Line, the company behind a popular messaging app, announced Thursday that it will open a cryptocurrency exchange in July.
The new exchange, known as BitBox, was unveiled during a conference held this week in Japan. Notably, the exchange wonât offer services to residents in Japan and the U.S. â a likely nod to the regulatory realities of working in those markets.
In an announcement release, Line said that the exchange would be purely crypto-to-crypto, meaning that it will not, at least for now, support government-issued currencies.
The company explained:
â[The] cryptocurrency exchange BITBOX is launching as part of LINEâs financial services business, providing services globally except in Japan and the U.S. 30 or more cryptocurrencies can be exchanged in BITBOX, and it will support 15 languages excluding Japanese. BITBOX only allows the exchange of cryptocurrencies, and does not accept exchange between fiat money and cryptocurrencies.â
Lineâs exchange will support bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ether and litecoin among a list of â30 or more currenciesâ that the company said were chosen âthrough a rigorous review by a listing committee composed of experts.â
The move comes months after Line launched a new company dedicated to crypto services, indicating at the time that it was eyeing an exchange launch.
Its decision to exclude Japan suggests that its effort to obtain a license from Japanâs Financial Services Agency (FSA) is still ongoing, given that it disclosed its application back in January.
âThe application process for registration as a virtual currency exchanger has already been started with the Financial Services Agency [FSA], and it is currently under review,â Line said in a statement at the time.
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