Hong Kong’s OSL Group acquires Japanese crypto exchange CoinBest

OSL Group has signed an agreement to acquire more than 80% of Japan’s FSA-licensed crypto exchange CoinBest, marking its entry into the Japanese crypto market.

Hong Kong’s licensed crypto operator OSL Group announced plans to acquire an 81.38% stake in CoinBest, a Japan-based crypto exchange licensed by the Financial Services Agency.

The acquisition, through its Japanese subsidiary, marks the group’s “strategic move” into the Japanese market, which is seeing rapid growth in crypto adoption and has more than 5 million active crypto accounts by 2023, OSL said in a press release on Nov. 4. .

“With the acquisition of CoinBest, OSL Group aims to create business synergies by driving product and service innovation, sharing resources and best practices, and increasing global trading liquidity across its member platforms. […].”

OSL Group

OSL seeks ‘valuable information’ from Japanese market

The move is part of OSL’s global expansion strategy to increase its footprint in the Asia-Pacific region, as OSL Group’s chief investment officer Ivan Wong described the acquisition as a “major milestone” for the group. Although financial details of the deal were not disclosed, Wong expressed optimism about gaining “valuable insights and advanced technologies from these markets to enhance our offerings and strengthen our competitiveness.”

The acquisition comes amid expected regulatory changes in Japan that could shape the region’s crypto landscape. As crypto.news previously reported, a group of Japanese financial institutions has called on the Japanese government to focus on major tokens like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) in talks to allow exchange-traded funds for cryptocurrencies. The group also calls for a review of Japan’s tax system, specifically proposing a separate tax on earned income.