Kraken to Launch Bitcoin Ops in Japan This Month

Bitcoin exchange Kraken will start operating in Japan by the end of October, becoming the latest crypto-currency service to launch here since the collapse of Mt. Gox, once one of the world’s busiest crypto-currency market places.
Kraken’s chief executive said the company would provide a more secure service than the Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, adding that users would have the option to deposit cash in a local bank account for yen-denominated trading.
‘We look forward to bringing our expertise and service to Japan, where we will fulfill the overdue need for an exchange,’ CEO Jesse Powell said during a recent interview.
Public confidence in bitcoin took a hit in Japan when Mt. Gox went under in February having lost half a billion dollars’ worth of bitcoin belonging to 120,000 creditors. Since then many locally operated bitcoin exchanges have popped up, including BitOcean Japan and BtcBox, but none has so far managed to build up the same kind of market share enjoyed by the defunct exchange.

This post was published at Wall Street Journal on Oct 20, 2014.

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