Yahoo Japan-Backed Crypto Exchange Taotao Launches This Week

A new crypto exchange platform in which Yahoo Japan owns a major stake is about to launch after over a year in development.

The new platform, called Taotao, announced on Twitter Sunday that it will go live on Thursday, May 30, at midday local time.

According to the Taotao website, the exchange will be offering a mobile app alongside its online platform, and will offer trading in bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) at launch.

The firm will also be making leverage available for interested traders, with three more cryptos added to the available options: XRP, litecoin (LTC) and bitcoin cash (BCH).

Taotao is regulated as a virtual currency exchange business under Financial Services Agency, with its website proudly displaying the registration number 00001.

That early registration comes via the exchange's previous FSA-licensed iteration, the BitARG exchange, in which Yahoo Japan bought a 40-percent stake last March. It was reported at the time by Nikkei Asian Review that Yahoo Japan had taken the stake with the aim of developing a new exchange platform using BitARG's technology.

Taotao's website indicates that Yahoo Japan does indeed hold 40 percent of the entity, via its wholly owned subsidiary Z Corporation, with CMD Lab Inc. holding the remaining 60 percent.

The website also offers users "easy registration/sign in" via Yahoo accounts.

Yahoo Japan image via Daniel Palmer for CoinDesk