Coincheck Integrates Ether Amid Continued Optimism

Coincheck.jp, the Japanese exchange behind entertainment giant DMM’s recent Bitcoin integration, will begin supporting Ethereum today.

Also read: Coincheck: Japan ‘Treating BTC as Currency’

Coincheck: ‘Everything Except Money’

Coincheck made the announcement in a press release issued Monday. Purchase and selling support are the first services to be added, with the goal being to provide identical capabilities for Ether (ETH) as coincheck currently offers via Bitcoin.

In comments emailed to Bitcoin.com, co-founder Yusuke Otsuka said:

“Bitcoin was all about money. We hope Ethereum will be everything other than money (e.g. real estate). Therefore, it’s natural for us to support Ether . . . eventually, we will add FOREX like features to Ether trading as well.”

The news comes amid fervent activity for both Ethereum and coincheck. The Ether currency has seen unprecedented support and trading volumes, helping it surge from 0.0026BTC to over 0.035BTC per coin in two months, a growth of over 1200%.

Separately, the announcement of coincheck’s partnership with DMM, which opened up Bitcoin payments to its 19 million strong customer base, is part of a continuing trend of interest in cryptocurrency from both Japanese consumers and businesses.

Otsuka said he remains upbeat about Ether, despite the currency being in the throws of considerable fluctuation in value and its essential user potential not yet being clear.

“Volatility is natural for a new technology where everyone has mixed feelings of anxiety and anticipation. Bitcoin was also volatile but it [has] become the most popular cryptocurrency in the world,” he said. “Ether may follow the same path with bitcoins, but nobody knows.”

Bitcoin Woes

Nonetheless, implementation by coincheck, which currently handles around 30 million Yen ($264,000 USD) in monthly transaction volumes, could signal the vast client bases of customers such as DMM being able to profit directly from the most talked-about altcoin to hit the market in several years.

Bitcoin meanwhile is coming out of a mixed week. Against a background of uncertainty and even bitterness from rival development teams, coupled with Microsoft’s announcement that it has dropped Bitcoin from the Windows Store, Ethereum’s success and much-lauded potential appears all the more poignant.

In Japan, however, things continue to move on apace. Regulators are discussing Bitcoin’s potential reclassification as a currency, and voting on a set of legislative measures to facilitate closer interaction from interested businesses with virtual currency.

“The proposed regulations would remove the firewall between Bitcoin and the financial sector,” Nasdaq.com reports, referencing Japanese financial newspaper, Nikkei.

“The government hopes that removing the firewall will encourage the development of Japan’s emerging fintech industry.”

What do you think about coincheck’s decision? Let us know your views in the comments section below!

Images courtesy of Ethereum on Linkedin, coincheck

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