Line’s Digital Currency Link Sets to Launch in Japan in April

According to Line crypto exchange, its digital asset, Link (LN), will be launched and made available to Japan users from April this year. The exchange’s digital currency was previously not available to the U.S. and Japanese users when it was launched back in October 2018. But Japanese users are set to start trading on the digital currency as it will now be made available in the country two months from now.

Although Line has not yet disclosed full details of the launch, a press release from the company stated that from April this year, the digital currency would be made available in the Japanese market.

Traders and investors happy with the news

Following the announcement by Line, Japanese traders and investors are happy with the development, with many saying the launch is long overdue. They said since the Line messaging app is very popular in the country, there is no reason to delay the launch of its digital currency for so long when other countries have been trading with the currency.

Link not available due to regulatory issues

The digital currency has not been available to the Japanese market as a result of regulatory issues. But it seems Link is about to meet the regulatory requirements regarding the use of the currency in the country.

After meeting the requirements of Japan’s virtual currency regulatory body (JVCEA), the exchange is seriously preparing to roll out its currency to meet the needs of its customers. Although Line has been arranging with JVCEA for the launch of the coin earlier, the body has held back because it wants to set official processes for handling and managing more digital currencies in the country.

The system still under development

Line’s Bitbox exchange is not available to Japanese residents, but according to the press release from the company, it is presently developing the system that will serve Japanese residents when LCC is launched.

However, Bitmax, Line’s in-app exchange service which was launched last year September is available in Japan.

Multiple social apps facing regulatory difficulties

Facebook’s Libra, Telegram’s gram, and Link have been facing a series of legal bottlenecks regarding their launch. As crypto and electronic money redefine what to regard as currency, regulators are having a torrid time dealing with the speedy progress.

In October last year, Telegram decided to delay the launch of TRON after the SEC filed a lawsuit challenging its security nature. SEC asked Telegram to reveal the details of financial information, but the company did not oblige. Subsequently, the New York court presiding over the case demanded that Telegram produce the full bank record of its transactions, including its IOC details.

Similarly, Facebook is battling with its own launch of Libra, after lawmakers feared concerns for money laundering and terrorism with the digital currency.

Also, Kik is facing its own battles with regulatory bodies regarding the launch of its “Kin” token. The regulatory bodies concerned about the launch of the digital currencies are having doubt whether they won’t be wrongly used to deceive users or used as a medium of payment for criminal acts.

However, it seems the odds are in Line’s favor as JVCEA is about approving Link after ticking all the boxes in terms of requirements for its launch.

The official release date of the coin is not known yet, but Line has stated that it will announce the date in due course once everything has been finalized.