The operator of Japan’s largest rewards site with 5 million users is launching a bitcoin exchange. Ceres Inc has partnered with Japanese exchange Bitbank to use its B2B white label bitcoin exchange service to launch a cryptocurrency exchange.
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Operator of Japan’s Largest Rewards Site Launching Bitcoin Exchange
The operator of Japan’s largest consumer rewards site for smartphones and PCs, Ceres Inc, recently announced that it has established a subsidiary called Mercury, for a digital currency trading business.
The Tokyo-based company founded in 2005 operates three rewards sites including Japan’s largest, called Moppy. Reward points are transferable and are accumulated by “browsing ads that are delivered via free games, online shopping, e-mail, etc,” the company’s website details. “We define ‘point’ as a kind of virtual currency and think that it has a very high affinity with virtual currencies such as bitcoin which is a global payment method.” Points can be exchanged for cash, electronic money, etc.,” the company explained. According to its website:
‘Moppy’ is the largest point site in Japan with a total of 5 million users…The accumulated points can be exchanged for digital contents such as cash, various electronic money, games, ‘1 point = 1 yen’.
Strategic Partnership with Bitbank
Ceres formed a capital and business alliance with Bitbank which operates the Japanese bitcoin exchange Bitbank.cc last month. Ceres detailed at the time that its investment of 850 million yen (approximately $7.7 million) into Bitbank made it the second largest shareholder with 29.9% of the total shares.
The Bitbank exchange supports multiple currencies including bitcoin, litecoin, ripple, and ether. In addition to operating a bitcoin exchange, Bitbank offers other products including a B2B white label bitcoin exchange service called “Bitbank for Broker,” for companies to run their own bitcoin exchanges.
With this partnership, Ceres aims to utilize Moppy’s user base to offer a digital currency exchange service for smartphone users, Techcrunch reported. The two companies will also co-
develop the next generation micropayment solution using lightning networks as well as develop a token economy solution, according to Ceres. Bitbank will also provide its new bitcoin exchange with liquidity as well as expertise in the area of digital currency transactions.
In addition to Bitbank, Ceres previously partnered with some companies in the Bitcoin space including bitcoin exchanges Bitflyer and Coincheck as well as bitcoin wallet provider Breadwallet. The company also recently launched a bitcoin mobile phone top-up service Sobit.
Do you think many of the 5 million rewards site users will use this new bitcoin exchange? Let us know in the comments section below.
Images courtesy of Ceres Inc, Moppy, and Bitbank
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