reentered the Singapore market with an 18% stake in a regulated stock exchange. Similarly, the crypto platform managed to access the United Kingdom’s sterling payment network with a partnership with Paysafe despite regulators declining access to the same.
Japan is one of the first nations to introduce crypto regulations. While the regulatory requirements were considered strict then, the country has now eased regulatory demands for crypto platforms, making it easier to list new crypto tokens.