Coincheck Parent Becomes First Japanese Crypto Exchange Operator to List on Nasdaq

By Vince Dioquino

A Dutch parent company of Japan's leading crypto exchange operator announced Tuesday its long-awaited public debut on the Nasdaq Global Market, joining Coinbase as only the second listing of its kind in over three years.

Coincheck Group, the Amsterdam-headquartered holding company, completed its merger with Thunder Bridge Capital through a $1.3 billion special acquisition merger a year after it was expected to be finalized. 

Coincheck is slated to become the first Japanese exchange to secure a U.S. trading venue listing. The parent company did not immediately return Decrypt’s request for comment, specifically on how this transition affects its positioning.

Coincheck Group’s debut on Nasdaq is the second regulated crypto exchange operator to go public since Coinbase's April 2021 debut.

According to a rough Google translation of the company's statement, the shares will begin trading under the CNCK ticker on Wednesday morning, as U.S. markets open in Eastern Time.

"This will enable us to have more transparent dialogue with global investors through the U.S. stock market," Coincheck Group CFO Keigo Takegahara said in the statement, noting that the move would "contribute to creating an environment" providing reliable services to its investors and users.

The public listing transforms the corporate structure of one of Japan's earliest crypto businesses. Even still, Coincheck's journey to being publicly listed could have been smoother.

Founded in 2012, Coincheck Inc. entered crypto trading in 2014 and gained prominence for its user-friendly interface targeting younger traders.

Following a 2018 security incident, Japanese online broker Monex Group acquired the exchange for ¥3.6 billion ($33.6 million), bolstering its security before it was provided regulatory registration in January 2019.

Several major financial institutions are facilitating the merger, with Galaxy Digital, Barclays Capital, and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. advising Thunder Bridge. At the same time, Monex has engaged J.P. Morgan Securities as its sole financial advisor.

Coincheck maintains a dominant position in Japan's retail crypto market, citing a five-year streak as the country's most downloaded crypto trading app from 2019 to 2023, according to AppTweak data cited by the group.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair

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