Ex-BitFlyer CEO Returns to Take Company Public (Report)

Yuzo Kano wants to become BitFlyer’s CEO again so he can help the company grow internationally and take it public.

Yuzo Kano, co-founder of Japan’s most popular cryptocurrency exchange BitFlyer, reportedly wants to lead the company again as CEO after stepping down in 2019.

He also wants to stop the fighting between the current management team and the shareholders and lead the company to an IPO (IPO).

Possible Comeback After Four Years

Bloomberg says that the 47-year-old Japanese businessman wants to be CEO of BitFlyer again to make it a major player in the global market:

“I will make it capable of fighting on the international stage.”

Kano, who was CEO until 2019 and promised to give a plan with goals for the company next month, was CEO until 2019. Among them are ending the fight between the management division and the shareholders and putting BitFlyer’s shares on the stock market so that anyone can buy and sell them.

In 2018, Japan’s crypto exchange had to deal with tough problems with the country’s regulators. Back then, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) told BitFlyer and a lot of its competitors to make it harder to launder money. Soon after, Kano stepped down as CEO.

Since then, many people have tried to run the company, but none of them have been very successful. Some quit after Kano said bad things about them for being BitFlyer’s largest single shareholder.

“It’s my responsibility to point out issues and demand improvement. I reprimand people when they cause problems, make false reports or fail to do whatever they are supposed to do,” he said.

Even with all the trouble, BitFlyer, which is based in Tokyo, has over 2.5 million users all over the world. It also has offices in both San Francisco and Luxembourg.

Growing Interest in Crypto in Japan

Under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the Land of the Rising Sun has recently softened its stance on the cryptocurrency industry. He said he liked blockchain technology and Web3 and promised to make laws easier to follow.

So, Binance, the biggest platform for trading cryptocurrencies, applied for a permit in September 2022 to get back into the local ecosystem. It went even further with its plans by buying the Sakura Exchange BitCoin (SEBC).

On the other hand, Binance’s competitors, such as Kraken and Coinbase, have said they will stop doing business in Japan because of bad macroeconomic conditions and a weak global crypto market.