GMO-Z.com Coin Launches “Z.com Coin by GMO” that Enables Virtual Currency FX and Virtual Currency Trading

Tokyo, Japan – May 9, 2017 – GMO-Z.com Coin ( https://coin.z.com/jp/ ) will, on Wednesday, May 24, do a full-scale launch of its new service “Z.com Coin by GMO (Z.com Coin),” which enables virtual currency FX and virtual currency trading.
Prior to this, the Company will accept priority applications for opening accounts starting today.

 Bitcoin and other types of virtual currency are recently used in various transactions, such as international money transfer and payment by individuals and companies, and market size of the virtual currency is expected to reach JPY 1 trillion within a few years.

 In Japan, after the entry into force of its Payment Services Act^*1in April 2017, a number of provisions that promote the protection of consumers were introduced. Virtual currency trading business must be registered, and is required to have a proper and reliable organizational structure to conduct virtual currency trading business, and to meet criteria for financial basis. Therefore, the integrity of virtual currency market is expected to improve. Furthermore, in July 2017, consumption tax on the virtual currency transfer will be abolished, so virtual currency is expected to grow further.

 It was against this background that GMO-Z.com Coin was established on October 11, 2016 to develop and offer virtual currency transaction business. The Company used GMO Internet Group’s technological capability and expertise, cultivated through Internet Infrastructure segment and Internet Finance segment, to plan and develop virtual currency trading service, and tested the virtual currency trading service in November 2016. The Company continued to prepare for full-scale launch ever since.

 Domestic business environment improved, so GMO-Z.com Coin officially decided to offer the service Z.com Coin, which would enable virtual currency FX and virtual currency trading, to many customers.

*1: This is Payment Services Act after Japanese government enacted changes to it.

 Z.com Coin offers two types of product – virtual currency FX and virtual currency trading. The Company adopts cold storage^*2 and multi-signature (multiple signatures)^*3 as virtual currency antitheft measures. It has a management system and security system to keep assets for customers.

*2: Cold storage is a safe and secure virtual currency storage environment that is unconnected to the network.
*3: Multi-signature increases the safety of the sending and receiving of virtual currency by requiring multiple signatures (private keys).

 

Z.com Coin – service line-up (two types)

I. Virtual currency FX: over-the-counter (OTC) bitcoin margin trading

Virtual currency FX is similar to FX (an OTC FX transaction) in that it enables trading using leverage. 　1. Direct transaction with both the bid (Bid) and asked (Ask) prices displayed 　    simultaneously (two-way price quotation). 　2. Enables trading with a maximum leverage of 5:1. 　3. Choose between market, limit, stop, IFD, OCO, and IFD-OCO orders. 　4. Dedicated smartphone application is also available. 　5. Available 24 hours a day, every day, including weekends and national holidays.

II. Virtual currency trading: easily buy and sell virtual currency in JPY

Virtual currency trading enables the buying and selling of virtual currency in JPY. Only bitcoin is available initially but the types of virtual currency will expand in the future. 　1. Available virtual currency: bitcoin. 　2. Available 24 hours a day, every day. 　3. No trading commissions. 　4. No bitcoin withdrawal fees.

 

 

About asset management system and security system

 GMO-Z.com Coin has a management system and security system as a virtual currency trading business that keeps assets for customers, preparing safe environment for customers.

1. Segregation of funds and virtual currencies

 All the assets GMO-Z.com Coin keeps for customers are segregated. The Company will carry out calculations and verification every business day.

Segregation of funds	The funds the Company keeps for customers and the Company’s own funds are managed in separate accounts.
Segregation of virtual currency	Virtual currency private key storage of the Company and that of the customers are physically separated.

 

2. Virtual currency antitheft measures

Anti-hacking measures

■Offline storage by “cold storage” that is unconnected to the Internet All virtual currency private keys, except the ones that are required for immediate sending and receiving of virtual currency, are stored in cold storage that is unconnected to the Internet. ■Reducing the risk of theft with multi-signature that requires multiple keys to move the funds As for the storage of virtual currency that is not stored in cold storage, multi-signature that allocates multiple private keys to a given address is adopted, and private keys are spread across and placed in multiple storages with different security configurations, reducing the risk.

Measures against internal fraud

■Management of cold storage is controlled internally To move virtual currency into or out of cold storage, multiple departments’ approval is required for technological reasons, preventing the risk of the theft of private key due to fraud by certain personnel.

 
3. Security measures

 GMO-Z.com Coin has a system to monitor infrastructure system of its own services 24 hours a day, every day, and regularly conducts vulnerability diagnosis.

 The Company is also taking measures against cyberattack by coordinating with Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company, which supports cybersecurity measures for companies and provides free services to small to medium-sized enterprises.

 

Schedule and application process for Z.com Coin

Product	Virtual currency trading and virtual currency FX
Schedule	Tuesday, May 9: Start accepting priority applications for opening accounts Wednesday, May 24: Start accepting applications for opening accounts
Priority application process	Please visit the page below for priority applications. The Company will send emails when the service is launched to the ones who registered their email addresses. https://coin.z.com/jp/

 

 Ethereum and other types of virtual currency, in addition to bitcoin, will be available in the future. Z.com Coin will develop various tools, including charts, and continue to expand service features.

 The Company will also partner with other Group companies, develop new services that use virtual currency, and offer services with the Group’s global brand Z.com in Asia.

 

 

GMO Internet Group

 GMO Internet Group is an Internet services industry leader, developing and operating Japan’s most widely used domain, hosting & cloud, ecommerce, security, and payment solutions. The Group also includes the world’s largest online FX trading platform, as well as online advertising, Internet media, and mobile entertainment products. GMO Internet, Inc. (TSE: 9449) is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. For more information, please visit http://www.gmo.jp/en/.