Line to launch crypto exchange in July

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Mobile messaging service Line is hopping on the blockchain bandwagon with a new cryptocurrency exchange. Called Bitbox, the exchange will be available for all users globally except Japan and the US and is scheduled to launch next month.

Bitbox will do cryptocurrency-to-cryptocurrency conversion, Line said, and will not provide any fiat currency trading. It looks to provide more than 30 types of coins, including popular ones like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin. The exchange will be available in 15 languages, including English, Korean, and Chinese.

The service will be managed through their Singapore-based subsidiary Line Tech Plus. Customers will have to submit personal or corporate information documents to open an account, as well as their mobile numbers, Line said in its statement. This is to prevent any money laundering or fictitious persons or corporations from signing up.

“Line will engage in the cryptocurrency business in compliance with rules and regulations of respective countries on cryptocurrency trading,” it said.

According to Line, the coins selected have gone through an “extensive screening process” by an internal committee at Bitbox to allow for “the most reliable and safest” trading on the exchange, which offers a “low trading fee of 0.1 percent.”

Line’s Bitbox is expected to launch in July. Photo Credit: Line

The company also said it’s “bringing its long-established commitment to protecting user data, instituting its leading security measures to the cryptocurrency exchange.”

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Bitbox is aimed at Line’s 200 million monthly users and suggests that the company could roll out crypto-related services in future. Its launch comes after Line unveiled a new business arm in January that focuses on digital currency services. At that time, the firm had revealed plans for a platform that allows users to make transactions and exchange digital currencies on the Line Pay app.

Line also intends to launch its own crypto exchange in Japan, but it’s waiting for licensing approval from regulator Financial Services Agency. The company has not provided an update on the status of its application.

Line CEO Idezawa Takeshi said Bitbox shows the company’s commitment to fulfilling a growing demand among consumers for diverse financial options. With the new exchange, Line users will be able to access cryptocurrencies more easily, he added.

Bitbox isn’t available in the US and the company’s home market of Japan and that clearly shows regulatory challenges and means the exclusion of a bulk of its core users.

But Line also has a strong presence in its other key markets such as Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia, and that could boost the spread of the new service.

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Crypto exchanges have been attracting increasing interest despite growing scrutiny from regulators and big losses from hacking.

Huobi Pro said it is suspending its trading services for Japanese customers from July 2, reportedly because it lacks a license. The Singapore-headquartered platform’s move comes after the FSA slapped six crypto exchanges with business improvement orders to ramp up their internal auditing and user-protection processes.

Over in Cambodia, authorities have prohibited domestic investors without a license from buying or selling of cryptocoins. Meanwhile, the South Korean government has required local banks that provide services to crypto exchanges to monitor all accounts held by an exchange.

Even as regulators in Asia are tightening rules, popular US crypto exchange Coinbase is planning a Japan office, and Japanese bank SBI has launched one.

Earlier in June, South Korean exchanges Coinrail and Bithumb were hacked, resulting in the theft of around US$70 million.