Huobi Japan green lit to offer crypto derivatives
07:02, 19 October 2021
The Japan arm of cryptocurrency exchange Huobi has been granted approval from the country’s financial regulator to offer cryptocurrency derivatives and derivatives trading onshore.
The green light from Japan’s Financial Services Agency (JFSA) comes a fortnight after Huobi announced it would stop offering services to customers in its home country of China, following a crackdown on digital asset trading in the world’s second largest economy.
Huobi’s Japanese licence is the first major announcement by the cryptocurrency exchange since its co-founder told Bloomberg that the firm was now focusing on a global strategy.
Huobi will provide market making services
The JFSA is the chief financial services regulator in Japan and provides oversight of the country’s banking, securities and exchange, and insurance sectors and its approval enables Huobi to offer a range of services beyond cryptocurrency trading.
“This [licence] reflects a major milestone for Huobi's business in Japan, as it will enable the company to not only develop derivatives products, but also offer trading and market-making services for customers. Currently, only seven out of the total 34 cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan possess this license, which requires the holder to meet specific asset levels,” Huobi said in a statement.
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Going beyond spot cryptocurrency trading
“Without this license, the cryptocurrency exchanges may only offer limited spot trading services of cryptocurrencies for customers,” the statement added.
Huobi Japan CEO Chen Haiteng said the firm was planning to “develop a number of crypto derivatives products” in addition to the offers spot trading of 14 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Huobi Token it currently conducts.
Huobi received approval to trade its eponymous token from Japanese regulators in June 2020. It was the first such exchange token to be licensed in the country.
Read more: Huobi Tech tumbles after crypto trading platform bars new China users
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