Yahoo! Japan is set to buy a major stake in BitArg Exchange Tokyo becoming the latest financial provider to enter the cryptocurrency industry.
Reuters reports the deal might be worth 2 to 3 billion Japanese Yen citing sources within the company. This will give it a stake of 40% in the exchange.
Yahoo Japan will now join peers like SBI Holdings who are already in the space. Mobile operator Linecorp is also lining up for a license to operate a cryptocurrency exchange. SBI Holding is delaying the launch of its exchange as its seeks to bolster its security.
Last week, Monex Group acquired Coincheck for $34 million.
The exchange that has been struggling after being hacked in January
Last month Mitsubishi UFJ Group was planning to launch an exchange according to media reports. Mitsubishi UFJ Group is the largest financial institution in the country.
The latest activity is an indication that more established firms are seeing the sector’s potential to grow in the future. The market has been marked by uncharacteristically high volatility throughout its history. Prices have however been stabilising in recent weeks as authorities move to regulate the sector.
Japan is a global cryptocurrency hub accounting for a sizeable part of global transactions. A survey released this week by the Financial Services Agency shows that 3.5 million people have invested in cryptocurrencies.
It is not the first time rumours about the acquisition are surfacing. In March, BitArg had to come out to deny several media reports that it was being acquired by Yahoo! Japan. The reports had indicated that Yahoo Japan would launch another exchange in 2019 on the back of the BitArg system.
BitArg Exchange is recently new having been established in May 2017. It started out with a capital of $95,500.
Yahoo! Japan is a joint venture between Altaba and Softbank.