bitFlyer USA, a digital currency exchange where people can purchase, sell, and trade Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptos for US dollars “safely,” with low fees and latency, revealed on August 19, 2020 that its digital asset trading platform will soon be accessible to customers based in Hawaii.
As mentioned in a release shared with CI:
“The exchange’s [services] will be offered in Hawaii through the newly formed Digital Currency Innovation Lab, a partnership formed between the state of Hawaii’s Department of Financial Institutions and Hawaii Technology Development Corporation (HTDC). The pilot program is the first regulatory sandbox of its kind in the [US State of Hawaii] and will allow cryptocurrency service providers to do business in Hawaii without obtaining a state money transmitter license for a period of two years.”
Hawaii’s residents will be able to easily buy and sell Bitcoin and other virtual currencies via bitFlyer’s user-friendly “Direct Buy/Sell” platform. It’s also available to Android and iOS mobile app users.
bitFlyer Lightning, the crypto exchange’s “professional-grade” trading platform will be offered to institutional investors or more sophisticated traders.
Joel Edgerton, COO of bitFlyer USA stated that the company was looking forward to working cooperatively with the State of Hawaii in order to offer crypto trading services to locals.
bitFlyer claims that it’s the only digital asset exchange that’s authorized or licensed to provide services in Europe, Japan, and the US. It’s notably just the fourth exchange to be granted the New York BitLicense.
As noted in the release:
“The program [aims to] create a secure environment for Hawaii residents looking to access cryptocurrencies in a safe way, and also [intends to] provide regulators with the right tools and insights to develop thoughtful regulations.”
Len Higashi, acting executive director at the Hawaii Technlogy Development Center (HTDC), said that he’d like to congratulate bitFlyer on its admission into the Digital Currency Innovation Lab. Higashi added that he’s looking forward to the exchange’s participation in Hawaii’s crypto community.
The sandbox program marks the return of cryptocurrency trading platforms to Hawaii, with the long-term goal of seeing platforms like bitFlyer promoted to “full licensees” in the future.
Established in San Francisco in 2017, bitFlyer USA offers services in 48 US states and territories. bitFlyer, Inc. was founded in 2014 in Tokyo in 2014.
As reported in January 2020, lawmakers from Hawaii had proposed a bill asking to allow financial institutions to offer custody services for digital assets.
In March 2020, the government of Hawaii introduced its sandbox program for virtual currency transactions.
