Crypto Exchange BitTrade Acquired By Singapore Entrepreneur Eric Cheng For $50M USD

Announcements, News | June 1, 2018 By:

Eric Cheng, founder and CEO of Singapore-based Sevens Group of Companies, has acquired Japanese crypto exchange BitTrade for S$67 million ($50M USD).

The acquisition will see Cheng take a 100% controlling stake in Bittrade, one of only sixteen Japanese Financial Services Agency-licensed cryptocurrency trading platforms, and its affiliate company FX Trade Financial, a foreign currency trading platform.

The management teams of both platforms will reportedly work to “aggressively scale” and expand trading services on the exchanges, strengthen cybersecurity measures, and develop more international-user-friendly interfaces. Leveraging on Cheng’s extensive network, the team will also scale the platform in other regions across the globe.

Cheng, a self-made multi-millionaire through his global real estate investments, claims he’s the first foreigner to own a 100 percent stake in an FSA-regulated crypto exchange.

“The cryptocurrency industry is growing exponentially,” Cheng said. “Against this backdrop, the key to capturing the rising demand is having a well-regulated and licensed outfit. With this Japanese FSA-licensed platform, I will work closely with the regulators to scale this platform globally.”

In April of this year, BitTrade, along with 15 FSA-regulated crypto exchanges, formed a self-regulatory body in a bid to restore market confidence following the Coincheck hack in January. The self-regulatory body will focus on a comprehensive set of rules aimed at customer protection and internal controls.