Popular crypto exchange FTX has set its eyes on the Japanese market as it acquires Japan-based crypto exchange Liquid and its subsidiaries, including Quoine Corporation.
Quoine Corporation is the first crypto fintech company to register with Japan Financial Services Agency (JFSA) in 2017. In October 2021, the subsidiary obtained a Type I Financial Instruments Business license under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act from the Japanese regulatory authorities.
FTX is pleased to announce the acquisition of the Liquid group of companies, including an FSA-registered crypto-asset exchange to provide products and services to our customers in Japan! 🇯🇵https://t.co/rO5TznWFCU
— SBF (@SBF_FTX) February 2, 2022
According to an announcement made by the Liquid Group, FTX will likely complete the acquisition by March 2022. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. However, Liquid closed a funding round in April 2019 which took the company’s valuation to $1 billion.
“Following FTX’s acquisition of Liquid, Quoine will gradually integrate FTX’s products and services into its own offering, and FTX’s existing Japanese customers will be migrated to Quoine’s platform,” the announcement noted.
Nonetheless, this is not the first time FTX and Liquid have interacted. After the Japanese crypto exchange suffered a nearly $100 million hack last August, FTX provided a loan of $120 million to Liquid Global to help stabilize its capital position and exchange liquidity.
With their latest deal, FTX has also entered an agreement with Liquid which requires FTX to offer services to Japanese users in compliance with the nation’s laws.
