Kucoin is expanding into Australia after it agreed to invest $3 million in Bitcoin Australia. The deal is seen as a win-win for both cryptocurrency exchanges, each seeking to expand into its own direction – Kucoin establishing a niche in the rapidly growing Australian market. Bitcoin Australia is targeting the UK next.
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Kucoin Gets Leg Up In Australia
Kucoin chief executive Michael Gan on Sunday announced the Singapore cryptocurrency exchange had injected $3 million into Bitcoin Australia in a deal that is expected to grow its footprint in Australia.
“Now, I would like to inform you about our latest key partnership,” Gan said in an update on Twitter. “I have been told that some users noted that Kucoin has accomplished investing in Bitcoin Australia, a leading Australian cryptocurrency exchange. I want to confirm that this is true,” he said.
Earlier, Rupert Hackett, Bitcoin Australia’s chief executive, told the Australian Financial Review that the cash injection will help Bitcoin Australia expand operations into 27 new markets in the next two years. The company currently operates only in Australia, the Netherlands and Canada.
UK is Next Target
Hackett said the deal will result in increased demand for cryptocurrency from both Australian and international investors.
“It will effectively create an exchange for intermediate and advanced traders,” he was quoted as saying. “The UK is our next primary target. We want it to be seamless with the payment infrastructure in the UK and build up the brand,” Hackett said. He added that Bitcoin Australia presently offers the ability to purchase cryptocurrency, and wants to diversify to include a bespoke experience.
Kucoin has more than four million users on its books and transacts over half a billion United States dollars per month. In the 24 hours to press time, about $13.1 million worth of bitcoin had changed hands on the exchange. “This (deal) is not only a great strategic decision but will be an excellent long-lasting partnership for us to help cryptocurrency grow,” said Gan, Kucoin chief executive.
Threats Of Harm
Last week, Australian financial markets regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), said it will tighten control of cryptocurrency exchanges and token sales to eliminate “potential harm” from emerging technologies. In its “Corporate Plan” plan for the next four years, ASIC revealed: “We will continue to focus on monitoring threats of harm from emerging products, cyber resilience, the adequate management of technological solutions by firms and markets, and misconduct that is facilitated by or through digital and/or cyber-based mechanisms.”
Hackett, the Bitcoin Australia chief executive, was not particularly perturbed by the state of regulation in the Pacific nation. He told the Australian Financial Review that the country’s regulatory environment was “very progressive based on the global climate.” He hopes that “because we’re a regulated cryptocurrency exchange, we can leverage that in these international markets and foster business relations on that foundation.”
Australia is booming as a market for cryptocurrency, both as means of payment and as a store of value. About 14 percent of Australians now own a cryptocurrency of one sort or another, according to a report by Hive Ex, and payments are increasingly being settled in bitcoin.
Do you think Kucoin in Australia is a good venture for the company? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Images via Shutterstock.
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