The holding company behind DeCurret, the Japan-based company that offers digital asset trading and exchanges, would plan to sell his cryptocurrency business to investment platform Amber Group.
According to a Wednesday report from the Nikkei newspaper, DeCurret Holdings intends to sell the crypto arm of its business to Hong Kong-based company Amber Group in February.. Although the details of the acquisition are not clear, the media outlet reported that the sale price would be in the millions of dollars.
DeCurret established a new business structure in December 2021, launching a holding company, DeCurret Holdings, and separating its cryptocurrency and digital currency business into separate subsidiaries. Under the proposed agreement, DeCurret Inc. will represent the company’s cryptocurrency exchange business, while DeCurret DCP will handle the digital currency business.
With the upcoming sale of his crypto arm, DeCurret reportedly plans to focus on digital currencies. Japanese regulators, including the country’s Financial Services Agency, or FSA, recognize digital currencies as distinct from cryptocurrencies.
First launched in 2019, DeCurret later received regulatory approval from the FSA and the proposed cryptocurrency could be used as a payment method for Japan’s public transportation system.. However, according to the Nikkei report, the cryptocurrency exchange was unable to compete with major companies, including BitFlyer and Coincheck, and “earnings were down”.
If the sale goes through, it would be another example of a company based in China, in this case Hong Kong, buying one of the few regulated cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan. In 2018, the Japanese subsidiary of Huobi Global bought a majority stake in BitTrade, one of sixteen regulated exchanges in the country at the time. As of the end of 2021, there were 30 FSA-approved cryptocurrency exchange companies operating in Japan.
Headquartered in Hong Kong, Amber Group achieved a $1 billion valuation in June 2021 following a $100 million funding round. Since then, the crypto financial services firm has backed projects including decentralized exchange aggregator 1inch Network and launched its own non-fungible token studio, called Creator Finance.
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