FTX acquires Japanese crypto firm Liquid Group

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Written on Feb 2, 2022

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FTX has announced the acquisition of Liquid Group.
The acquisition will also involve Quoine exchange, with FTX required to move users to Quoine from March 30.
The financials of the deal have not been disclosed.

FTX, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchange platforms globally, has announced the acquisition of Liquid Group. Liquid Group is a crypto firm based in Japan.

With the global crypto regulatory framework changing, exchanges are looking for business strategies that will allow them to comply with the local laws of the market they operate in or seek to operate in.

FTX is pleased to announce the acquisition of the Liquid group of companies, including an FSA-registered crypto-asset exchange to provide products and services to our customers in Japan! ????????https://t.co/rO5TznWFCU

— SBF (@SBF_FTX) February 2, 2022

FTX acquires Liquid Group

FTX’s CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, noted that this acquisition would also include Quoine Corporation, a cryptocurrency exchange approved by Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA). Quoine received a Type I Financial Instruments Business license from the FSA.

Through this acquisition, the involved parties will offer a wide range of products and services to the Japanese retail and institutional market. It will also make the offerings available to the global market.

“Quoine will gradually integrate FTX’s products and services into its own offering, and FTX’s existing Japanese customers will be migrated to Quoine’s platform,” the announcement read.

The agreement further notes that FTX needs to remain compliant with the financial laws set by Japanese regulators. The exchange will also be required to move its existing users based in Japan to the Quoine exchange. This process will commence on March 30 2022, when the acquisition deal will close. However, the financials of this deal have not been shared.

FTX expanding its operations

FTX has been aggressively expanding its operations globally. Recently, the exchange completed a $400 million funding round that increased the valuation of FTX to $32 billion. The funding round was led by Softbank Group.

The president of FTC, Brett Harrison, noted that the funds would be channelled towards the growth of the exchange and supporting the growing team. FTX US, the US subsidiary for the FTX exchange, has also increased its valuation to $8 billion.

The cryptocurrency market has been dropping over the past month, and while bear markets could result in low trading volumes on exchanges, Bankman-Fried recently noted that he was still bullish about the market trend. The billionaire dismissed claims that the crypto winter was on the way, noting that the recent drop across financial markets was due to the expectations of increased interest rates.