Yahoo! Japan confirms the launch of Taotao

Taotao, the Yahoo! Japan-owned crypto exchange, confirmed in a Twitter post that it will be launching on May 30. Upon translating, their tweet read:

“[Announcement of business start Date]
We've kept you waiting. ☺️ The virtual currency exchange "TAOTAO" service will start at noon (scheduled) on May 30, 2019 (JST)!

Please wait until business start for a while. #TAOTAO #仮想通貨”

Tatao started accepting pre-registrations on March 25. However, its trading services will start with a limited number of cryptocurrencies. Taotao will initially launch Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) as its base currencies. It will also offer leveraged positions on Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC) and Ripple (XRP).

Due to the recent bull run, exchanges have struggled to keep pace with the increasing demand. Yahoo! Was able to successfully enter the market following the efforts of the Financial Services Agency (FSA), Japan’s financial watchdog, who have tightly managed the domestic cryptocurrency margin trading platforms. The Japanese exchanges are also under strict supervision, following Coincheck’s $530 million hack.

Yahoo! Japan is the largest internet provider in the country and supplies more financial transactions than PayPal. Back in 2018, Yahoo! Japan acquired a 40% stake in Taotao, formerly known as BitARG via YJFX, its retail Forex brokerage arm. The purchase price for the stake in BitARG was disclosed to be 2 billion yen ‎‎($19 million).‎