US-based exchanges are going to have some serious competition in the coming months, as bitFlyer has opened up trading to US customers and has also obtained the ever important NY BitLicense, which allows for a crypto exchange to operate in the state of New York. 

Bitcoin’s Rising Popularity in Japan

Japan has been on the cutting edge of Bitcoin infrastructure ever since the digital currency was recognized as legal tender back in April. Japanese exchanges have been recording record volumes as people in the Asian country are starting to adopt Bitcoin in their daily lives. Businesses have the choice to accept bitcoin, and many are hopping aboard.

bitFlyer, one of the largest Bitcoin exchanges currently operating in Japan, has expanded to begin operations in the US. The once small exchange has posted over $100 billion in trade volume since the beginning of the year, with the company looking to bring in experts in the field to advance their current tech and introduce it to US customers. BitFlyer has also been granted approval for the New York State BitLicense, which allows them to operate in New York as a digital currency exchange. They are one of only four exchanges to be given the license and aims to claim some of the trade volume coming out of the north-eastern state.

Cutting Edge Trading Tech

The exchange first operated as a closed beta, inviting a few thousand experience traders and investors to test the platform before it was released to the general public. The exchange has since built in powerful trading tools such as market and limit orders, with the ability to also create more complex orders. With the introduction of US trading, bitFlyer also plans to launch additional features and make the trading of crypto-currencies much more widely accessible.

Plans to include many more “blue-chip” currencies are in the pipeline, with the addition of altcoins such as Litecoin, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Bitcoin Cash, and more planned for 2018. For the rest of 2017, the US branch of bitFlyer is offering zero percent trading fees as part of a promotional campaign to get people to start using the exchange

Do you plan on trying out bitFlyer? What other features would you like to see in an exchange? Let us know in the comments down below!

Images courtesy of Pexels, bitFlyer