Huobi Japan raises $4.6M in new funding to expand in the country

Cryptocurrency exchange Huobi’s Japanese unit, Huobi Japan, has raised 500 million yen (~$4.6 million) in new equity funding.

Announcing the news on Friday, Huobi Japan said it has issued “new shares” to the Japanese financial services group FPG Corporation for raising 499,968,000 yen. The shares sale is via a third-party allotment and is “part of our capital policy for business expansion in Japan,” said the exchange.

With the fresh funding in place, Huobi Japan said it is aiming to contribute to the digitalization of the country’s securities market and provide new financial assets and payment methods.

“We are confident that we can create … safer and more reliable services for our customers,” said the exchange, which is licensed with Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA), the country’s financial market watchdog.

Huobi Japan was set up last year after Huobi Group acquired a majority stake in local licensed cryptocurrency exchange BitTrade. Japan requires all cryptocurrency exchanges to get registered with the FSA to operate in the country.