South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange is planning to expand into Japan and Thailand.
According to local news source ZDNet, Bithumb has applied for licences at the Financial Services Agency of Japan and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand.
The news of Bithumb’s global expansion plans follows Coinsquare’s announcement last week of its platform launch for customers in Japan.
Japan and Thailand are both cryptocurrency-friendly jurisdictions.
Japan plays a central role in the world’s cryptocurrency industry and accounts for over 50 percent of the global financial market, and is therefore seen as a key location for crypto exchanges to set up shop.
Japan legalized cryptocurrency as a means of payment in April of last year and earlier this year Thailand finalized its regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and ICOs.
Bithumb is South Korea’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange and one of the largest in the world. It has recently been pushing a rapid expansion strategy – opening an office in London and establishing a subsidiary in Singapore. In earlier reports, Bithumb had not confirmed a timeframe for reaching more countries, but has announced that it is looking for partners to help further its global expansion.
Bithumb plans to start operating its service in Thailand at the end of October and aims to open its Japanese exchange in February next year.
A spokesperson for Bithumb added that in the upcoming months, the exchange will continue to target the cryptocurrency market of Asia with the intention of providing crypto-to-fiat support in every region that has regulated cryptocurrency trading.
