Binance Announces Acquisition of Japanese Crypto Exchange Sakura

Binance is reentering the Japanese cryptocurrency market. The largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world by volume announced that it had bought Sakura Exchange BitCoin (SEBC). As SEBC is already subject to Financial Services Agency (FSA) regulation in Japan, the acquisition will grant Binance access once again.

The acquisition’s cost was not made public. According to a spokesperson for Binance, SEBC “Having carried out a significant due diligence process in Japan, we believe SEBC shares our vision for the Japanese market,” Considering the size of its economy and its “huge potential in the emerging Web3 industry,” the spokesperson claimed that the nation will “play a key role” in the continued adoption of cryptocurrencies.

Binance has made previous attempts to enter the Japanese market. The massive cryptocurrency exchange has received two warnings from the FSA for operating illegally in the nation.

The first one happened in 2018 when the financial watchdog issued a warning after discovering that Japanese citizens had been using the exchange despite Binance operating without a permit. Despite claims from 2018 that the exchange had left the country, a similar warning was once again issued in June 2021.

The company declared in September of this year that it would make an official application for an operating license with the FSA to try to reenter Japan.

Since several years ago, Binance and financial regulators have been in a constant back-and-forth. The business has run afoul of authorities in Malta, Malaysia, Holland, and the UK, despite the adage that it “has no headquarters.” The cryptocurrency exchange received a $3.3 million fine from the Dutch central bank earlier this summer for operating illegally in the nation.

Even so, France, Spain, and Italy have all given their approval for the operations of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, which has been welcomed in several nations.

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