Cryptocurrency exchange FTX has announced the acquisition of Liquid, which operates a regulated Japanese exchange, Quoine. The two companies “look forward to working together to provide products and liquidity to clients in the Japanese and global markets.”

FTX Acquires Liquid to Serve Japanese Clients

Crypto exchange FTX is entering the Japanese crypto market. FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried tweeted on Wednesday:

FTX is pleased to announce the acquisition of the Liquid group of companies, which includes an FSA-registered crypto-asset exchange to provide products and services to our clients in Japan.

Liquid tweeted independently on Wednesday: “Liquid Group and all of its operating subsidiaries are being acquired by FTX Trading Ltd.”

Liquid operates Quoine, a cryptocurrency exchange in Japan that is licensed by the Financial Services Agency (FSA), the country’s main financial regulator.

Quoine, founded in 2014, was one of the first cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan to be registered by the FSA in 2017. The FSA granted the Japanese exchange a Type 1 financial instrument trading registration in October last year. The exchange also offers derivatives trading.

FTX recently high $400 million and achieved a valuation of $32 billion. “This round will support our continued mission to bring innovative products and services to market, as well as expand our global reach with additional licenses around the world,” Bankman-Fried told Bitcoin.com News.

Liquid detailed that he and FTX “look forward to working together to provide products and liquidity to clients in the Japanese and global markets,” explaining:

Following FTX’s acquisition of Liquid, Quoine will gradually integrate FTX’s products and services into its own offering, and existing Japanese FTX customers will migrate to Quoine’s platform.

The FTX website currently states that the exchange does not onboard any users from Japan and “Registrations are prohibited from Japan.” Also, “FTX Digital Markets Ltd. does not currently facilitate users who are from Japan.”

The acquisition is expected to close in March, subject to customary closing conditions being met, Liquid said.

What do you think about FTX acquiring a regulated Japanese crypto exchange? Let us know in the comments section.

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