EMERGING TECH
EMERGING TECH
EMERGING TECH
Japanese messaging giant LINE launches its own cryptocurrency exchange
Japanese messaging giant LINE Corp. Monday joined the cryptocurrency bandwagon, launching a cryptocurrency exchange called BITBOX.
First reported as coming in June, BITBOX offers 28 types of coins that can be traded in 54 pairs: three in USDT, the Tether stablecoin, 26 in bitcoin and 25 Ethereum pairs. Supported cryptocurrencies include bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, Ripple XRP, Litecoin, Ethereum Classic, Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin Gold along with more obscure cryptocurrencies, including MonaCoin, Qtum and Golem.
LINE is pitching BITBOX as a have having best-in-market security with “secure, cutting-edge technology [that] ensures the safety of your holdings.” The service is also claimed to have “unparalleled convenience” as it opens the door to LINE users worldwide.
“LINE has built its reputation on providing a great social experience for our users and now we intend to bring that know-how to the world of digital tokens with our BITBOX exchange,” Line Chief Executive Officer Takeshi Idezawa told The Korea Herald. “With BITBOX, we intend to have an exchange that is easier to use, while also ensuring we provide extremely strong levels of security.”
The exchange has a flat fee of 0.1 percent on all trades, placing it at the lower end of the market for fees — by comparison, Coinbase Inc. charges 1 percent — and in an introductory promotion, the fee is 0 percent for one month. BITBOX offers services in 15 languages including English, Japanese Korean, Chinese, Spanish, French and German.
Despite its market dominance in Japan, BITBOX is not offering services in Japan as well as the U.S., Russia, Belarus and several African countries because of regulatory issues although notably LINE has applied for a license with the Japan Financial Service Agency. According to Cryptovest, the approval process has been delayed due to increased scrutiny by the FSA after the hacking of Coincheck Inc. in January.
There’s no mention of tied-in support within LINE Pay, LINE’s competitor to services such as Google Pay, Samsung Pay and AliPay, but that could still be coming in the future.
Image: BITBOX
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