Japanese Cryptocurrency Exchange BitFlyer Seeks Wall Street Talent For Expansion Plans

Based in Tokyo, Japanese crypto exchange firm BitFlyer is reportedly planning on hiring financial experts from Wall Street transform and improve their company.

BitFlyer’s CEO, Yuzo Kano, believes that Wall Street talent is what the company needs to work its way to the top. It is currently the top crypto exchange in its home country, but has a ranking of fifth globally. The Japanese exchange boasts more than 2 million users trading cryptocurrencies on its platform. Additionally, it currently has more than 150 employees and plans to double that number before the end of 2018.

Kano’s decision to look for Wall Street talent is no surprise considering his previous work at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Thus, he is turning to where he believes there is more than adequate skilled bankers and traders. BitFlyer is only one of the many blockchain-based companies that have been poaching talent from Wall Street. Kano believes that Wall Street talent is ideal for his firm because they know how to run things in regulated markets.

Japan has largely shown positive sentiment as far as cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology are concerned. However, the rising events of cryptocurrency heists due to exchanges being hacked has created pause. Over the past few months, the country’s regulatory body, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), has been implementing strict regulatory requirements. Some of the exchanges have decided to exit the Japanese market citing harsh regulatory guidelines while others have conformed to the laws.

BitFlyer is one of 16 crypto exchanges that have been awarded approval by the FSA. At least 100 other exchanges are currently going through the review process. Japan is a highly attractive market for digital currency exchanges because of its regulatory framework for governing said exchanges.

According to Bloomberg, Tokyo is a great market for crypto growth due to the negative interest rates in the country. However, BitFlyer has already set up its operations in other locations outside Japan. It now has offices in Yuzo, Luxemburg and San Francisco. However, the crypto exchange wants to expand its operations to more regions including Australia, Africa, South America and more countries in Asia. BitFlyer is also planning to venture into broker advisory services and digital payments.