Bitcoin Daily: Coinbase Makes Japan Debut; Former SEC Chair Joins Fireblocks Board

Coinbase, a popular crypto exchange, is being rolled out in Japan, according to a company blog post.

In the post, the company called Japan “one of the first countries to embrace crypto and one of the largest markets by crypto trading volumes in the world.”

Coinbase will be working with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) in order to help people access Coinbase’s platform. MUFG Quick Deposit will also be offered to help customers begin trading, the post stated.

Coinbase said in the post it also plans to add more localized versions for Japan of popular features like advanced trading, Coinbase for Institutions and others.

In other news, Jay Clayton, a former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman, will now be on the advisory board of digital asset custody, transfer and settlement platform Fireblocks, according to a company press release.

His role will be to help the company navigate the market as digital assets become more common, the release stated.

He said in the release that he shares “Fireblocks’ view that digital asset custody requires the same level of service as traditional custody while also striving for better regulatory outcomes in security, certainty and resiliency.”

Meanwhile, Yield Guild Games has completed a $4.6 million funding round, which will go toward its continuing investment in digital assets for games and virtual worlds in the pay-to-play ecosystem, according to a Medium blog post.

The round was led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, the post stated.

Pay-to-play games allow users to have ownership in their games and generate revenue from them, said Andreessen Horowitz General Partner Arianna Simpson, per the post.

Lastly, Hedera Hashgraph, a public network for the decentralized economy, has added the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) to help advance blockchain projects as part of its governing Hedera Council, according to a press release.

LSE’s joining will give the council the opportunity to provide students and faculty opportunities for hackathons, thought leaderships and research opportunities that will aim to expand the body of knowledge surrounding distributed ledger technologies, according to the release.

Thamim Ahmed, senior research associate with LSE, said in the release blockchains could be a “coordination technology” to make markets more efficient and add new business opportunities as the world changes from the pandemic and climate change.