Japan’s Coincheck Inc will win approval to operate as a licensed cryptocurrency exchange from the country’s financial regulator this month after improving its governance in the wake of one of the biggest digital money thefts earlier this year, a source told Reuters.
The source declined to be named because the decision has not been formally announced yet.
Coincheck could not be immediately reached for a comment.
Coincheck in March repaid about 46 billion yen ($409.51 million) to investors who lost assets in a $530 million heist, one of the biggest of digital money globally.
Coincheck, which had been operating on a provisional basis while regulators were considering its application for a licence, has been ordered twice to improve its internal controls.
Monex, Japan’s third-largest online brokerage, in April completed a 3.6 billion yen acquisition of Coincheck, in the most significant move yet by a major financial company into Japan’s crypto industry.
Reuters