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Gaia Co., Ltd. — Japan crypto-asset exchange operator overview

Confidence: Likely Updated 2026-05-18 Review by 2026-08-08 Sources 4 Machine-translated Original (JA)
#fintech#jp-crypto-exchange#vasp#btm#kansai
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This entry sits under exchanges index. Read it with FSA crypto-asset exchange registration system — number system / Local Finance Bureau jurisdiction / registration requirements for adjacent context and Japan Financial Regulation — Legal Framework for Tokens, Crypto Assets, and Payments for the broader system boundary.

FSA registration number Kinki Local Finance Bureau 第00004号 · JVCEA member #1034 · registration date 2021-06-18

1. Entity · shareholders

  • Trade name: 株式会社ガイア
  • Founded: 2007年12月25日 (corporate-organization change)
  • Head-office location: 〒550-0002 Osaka, Osaka-shi, Nishi-ku, Edobori 2-1-1 , Edobori Center Building 9F
  • Osaka office: Osaka-shi, Nishi-ku, Shinmachi 1-28-3 , Yotsubashi Grand Square 9F
  • Tokyo office: Tokyo, Chiyoda-ku, Iwamotocho 3-3-3 , Akihabara Southern Building 5F
  • Capital: 2,990万円
  • Number of employees: 15名 (disclosed)
  • Parent company: Gaia Holdings Co., Ltd. (established 2021年2月, to which businesses other than the crypto-asset exchange business were transferred)
  • Listing status: unlisted

2. License · registration status

  • Crypto-asset exchange business: Director-General of the Kinki Local Finance Bureau 第00004号 (registration date 2021-06-18)
  • JVCEA Type 1 member: #1034 (joined as Type 2 in 2021年1月 → changed category to Type 1 in 6 of the same year)
  • No registration for financial-instruments business · electronic-payment-instruments transaction business · funds-transfer business (within the scope of disclosed information)
  • Of the Kansai-located crypto-asset exchange VASPs, only 2 社 out of 26 社 (Zaif: Director-General of the Kinki Local Finance Bureau 第00001号 and this company; for reference, FSA crypto-asset exchange registration system — number system / Local Finance Bureau jurisdiction / registration requirements)

3. Handled currencies

  • Number of handled tokens: 3 tokens (disclosed information as of 2026年5月)
  • Supported tokens: BTC (Bitcoin), ETH (Ethereum), ADA (Cardano)
  • Characteristics: the variety of currencies is small and BTC-centric, but ADA support is rare even among domestic VASPs. ETH has a history of being suspended once in 2022年12月 → handling resumed in 2025年12月.

4. Business scope

  • Flagship service: the crypto-asset automatic exchange machine BTM (Bitcoin Teller Machine) — deployed as Japan’s only crypto-asset ATM (began 2022年8月; for comparison, the ATM business model of COINHUB)
  • BTM: JPY ↔ BTC / ETH buy / sell, with ADA buy only. Maximum 10万円 per 1 transaction.
  • WEB exchange service: online exchange not requiring a BTM (accepted 24 hours, supporting buy / sell of BTC / ETH / ADA)
  • Inbound support: with no user registration and only an ICAO-compliant IC passport, exchanges other than ADA selling are possible (for foreign tourists)
  • BTM unit sales: a sales scheme for BTM units is offered to partners
  • Fiat deposit channels: cash banknotes (ATM insertion) or bank-account transfer
  • Margin / derivative / staking / NFT / crypto-asset lending: no disclosed information

5. Market share · trading volume

  • Account count · trading volume are not disclosed
  • The scale is classified as small-scale niche (employees 15名, capital 2,990万円)
  • BTM installation count: in 2022年8月 installed the 1th unit domestically (Osaka) → 9 the 2th unit (Tokyo) → 11 the 3th unit. As of 2026年5月1日, temporarily suspended from use (the reason is not detailed within the scope of disclosed information)
  • Customer base: retail (BTM users) + inbound tourists

6. History · major incidents

DateItem
2007年6月Started the business of introducing online credit-card payment systems
2007年12月Changed organization to 株式会社ガイア
2008年6月Started credit-card payment business for restaurants · retail stores, and account-debit service
2008年10月Established the restaurant division “Marukura”
2010年6月Transferred the restaurant division to a separate company
2011年1月Started electronic-money · point-card issuance business
2013年4月Started credit-sales · loan handling
2018年1月Added the crypto-asset exchange business as a business purpose
2021年1月Joined JVCEA as a Type 2 member
2021年2月Established Gaia Holdings Co., Ltd. (transferring businesses other than the crypto-asset exchange business)
2021年6月Completed crypto-asset exchange business registration (Director-General of the Kinki Local Finance Bureau 第00004号), changed category to JVCEA Type 1 member
2022年8月Started services based on the crypto-asset exchange business (company announcement); brought Japan’s first crypto-asset automatic exchange machine BTM into operation in Osaka
2022年9月Installed the 2th BTM domestically, in Tokyo
2022年11月Installed the 3th BTM domestically
2022年12月ETH handling temporarily suspended
2025年12月ETH handling resumed
2026年4月Changed login specifications by introducing passkeys
2026年5月BTM temporarily suspended from use (reason unknown, disclosed)

7. Strategic developments

  • Offers a partner-sales scheme for BTM units, seeking BTM-installation expansion to other companies · other operators
  • Starting identity-verification-free exchange for foreign tourists (inbound) via a passport-verification method is a unique line for capturing inbound demand
  • The meaning of the current temporary BTM suspension as of 2026年5月 is unclear in strategic · regulatory terms (not detailed within the scope of disclosed information)
  • Joining the Japan Vending System Manufacturers Association indicates an intent to deploy the BTM cross-industry as a “vending machine” category
  • Representative Director: Motohiro Ogura (disclosed)
  • Director / COO: Hitomi Watanabe (Chief Operating Officer)
  • Director: Naoki Tsujimoto (in charge of the systems division)
  • Director: Tsutomu Kanazawa (in charge of internal control)
  • Auditor: Masahiko Dan
  • Advisor (business strategy): Kimihiro Mine (took office 2021年9月)

Sources