Crypto lender Amber mulls potential sale of Japan subsidiary

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Crypto lender Amber Group is weighing options for its Japan unit, including a possible sale, and plans to apply for a Hong Kong license following the city’s pivot toward creating a digital-asset hub. The evaluation of the Japan operation is part of a strategic decision to focus more on institutional rather than retail business, Amber’s Managing Partner Annabelle Huang said in an interview on Bloomberg Television on Friday. Japan is a “very high quality market, but regulations are strict,” Huang said, adding the firm doesn’t have an announcement at the moment about a deal. Singapore-based Amber acquired Japanese crypto exchange DeCurret Inc. in 2022. While Japan has eased some digital-asset rules, other firms like Coinbase Global Inc. and Kraken have already pulled back from the East Asian nation.

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Amber, whose backers include Temasek Holdings Pte, intends to apply for a virtual asset trading platform license in Hong Kong given the city’s push to open up to crypto companies. “The regulatory scene in Hong Kong has been very bullish for us,” she said, adding that Amber is “preparing for our license application.” Hong Kong, Singapore Hong Kong is aiming to develop virtual-asset regulations that will encourage growth and protect investors. The city is seeking to learn lessons from global bankruptcies like the FTX exchange while taking advantage of a rebound in crypto markets from a $2 trillion rout. Rival