The Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck is back in business—sort of. According to a statement (in pdf) by the exchange’s parent company, Monex Group, the platform has now relaunched new account registrations. It has also begun to offer deposit and withdrawal support for a limited number of cryptocurrencies.
As of Tuesday, users can now make deposits in either Bitcoin BCH, Bitcoin Core (BTC), Litecoin (LTC) or Ethereum Classic (ETC). Since Monex took over the exchange following a hack this past January, only BTC purchases were still allowed. The move is the latest in the company’s plan to put the exchange back on its feet and operate normally.
Monex indicated that it could eventually support other coins, such as Ethereum (ETH), Lisk (LSK), Ripple (XRP), NEM (XEM) and Factom (FCT) “if the services are confirmed safe and become ready to be offered.”
The company added, “Please be reminded that if the remittance has been directed to the old deposit address or to the deposit address of other cryptocurrencies, we will not be able to reflect on the balance or to return back that particular cryptocurrency.” Existing customers will need to generate a new deposit address when they return to the platform.
In order to receive regulatory approval by Japan’s Financial Services Authority (FSA), all new users will now have to submit to a Know Your Customer process in order to identify the individual. This is one of many requirements the FSA has implemented after it began investigating the company following the January hack.
Deposits will be allowed through area convenience stores and quick deposits in Japanese Yen. They can also be made through Coincheck Payment and Coincheck DENKI services. However, Monex cautions that it will periodically review all deposit methods and could suspend any that it feels is not acting in accordance with regulations.
Monex is hoping to reverse a trend that has seen the exchange lose money since the hack. Not only did thieves get away with over $520 million in cryptocurrencies, the company has been sliding downhill since. Monex recently released its financial report for the most recent quarter, indicating that it had dropped around $5 million in revenue. This was a 66% decline in revenue from the previous quarter.
Note: Tokens on the Bitcoin Core (segwit) Chain are Referred to as BTC coins. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is today the only Bitcoin implementation that follows Satoshi Nakamoto’s original whitepaper for Peer to Peer Electronic Cash. Bitcoin BCH is the only major public blockchain that maintains the original vision for Bitcoin as fast, frictionless, electronic cash.
The post Coincheck begins to accept new customers, relaunches deposit, withdrawal support appeared first on Coingeek.
This past January, the Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck was hacked, resulting in the loss of $520 million in cryptocurrency assets. Not long after, it was acquired by brokerage firm Monex Group, but it doesn’t seem that its financial troubles have dissipated. In a release (in pdf) of its financial performance for the third quarter, the company said that it has seen a significant decline in revenue.
Between July and September, Monex Group’s cryptocurrency business, which is entirely comprised of the Coincheck exchange, took in around $2.8 million. This is a 66% decline over what it reported for the previous quarter, which was approximately $8.4 million. Since acquiring the exchange, Monex has reported losses of around $7.5 million.
The decline, according to Monex, can be directly attributed to the hack. Despite a reduction in costs for the most recent quarter, there has been an increase in the loss to the company, jumping from $2.3 million in the second quarter to $5.25 million in the last. Monex explained, “Since the service suspension in January 2018, Coincheck only allowed existing customers to sell their cryptocurrency. This limited revenue stream resulted in segment loss of [$5.33 million]. Coincheck has improved in governance, internal control and internal audit, aiming for full service resumption.”
Monex purchased Coincheck for $33.5 million following the hack. The platform has seen around $4 million in trades during the last 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap. The exchange has around 1.7 million users and is in the process of implementing increased security features and internal controls in order to become licensed by Japanese regulators.
It further indicated that Coincheck “has built sophisticated internal controls, including a high-standard security management system, which has recently become expected for registered cryptocurrency exchanges. Going forward, Coincheck will advance as a highly technology-driven company with a cutting-edge security control system and the know-how to secure profitability appropriate of its true value.”
While the loss from the hack was certainly tremendous, some good did come out of it. It paved the way for increased scrutiny of exchanges and more oversight to ensure the cryptocurrency industry in the country can flourish and mature as a viable entity. This goes a long way to ensure that crypto is seen as a legitimate currency that can rival fiat over the long term.
Note: Tokens on the Bitcoin Core (segwit) Chain are Referred to as BTC coins. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is today the only Bitcoin implementation that follows Satoshi Nakamoto’s original whitepaper for Peer to Peer Electronic Cash. Bitcoin BCH is the only major public blockchain that maintains the original vision for Bitcoin as fast, frictionless, electronic cash.
The post The Coincheck crypto exchange has lost $5 million this quarter appeared first on Coingeek.
