As part of our effort to accelerate the global adoption of cryptocurrency, today we’re announcing the launch of Coinbase’s office in Japan. Under the leadership of the highly-respected and admired fintech leader, Nao Kitazawa, our new office will lay the foundation for Japan’s crypto investors to access a range of Coinbase’s products. As in other markets, we plan to take a deliberate approach to our rollout in Japan, which means working hand-in-hand with the Japanese FSA to ensure compliance with local laws at every stage.

Welcome Nao!

Nao is a leader in the fintech space and we are excited to have him at the helm of our new push into Japan. As the CEO of Coinbase Japan, he will be charged with building a world-class in-country team and ensuring that we deliver on our vision of creating an open financial system for the world. He is the former COO of Money Design, a company that helped pioneer automated investment advice platforms in Japan. Prior to Money Design, Nao worked at Morgan Stanley Japan as an investment banker, where he guided a fleet of impressive merger and acquisition deals and composition of funds in the real estate sector. He also spent several years as a member of an international law firm, handling cases related to finance and real estate in Japan and New York. As one of the industry’s top international leaders, Nao sits on the board of the Fintech Association of Japan.

Nao’s passion for cryptocurrency combined with his extensive background provides Coinbase with a great foundation to successfully push into the largest cryptocurrency market in the world. As a regulated, compliant crypto company in the U.S., we will focus on building that same level trust with new customers in Japan.

Upon our business registration with the FSA, Coinbase services available to Japanese customers will be provided with Japanese language translations for ease of use. We look forward to sharing more about our plans for Japan soon.