Japanese exchange Coincheck goes from giant hack to Nasdaq — joins Coinbase on US stock market

One of Japan’s oldest crypto exchanges, Coincheck, may have been the victim of a massive hack in 2018, but it’s now publicly listed on the U.S. stock market, via Nasdaq. Coincheck went live Wednesday as “CNCK” via a SPAC deal, and joins Coinbase as one of just two publicly listed firms that are primarily cryptocurrency exchanges.

Coincheck Group N.V., the Amsterdam-headquartered parent company of the Japanese crypto exchange (founded in 2012 under a different name), has announced that the leading digital asset exchange is now publicly listed on Nasdaq. Coincheck is one of Japan’s first cryptocurrency exchanges, and was acquired by Monex Group after a massive $532 million hack of NEM coins in 2018.

The Tokyo-headquartered exchange now runs under the ticker “CNCK,” with warrants of trading under “CNCKW.” The listing was made possible by a now-consummated $1.3-billion SPAC (special purpose acquisition company) deal with Thunder Bridge Capital Partners IV.

Oki Matsumoto, Coincheck Groups’s Executive Chairman, rang the opening bell in New York on December 11 to celebrate the occasion. “Going forward, [Coincheck] will leverage the strengths of a NASDAQ-listed company to further expand its cryptocurrency/web3 business through global recruitment, corporate acquisitions, and capital and business alliances,” a translated Japanese press release states.

While some congratulated the custodial exchange, others on Japanese social media see the listing as a sign that talent is heading overseas due to the country’s high crypto taxes, and complained of high fees on the exchange.

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