Japan-based brokerage firm, asset manager, and crypto exchange Monex Group announced it plans to purchase a majority stake in 3iQ Digital Holdings.
In a Dec. 28 announcement, Monex cited 3iQ’s experience listing some of the first spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds in North America as part of the reason for the acquisition. The Canada-based firm launched a Bitcoin fund in 2020, years ahead of potential approval for similar products by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Our long term strategy is to strengthen our asset management business, and by welcoming 3iQ to our group, we aim to achieve high growth by capturing the crypto asset management needs of institutional investors and crypto asset exchanges around the world, which are expected to grow in the future,” said Monex CEO Yuko Seimei.
Related: ‘Clear runway’ opens for all Bitcoin ETF approvals in Jan — Analysts
3iQ chair and CEO Frederick Pye said the firm planned to collaborate with Coincheck as part of the acquisition. Monex purchased Coincheck in 2018 after the crypto exchange suffered one of the largest hacks in the history of the space at the time — roughly $534 million worth of NEM tokens.
In December, Japan’s government introduced a tax reform that could have companies avoid paying taxes on “unrealized gains” from crypto holdings. Many crypto firms previously shuttered operations in Japan in response to the regulatory environment, but the country has seen increasing adoption of blockchain and Web3 under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.