Exclusive Interview With Monex Founder On Coincheck Deal

Recently, we saw the completion of a take over of the damaged Japanese cryptocurrency exchange, Coincheck. This came in the wake of a devastating attack on the Coincheck system that saw losses in excess of $500million. Since the attack, Japanese authorities have established much tighter regulations for cryptocurrency exchanges in the country, which overall seem to have just improved customer security and the customer experience, instead of hampering down on the exchanges themselves. This is testament to the optimism with regards to cryptocurrency that exists in Japan. The take over of Coincheck by Japanese firm Monex did raise many questions, how would they deal with the regulations? Could Monex save Coincheck? What if this happens again? Well this morning, the Nikkei Asian Review have published an exclusive interview with Oki Matsumoto, President and Founder of Monex, hopefully, this can answer some of your questions. You can see the full publication for yourself, here- https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Monex-founder-outlines-how-Coincheck-deal-will-redefine-finance When asked about why Monex decided to buy Coincheck, despite the uncertain and volatile cryptocurrency markets, Matsumoto explains that blockchain technology is more than just currency, it has endless applications. Matsumoto believes that central banks will tap into this sooner rather than later and that a worldwide cryptocurrency adoption will take place. Monex seem to want to be at the forefront of this. Matsumoto also acknowledges the element of risk involved with this purchase, not only from the money they have already had to spend, but risk from further attacks, such attacks that have already devastated Coincheck previously. Monex will be responsible for ensuring this can’t happen, ever again. Matsumoto told the Nikkei Asian Review team:

“You can no longer ignore virtual currencies as assets -- they're too big to look past, and have begun to affect existing financial markets. Our acquisition of Coincheck is an essential piece of our mission to redefine what finance means.”

From what we are seeing in this interview, it seems pretty clear where Monex want to take Coincheck. They do have their priorities straight, it looks as if security is of paramount importance to the team. Moreover, it looks as if Monex are in this for the long haul and that this is not just an ‘off the cuff’ purchased designed for experimental reasons. Matsumoto looks to believe that the future lies within the blockchain, cryptocurrency is a key part of this and Monex want to be at the forefront of the revolution. They have a mission to ‘redefine what finance means’ a noble cause indeed, and one which we wish them the best of luck with. Hopefully, Monex have given Coincheck an essential lifeline here.