Kraken lists LINK, BAT and OMG for Japanese clients

Kraken, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchange platforms, has expanded its offerings for Japanese clients. The exchange has announced that Basic Attention Token (BAT/USD), Chainlink (LINK/USD) and OMG (OMG/USD) are now open to these clients.

The exchange confirmed the addition of these new tokens in a blog post published on January 12.

Kraken’s operations in Japan

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Kraken joined the crypto space during its early stages. The founder of the exchange, Jesse Powell, found a gap in the market after Mt Gox filed for bankruptcy. Powell was in the team involved in helping Mt. Gox recover from a hacking incident in 2011.

Mt. Gox was one of the largest exchange platforms before suffering a major hack that drained it of around $460 million. The exchange failed to recover after this hack, and it filed for bankruptcy in March 2014.

Kraken unveiled its operations in Japan in September 2014, taking the space left behind by Mt. Gox. However, its operations in the country were halted in April 2018 after a $500 million Coincheck heist. This heist resulted in increased regulatory scrutiny for the exchange, and it was forced to shut down its operations in Japan.

In October 2020, Kraken restarted its operation in Japan. However, the country has been slowly re-launching cryptocurrency services in the country. In 2020, it allowed users to trade in five of the most popular cryptocurrencies. These coins included Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash and XRP. The latest addition is a welcome development for the exchange’s Japanese clients, allowing it to expand its service offerings.

Crypto regulatory landscape in Japan

The crypto regulatory framework in Asia is versatile. Some countries in the region have had an open stance regarding cryptocurrencies, while other countries such as China have imposed a total ban on digital assets.

In Japan, the crypto regulatory framework is strict. Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA), the main regulatory entity for the country, put together a team of different financial experts to create a strict regulatory framework for the crypto industry. The proposed regulatory framework will be unveiled later in the year.

The FSA is also looking into private stablecoins to find ways that these currencies can be regulated. Exchanges in the country have also been protesting against implementing the travel rule. The travel rule is a law proposed by the Financial Action Task Force to encourage sharing information between exchanges.