FTX, one of the leading international cryptocurrency exchange platforms, is buying a licensed Japanese crypto trading platform, Liquid. Per Wednesday’s announcement, the acquisition deal will be finalized in March 2022.
Key takeaways:
- Liquid is a licensed Japanese crypto exchange founded in 2014 that offers a wide range of investment products to crypto investors, including crypto derivatives and gasless saving services.
- “In connection with this acquisition, FTX has also entered into an agreement with Liquid to provide its existing Japanese users with services in compliance with Japanese laws,” explained Liquid. The purchase of the exchange platform and its subsidiaries will give FTX a unique competitive advantage in the Japanese crypto market.
- Existing FTX Japanese users will be transferred to the Liquid trading platform on March 30, 2022. Customers will receive further information on the transition via email notifications. As of yet, no details have been shared regarding the acquisition deal’s financial terms by either FTX or Liquid.
- FTX has come to Liquid’s rescue in August 2021, when it loaned $120 million to the exchange after Liquid suffered a security breach, which siphoned $90 million worth of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tron, and XRP from the platform.
- In the three years since being founded by the now 29-year-old crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX has grown to become one of the largest digital assets exchanges in the world. On Monday, the company announced the close of a $400 million Series C funding round, which pulled the crypto firm’s valuation to $32 billion.
- FTX’s native exchange token FTT gained more than 3.8% on the news of Liquid acquisition and is trading at $45.17 at press time. In the last seven days, FTT’s value increased by more than 20%, making the token one of the biggest year-to-date (YTD) gainers in the cryptocurrency top 100.
