Binance Enters Japan With Acquisition of Regulated Crypto Exchange Sakura

Japan's financial services regulator was one of several that last year issued warnings saying Binance was not licensed to operate in its market.

AccessTimeIconNov 30, 2022 at 9:17 a.m. UTC
Updated May 9, 2023 at 4:03 a.m. UTC

Binance has bought Sakura Exchange BitCoin (SEBC), a Japanese crypto exchange regulated by the country's Financial Services Agency (FSA), for an undisclosed sum, according to a blog post Wednesday.

With the acquisition, the world's largest crypto exchange by trading volume enters the Japanese market, adding it to the now substantial list of countries in which it has some degree of regulatory authorization.

  • What Do EigenLayer's Outflows of $2.3B Signal?
    00:57
    What Do EigenLayer's Outflows of $2.3B Signal?
  • What Do TradFi Crypto Moves Mean for Decentralization?
    04:20
    What Do TradFi Crypto Moves Mean for Decentralization?
  • Marathon Digital Buys $100M BTC; India's Special Task Force for Crypto-Related Drug Trafficking
    02:02
    Marathon Digital Buys $100M BTC; India's Special Task Force for Crypto-Related Drug Trafficking
  • Ether Slides as Grayscale's ETHE Outflows Ramp Up
    00:53
    Ether Slides as Grayscale's ETHE Outflows Ramp Up
  • Most recently, Binance received authorization as a crypto asset service provider in Cyprus, having previously won similar licenses in France, Italy, Spain, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Kazakhstan. The FSA was one of several regulatory bodies that last year issued warnings that Binance was not licensed to operate in its market.

    Tokyo-based SEBC offers trading of the Japanese yen against 11 digital assets, including BTC, ETH, LTC and ADA.






    Disclosure

    Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

    Jamie Crawley

    Jamie Crawley is a CoinDesk news reporter based in London.