Japan-based CoinTrade, a cryptocurrency trading, and staking service provider has partnered with Singapore-based crypto custody platform Fireblocks to enhance the security of digital assets for institutional clients.
As part of the partnership, CoinTrade users will be connected to Fireblocks’ cold wallets that provide 24/7 access to digital assets, distributed private key sharing to prevent insider collusion, and optical QR-based signing access.
According to Stephen Richardson, Head of Asia-Pacific and Senior Vice President of Financial Markets at Fireblocks, CoinTrade can retain tighter control over its risk and compliance operations by leveraging Fireblocks’ battle-tested technology, cold storage, and direct custody solutions.
In Japan, cryptocurrency exchanges are required to register with the Financial Services Agency (FSA), the country’s financial regulator. This registration involves background checks on the exchange operators, anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) procedures, and security measures for customer assets.
This registration process was established following several cyberattacks on Japanese crypto exchanges, including the infamous Mt. Gox’s 2014 exploit and the Coincheck hack in 2018.
According to Chainalysis, a blockchain forensics firm, hackers stole a record of $3.8 billion in cryptocurrencies globally in 2022. In October 2022, Japan’s National Police Agency warned that North Korea-backed hacker group Lazarus had been sending phishing emails to Japanese crypto exchange employees to infect their computers with malware.
