A subsidiary of Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten, Rakuten Wallet, has partnered with blockchain security firm CipherTrace to assure Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance for the company’s upcoming crypto exchange. The development was announced in a press release shared with Cointelegraph on May 29. CipherTrace — which develops cryptocurrency AML, forensics and regulatory monitoring solutions — will work on improving the safety of Rakuten Wallet’s investors as well as the protection of the integrity and compliance of the exchange. Dave Jevans, CEO of CipherTrace, commented on the cooperation: “We have made significant strides as an industry to make the cryptocurrency market grow …

Japanese internet giant Rakuten has begun letting prospective users of its Rakuten Wallet cryptocurrency exchange open accounts, Cointelegraph Japan reported on April 15. Rakuten, which plans to launch the exchange in June, now offers online registration for traders, all of whom need a Rakuten user ID and associated bank account to complete the process. The company took over Everybody’s Bitcoin platform in 2018, introducing changes that allowed it to procure a license for the operation from Japanese regulators in December. Everybody’s Bitcoin had previously been cited by regulators for deficiencies in management control. Rakuten joins a steady stream of major …

Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten will launch its own cryptocurrency exchange, dubbed Rakuten Wallet, this June, Cointelegraph Japan reports today, March 29. As per the official announcement from Rakuten, the exchange will start accepting applications for opening accounts on April 15. Rakuten Wallet is set to go live in June. According to Rakuten, its trading platform will allow users to trade digital assets via a smartphone application. Opening an account will be free of charge and customers’ funds will be stored in a cold wallet, the press release notes. The company finally received regulatory approval from Japanese financial market regulator, the …

Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten has completed registration of its cryptocurrency exchange Rakuten Wallet, which will go live next month, the company confirmed in a press release on March 25. Rakuten, which follows several major Japanese tech players in entering the crypto exchange market, renamed its product from Everybody’s Bitcoin earlier this month. The company had acquired the exchange under the former name in August last year for 265 million yen (at the time $2.4 million). Following a consolidation period during which Rakuten made changes to its structure, executives have now confirmed that Everybody’s Bitcoin in its current guise will cease …

Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten announced that a major update of its Rakuten Pay mobile app will be released on March 18, according to the firm’s 2018 earnings release, published on Feb. 12. The app’s new structure appears to indicate that it will support cryptocurrency payments in addition to fiat. According to the company’s presentation material for the fourth quarter and the full year of 2018, the new version of the app will feature “all payment solutions embedded into one platform.” As Cointelegraph reported in January, and the recent materials confirm, Rakuten — known informally as “Japan’s Amazon”— revealed a revision …

Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten has announced a revision to its corporate restructure, setting up a new payments subsidiary that includes its cryptocurrency business, Cointelegraph Japan reported Jan. 21. Rakuten, known informally as ‘Japan’s Amazon,’ originally revealed in August last year it would seek to reorganize its various offshoots in order to improve accountability and decision-making processes. Now, the company says it will rebrand its loyalty subsidiary, Spotlight Inc., to a new entity, Rakuten Payment, which will also run its cryptocurrency exchange. Rakuten Payment, along with other details of the restructure, should go live by April 1, the company stated in …

A curious user recently asked members of the Bitcoin subreddit how they spend their bitcoins on an everyday basis. Because Reddit is a global community, it's likely that their responses are reflective of overall patterns. Here's how the bits are flowing today: 1. Coffee and Food Delivery – Couture coffee got a whole lot cheaper the day that Foldapp started offering 20% off Starbucks purchases. Redditors also use bitcoins for food delivery services like Foodler, Magic and Thuisbezorgd (Netherlands). Word on the street is that Foldapp will soon add both Whole Foods and Target to its 20 % off list, …

Leading Swiss bank UBS has announced that it will open up a lab to study blockchain technology in London; Bitcoin April Fools Day Joke roundup; and more top stories for April 2. UBS to open London technology lab to study the blockchain Continuing the trend for major financial institutions beginning to take an interest in the new FinTech sector, Swiss bank UBS is opening a London technology lab focused on how the blockchain could make financial transactions cheaper and faster. The announcement comes after UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne promised UK£10 million in research funding for digital currency …

German e-bank Fidor has announced end-to-end support for Bitcoin transactions directly linked to one of their regular bank accounts alongside plans of US expansion. Samsung acquires over-the-counter payment system LoopPay. Bitcoin companies may be vulnerable to Equation Group style attacks, and other top stories for February 23. E-bank Fidor announces ‘express’ and insured bitcoin trading, expanding to the US German e-bank Fidor has been working with Bitcoin.de since last July aiming to launch a service offering end-to-end Bitcoin services linked to one of their regular bank accounts. This is the first time in the world a regulated bank has offered …