Japan-based cryptocurrency trading and staking service provider CoinTrade on Thursday said it has partnered with Singapore-based crypto custody platform Fireblocks to provide institutional clients with improved security for digital assets.
See related article: Japan’s FSA steps up crypto regulation with warnings to Bybit, other exchanges
Fast facts
- The partnership will connect CoinTrade users to Fireblocks’ cold wallets that provide 24/7 access to digital assets, distributed private key sharing to prevent insider collusion, and optical QR-based signing access, according to a press release sent to Forkast via email.
- “By leveraging Fireblocks’ battle-tested technology, cold storage and direct custody solutions, CoinTrade can retain tighter control over its risk and compliance operations,” Stephen Richardson, Head of Asia-Pacific and senior vice president of Financial Markets at Fireblocks, said in the release.
- Cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan are required to register with the Financial Services Agency, the country’s financial regulator. Registration involves background checks on the exchange operators, anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) procedures, and security measures for customer assets.
- The registration process was established following several cyberattacks on Japanese crypto exchanges, including the Mt. Gox’s 2014 exploit that resulted in losses of around US$460 million, and the Coincheck hack in 2018 where over US$530 million worth of crypto tokens were stolen.
- Hackers stole a record US$3.8 billion in cryptocurrencies globally in 2022, blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis reported in January.
- Japan’s National Police Agency in October said North Korea-backed hacker group Lazarus had been sending phishing emails to Japanese crypto exchange employees to infect their computers with malware.
See related article: G7 nations set to push for stricter cryptocurrency regulations at Japan summit in May