Monex Group to Break into US Crypto Market in Three Months

Japanese financial services giant today said it plans to launch its US-based cryptocurrency services in the first quarter of 2019. For the new offshoot, the company filed a money service business registration with each state regulator, Cointelegraph Japan reported today.
A money transmittal license (MTL) allows the venue to offer both crypto-to-crypto and fiat-to-crypto trading pairs.
Earlier in July, Monex revealed plans to gain a foothold in the US cryptocurrency market with a dedicated offering that caters mainly to institutional investors, and build on top of over 2 million accounts it holds worldwide.
In April 2018, Monex Group completed its acquisition of , which was the target of a $534 million hack in January, nearly forcing it to shut down activities.
Monex Group already has a diverse portfolio of brokerages worldwide though was rumored to be  into cryptocurrency markets. Earlier this year, Monex set up its own unit, which is  to study the opportunities in the sector. But its ambitions date back to 2011 when it acquired TradeStation Crypto, the cryptocurrency-focused subsidiary of its US brokerage arm.
Coincheck re-launch delayed
Meanwhile, TradeStation has recently invested in the soon-to-be launched cryptocurrency exchange ErisX which raised over $25 million from investors including Fidelity Investments and Nasdaq Ventures.
The move also comes just as the US Securities and Exchange ‎‎Commission is seeking legitimate platforms serving as ‎trading venues ‎for digital assets. ‎
This topic has received much attention since the SEC ‎made clear that any digital token with an income stream is ‎a security, and furthermore that ‎any entity wants to ‎become an ATS needs to register with the SEC as a ‎broker-dealer and become a member of a self-regulating ‎organization, such as the ‎FINRA.‎
After helping remain in business, Monex says the hacked exchange was scheduled to be re-launched soon, however, due to scrutiny by the South Korean regulators, the launch was delayed.