Dash, the sixth largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has been listed on Qryptos, a cryptocurrency-only trading platform, and Quoinex, a crypto-fiat exchange, two platforms owned and operated by Japanese startup Quoine.
The listing means that Dash will be available for trade against several notable currencies including the Japanese yen (JPY), the US dollar (USD), Hong Kong dollar (HKD), the Singapore dollar (SGD), the euro (EUR), the Indonesian rupiah (IDR), the Indian rupee (INR), and the Philippine peso (PHP), as well as cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin Cash, and ether.
In addition, Dash will also be added into Quoine’s new global liquidity platform Liquid, which is set to launch in 2018 and which will allow traders across the world access to major cryptocurrency and fiat pairs.
In November, Quoine will introduce QASH, the token that will power the Liquid platform. The launch of the QASH initial coin offering (ICO) will make Quoine the first regulated exchange in the world to hold a token sale. The company said the capital raised will be used to fund development and scale the platform.
Quoine, a startup headquartered in Tokyo with offices in Singapore and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, is the market leader in bitcoin trading against the SGD, IDR, AUD, and PHP, according to data from Cryptocompare. The company was amongst the few ones that were granted a Virtual Currency Exchange license by Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) in September.
“It’s exciting to work with a reputable and licensed trading operation in a geography where customers are rapidly realizing the benefits of Dash,” said Ryan Taylor, CEO of Dash Core.
“Digital currency adoption is spreading rapidly in Southeast Asia […] The digital currency boom is being felt widely particularly in Japan and Southeast Asia.”
Mike Kayamori, the former vice president of Softbank now CEO of Quoine, said the company decided to support Dash on both exchanges to meet a growing market demand for the digital currency in Asia.
He said Asia has been a fast growing market for digital currencies fueled by the rapid adoption of digital payments notably in China, Japan and Indonesia.
“Countries in Asia have some of the highest rates of unbanked populations in the world. This presents a massive growth market for awareness and adoption of digital currencies,” Kayamori said.
“For new cryptocurrency issuers such as Dash and digital exchanges such as Quoinex and Qryptos, this provides us a wonderful opportunity to collaborate with regulators and other industry players to drive economic growth together in a new digital era in a way that is sustainable and inclusive.”
Bitcoin trading has surged in Japan since the Chinese government began cracking down on cryptocurrencies, banning initial coin offerings (ICOs) and ordering exchanges to close down.
Bitcoin trading against the JPY currently represent nearly 60% of the world’s bitcoin trading activity. It is followed by the USD with 23% and the South Korean won with 9%.