Another exchange on the block.

Six months after Japan licensed the first 11 cryptocurrency exchanges to operate in the country, another one has joined the crowd: DMM Bitcoin.

This comes alongside the news of Japan's largest bank, MUFG, taking its own big strides towards cryptocurrency.

The new exchange, DMM Bitcoin, was built on the back of one of the only cryptocurrency farming operations in Japan and now offers trading across seven cryptocurrencies plus the yen.

The following cryptocurrencies are currently on offer:

All are tradeable against the yen, and bitcoin is running a promotional offer to deposit 1,000 yen into trading accounts until 31 March.

The site itself seems to be largely geared towards new cryptocurrency buyers and might bring a new influx of money, especially from people taking advantage of the free signup bonus. Analysts from Nomura have suggested that bitcoin alone might be adding 3% to Japan's GDP.

The timing might be fortuitous, with speculation that the current market slump is partly attributable to rumours of a renewed cryptocurrency crackdown in China. Historically, these kinds of rumours have been followed by traders moving their business offshore to neighbouring countries.

South Korean exchanges have a reputation for trading well above market rates, so Japan might also be near the top of the list.

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