The world’s first bank-owned cryptocurrency exchange launches in Japan

Photo: Image courtesy of Descryptive.com

Japanese financial giants SBI Holdings have launched the world’s first bank-backed cryptocurrency exchange, dubbed ‘VCTRADE’. Having made its initial announcement nearly two years ago and after months of delays, the company officially opened its platform to the public on July 17.

Previously, the service was only open to around 20,000 pre-registered users who enrolled in October last year. The exchange focuses on the trading of Ripple‘s native token XRP,  Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). Ripple, the San Francisco-based currency exchange and remittance network, is intrinsically partnered with SBI holdings, jointly operating SBI Ripple Asia.

While a significant amount of attention has been given to the volatility of Bitcoin and the rise of ICO crowdfunding, the launch of SBI Holding’s platform could mark an important milestone in the mainstream adoption of blockchain.