BitTrade (ビットトレード)
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This entry sits under payment-firms INDEX. Read it against Monex Group for peer / contrast context and banking index for the broader system / regulatory boundary.
TL;DR
A mid-tier domestic Japanese crypto-asset exchange operator. **The former Huobi Japan was re-renamed to “BitTrade” in 2022-08 **, projecting an impression of separation from the global Huobi parent (associated with Justin Sun). Registered as Director-General of the Kanto Local Finance Bureau 第 00007 号, JVCEA Type-I member. Its number of tradable currencies is among the largest domestically (30+ currencies as of 2024 ), taking a long-tail strategy. A mid-tier position next after bitFlyer / Coincheck / GMO Coin / SBI VC Trade.
1. Company overview
Legal name: 株式会社ビットトレード (BitTrade Co., Ltd.) Former name: 株式会社フォビジャパン (Huobi Japan Co., Ltd.) → re-renamed to BitTrade in 2022-08 Business type: crypto-asset exchange business Registration: Director-General of the Kanto Local Finance Bureau 第 00007 号 Industry body: JVCEA (Japan Virtual and Crypto assets Exchange Association) Type-I member Major shareholders (per official company overview): SINOHOPE SG PTE. LTD. / Sinohope Technology Holdings Limited (HKEX: 01611, formerly Huobi Technology / 新火科技) / Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings / FPG Co., Ltd. History: former BitTrade (independent) → 2018 Huobi-group acquisition → into the Sinohope (Hong Kong-listed) group that inherited the Huobi lineage → rebranded as “BitTrade”
History (per public information)
| Year/month | Event |
|---|---|
| 2016 | Founded under the former BitTrade structure (independent crypto-asset exchange) |
| 2017 | Amended Payment Services Act enters force → crypto-asset exchange business registration system starts |
| 2018 | Acquired by the Huobi group → renamed “Huobi Japan / フォビジャパン” |
| 2019〜 | Operated domestic spot trading as Huobi Japan (expanded tradable currencies) |
| 2022-08 | Huobi Japan → re-renamed to BitTrade. Projected an impression of separation from the global Huobi parent (reported to be associated with Justin Sun) |
| 2023〜 | Continued the tradable-currency long-tail strategy under the “BitTrade” brand |
| 2024 | Number of tradable currencies 30+ (among the largest domestically) |
Change of control: the owner change on the global Huobi side around 2022 年 and the Japanese entity’s re-renaming to “BitTrade” coincide in timing. Current major shareholders are disclosed in the official company overview, with the Hong Kong-listed Sinohope Technology Holdings (HKEX: 01611, formerly Huobi Technology) lineage and Tokai Tokyo FH / FPG listed among them.
2. Business-segment map
| Segment | Content | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic spot trading | Crypto-asset spot trading (Type 1 / JVCEA Type-I) | Mid-tier; number of tradable currencies among the largest domestically |
| Tradable currencies | 30+ currencies (as of 2024 ) | BTC / ETH / major altcoins + a long tail including issues rarely traded domestically |
| Crypto-asset lending | Deposit → conferral of interest-equivalent | An ancillary service rolled out among domestic operators |
| Corporate | OTC / corporate accounts, etc. | A differentiation area as a mid-tier player |
| Derivatives | Limited domestically | Derivatives are mainly led by [[payment-firms/bitflyer |
Positioning
- Tradable-currency long-tail strategy: differentiates on “number of issues” with 30+ currencies, including altcoins the majors do not handle
- Rebranding from a global (Huobi-origin) legacy toward a “Japanese independent” image (2022-08)
Competitive map
| Category | Main players |
|---|---|
| Major spot | bitFlyer / Coincheck (under Monex) / GMO Coin / SBI VC Trade |
| Mid-tier spot | BitTrade / DMM Bitcoin (former) / bitbank / LINE Xenesis (former), etc. |
| Bank-affiliated | mufg stablecoin via Progmat / smfg and other moves |
| Domestic entities of overseas majors | Binance Japan (former Sakura Exchange BitCoin acquisition), etc. |
Strategic themes
- Establishing an independent image after rebranding: distancing from global Huobi (associated with Justin Sun)
- Maintaining the number of tradable currencies: the long-tail strategy is an endurance contest of screening / listing flow
- Compliance reinforcement under JVCEA / FSA supervision: travel rule / AML / segregated management of customer assets
4. Regulation / policy
- Supervisor: FSA / Kanto Local Finance Bureau (registration: 第 00007 号)
- Governing law: Amended Payment Services Act (crypto-asset exchange business)
- Industry body: JVCEA (Japan Virtual and Crypto assets Exchange Association) Type-I member, self-regulation
- Main compliance areas:
- Segregated management of customer assets (trust / cold wallet)
- Travel rule compliance
- AML / CFT (transaction-time verification / suspicious-transaction reporting)
- Listing-issue screening (JVCEA green list / individual screening)
- Recent policy points:
- 2024〜 handling under the stablecoin regime (Payment Services Act amendment)
- Relationship to warnings against overseas unregistered operators (BitTrade is a registered operator and not on the warning-target side)
Related
Sources
- Wikipedia: ビットトレード / Huobi Japan (2026-05-19 extracted)
- FSA crypto-asset exchange operator registration list (Director-General of the Kanto Local Finance Bureau 第 00007 号)
- JVCEA (Japan Virtual and Crypto assets Exchange Association) member roster / published materials
- BitTrade official company overview (major shareholders SINOHOPE SG PTE. LTD. / Sinohope Technology Holdings / Tokai Tokyo FH / FPG, registration number, founded 2016-09, capital 1 億円): https://www.bittrade.co.jp/ja-jp/profile/
- Sinohope Technology Holdings (HKEX: 01611, formerly Huobi Technology / 新火科技, BitTrade parent): https://www.sinohope.com/en/company
[!info] Verification status confidence: likely (per public information). The re-renaming (2022-08 Huobi Japan → BitTrade), registration number (第 00007 号), and JVCEA membership can be confirmed from public information. Major shareholders (the Sinohope Technology Holdings [formerly Huobi Technology] lineage / Tokai Tokyo FH / FPG) are disclosed in the official company overview. The number of tradable currencies (30+) and the “among the largest domestically” phrasing are based on industry comparison as of 2024 .