Yuzo Kano, a co-founder of the Japanese crypto exchange BitFlyer, has revealed plans to reinstate himself as CEO in the firm’s upcoming shareholders’ meeting by March. According to a Bloomberg report, Yuzo Kano seeks to resolve a dispute between the current management and shareholders over the firm with an IPO (initial public offering).

After resigning from his position in 2019, Kano still maintains a notable influence on BitFlyer, given his stake as the firm’s largest shareholder. Though he resigned as CEO, he retained a 40% stake in BitFlyer. And now claims his return as CEO will accelerate the firm’s growth into the international stage.

With over 2.5 million user accounts, BitFlyer is among Japan’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges. The firm saw many of its international competitors leaving the local space recently. For instance, on December 28, 2022, Kraken announced the closure of its business operations in Japan by January 2023. And on January 18, Coinbase disclosed plans to suspend its operations in Japan by 2023.

With these top crypto exchanges exiting the Japanese crypto market, one would think that BitFlyer would have more breathing space to conduct its activities. However, some internal disputes seem to be weighing the exchange down.

According to Kano, BitFlyer is a company without innovation. He says he plans to change that by pointing out issues that require improvement and reprimanding people who cause problems, including those who present false reports or slack in their duties.

Kano noted that BitFlyer stopped being innovative and introducing new products after he resigned as CEO. But he plans to change that by adopting approaches that would accelerate Web3 development in Japan. According to the co-founder, he intends to reintroduce Japan as a giant in the cryptocurrency ecosystem and make it capable of competing internationally.

Furthermore, during his interview with Bloomberg, Kano said he intends to introduce stablecoins and build a token-issuance service into BitFlyer’s trading platform. Also, alongside his IPO plans in the coming months, Kano wants to change the BitFlyer blockchain to open-source. 

An initial public offering (IPO) is the process of opening shares of a private company to the public in a stock issuance for the first time. It allows the company to raise equity capital from public retail and corporate investors. This initiative is part of Kano’s strategy to accelerate BitFlyer’s growth and expand its operation into other crypto sectors.

In addition to internal disputes, BitFlyer’s management issues partly sprouted from the stringent regulatory policies imposed by the Japanese Financial Services Agency in 2019.

The agency started cracking down on crypto exchanges in May 2019 as part of its efforts to review the money laundering policy. These actions placed pressure on many cryptocurrency exchanges and startups in Japan. 

Per reports, Japan was the first country to run a registration system for crypto exchanges. But while other crypto exchanges are closing shop in Japan partly due to regulatory pressure, Kano believes the country’s stringent regulations would set the pace for the world.

Featured image from Pixabay, Chart from TradingView.com

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