Japanese crypto exchange Coincheck, made famous after hackers made off with more than $400 million in digital token NEM, has been acquired.
The company announced today (in Japanese) that Tokyo-based online brokerage Monex Group will buy it in full. The transaction will see Coincheck become a wholly owned subsidiary of Monex.
The deal is a reaction of the NEM hack, with Coincheck recognizing that it needs to strengthen its management system and organization as a whole. That’s in direct response to Japan’s Financial Services Agency, which requested that the exchange make changes in the wake of the January hack — which saw Coincheck reimburse affected users.
Japan is the world’s first market to regulate cryptocurrencies, and the country has given its approval to over 26 exchanges that operate there, both locally and international. The Coincheck incident seems to serve as a wakeup call, however, and authorities clamped down on six others who were told to beef up their organizations to prevent more scandals or security issues. Added that, a number of regulated exchanges have announced plans to team up to create a self-regulatory body to add further scrutiny.
Editor’s note: The author owns a small amount of cryptocurrency. Enough to gain an understanding, not enough to change a life.