Crypto Exchange Coincheck's Owner Monex to Launch Crypto Trading in US starting Q1 2019

Online broker Monex Group, known for buying hacked Japanese crypto exchange Coincheck in April, has announced it will launch cryptocurrency trading in the United States, Cointelegraph Japan reports Wednesday, Dec. 12.

Monex held a conference in Tokyo, where John Bartleman - president of Monex's U.S. subsidiary TradeStation Group, Inc. - took part.

He announced that crypto trading will be available for U.S. customers starting Q1 2019.

The company has already joined the series B funding round of new U.S. crypto exchange ErisX, whose crypto services will soon launch pending the country's financial regulators' approval.

According to Bartleman, TradeStation will focus on institutional investors in comparison to other U.S. crypto exchanges, such as Coinbase or RobinHood that target small investors.

"The mood has changed from this hysteria of all kinds of startups everywhere," he further explained, stating that solid crypto firms are getting "Mature" amidst the late 2018 market collapse.

English-language outlet Asia Nikkei Review points out that the recent market slide prevents the hacked crypto exchange from full recovery.

The news outlet also noted that Coincheck is still waiting for approval from the Financial Services Agency, and the process is taking more time than the exchange had expected.

Monex Group first hinted about its plans to launch a U.S.-based trading platform late in July.

As Cointelegraph reported, citing the company, TradeStation Crypto Inc. could be a cryptocurrency-focused subsidiary of securities brokerage firm TradeStation, which Monex acquired in 2011.