Web3 Firm Backseat Snaps up Japanese Crypto Exchange Coinbook

The web3 player Backseat has sealed a deal to take over the Japanese crypto exchange Coinbook.

Per an official Coinbook statement and a report from the Japanese-language media outlet CoinPost, the exchange will change its name and become a full-owned subsidiary.

The Chiyoda Ward-based Backseat said that it had sealed a deal to “buy all of” the shares of Coinbook Inc., the crypto exchange’s operator.

The release explains that as of April 21, the exchange will change its name to Backseat Cryptocurrency Exchange. Its website will also change its domain name to “backseat-exchange.com.”

Coinbook hit the headlines in March 2023, when it became only the fourth platform in Japan to launch an IEO (Initial Exchange Offering).

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The platform successfully launched the music and entertainment-themed coin Nippon Idol Token (NIDT).

The firms revealed that the deal to finalize the sale was agreed on February 20.

The Japanese crypto exchange scene is still dominated by smaller domestic startups. And the application process for companies wishing to obtain operating permits from the regulatory Financial Services Agency is famously complicated.

As such, many larger companies have chosen to buy existing exchanges. They have found that M&A deals can be a faster way to launch than starting their own exchanges from scratch.

Examples include the NASDAQ-listed Coincheck, which began life as a small startup. Following a crippling 2018 hack, the firm was later bailed out and then taken over by the securities giant Monex Group.

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Backseat said that it would conduct a “management structure overhaul.” This will include appointing a new CEO to head the exchange business.

It said this would help it “strengthen” its business strategy and competitiveness,” and promote “further growth and development in the web3 sector.

Backseat also spoke about the “co-creation of innovation” prospects via “collaboration with partner companies.”

The exchange added that, in the future, the platform would strive to “incorporate blockchain technology” into “the existing services” of its partners.

It also pledged to broaden its “business scope” and “accelerate” crypto trading and blockchain adoption.

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