Japanese E-Commerce Major #Rakuten to Acquire Local #Crypto Exchange Everybody's #Bitcoin
Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten, which has a market capitalization of over $12.5 billion, has revealed a 265 million yen ($2.4 million) deal to acquire domestic crypto exchange Everybody’s Bitcoin, in an announcement published August 31. The deal, which will reportedly be settled by October 1, has been made via Rakuten’s subsidiary, Rakuten Card Co. Ltd. It is based on a stock purchase agreement between the latter and Everybody’s Bitcoin parent company Traders Investment. Today’s announcement indicates that Everybody's Bitcoin reported a net loss of around $444,200 in the fiscal year ending March 30, 2018. Rakuten says it has been “considering entry into the cryptocurrency exchange industry” as it believes "the role of cryptocurrency-based payments in e-commerce, offline retail and in P2P payments will grow in the future." The firm has further said that the acquisition comes in response to demands from a growing number of customers, in particular foreign exchange customers of its securities subsidiary, who have been calling for the provision of a cryptocurrency exchange service.
