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Cryptocurrency exchange bitFlyer announced Friday that European and US users of its “Buy/Sell” platform can start trading Ethereum and Bitcoin. The news follows the launch of the Buy/Sell platform last month. BitFlyer says that Ethereum is just one of several coins it’s planning to launch in the coming months.
“ETH [has] proved itself as a useful altcoin, particularly in relation to smart contracts [and] it has an incredibly strong community that surrounds it,” said Andy Bryant, Co-head and COO of bitFlyer Europe, in a press release.
BitFlyer’s U.S. and E.U. outposts are owned by the Japanese parent company of the same name. The Tokyo-based exchange—one of Japan’s largest—already permits Japanese users to trade ETH via its “Lightning” platform.
Just like Gemini, the Winklevoss Twins’ pro-regulation exchange that expanded to Australia last month, bitFlyer stresses its compliance with regulatory authorities. BitFlyer boasts that it’s the only cryptocurrency exchange to be licensed in Japan, the US and Europe combined.
“As crypto regulation is evolving, we work to ensure that everything listed on our exchange complies with the global regulatory standards,” said Hailey Lennon, Head of Legal and Regulatory Affairs, bitFlyer USA.
But that wasn’t always the case. Last June, bitFlyer was ordered by Japan’s Financial Services Agency to clean up its act, following concerns about lax KYC checks and money laundering. After a “voluntary” suspension of new accounts, bitFlyer opened its doors to customers once more at the start of last month
“BitFlyer Japan completely apologises to our customers for failing to meet the JFSA’s stringent standards,” wrote bitFlyer in a statement last year. Quite the turnaround: they’re now “prioritizing security and regulatory standards,” according to Andy Bryant, co-head and COO, bitFlyer Europe in Friday’s press release.