Brokerage Monex said to be interested in FTX Japan

Financial services provider Monex Group's CEO Oki Matsumoto expressed interest in the Japanese unit of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX ( FTT-USD ), Bloomberg reported on Monday. In an interview, Matsumoto said Monex was "naturally interested", but did not say that the brokerage was bidding for FTX Japan. He said it will be a "very good thing" if fewer crypto exchanges compete with his company. Monex in 2018 acquired crypto exchange Coincheck, which will go public through a ~$1.25B merger with SPAC Thunder Bridge Capital Partners IV ( THCP ). Matsumoto in the interview said there would be no change in plan for Coincheck's listing. Subsidiaries of FTX, which filed for Chapter 11 protection, are being sold as part of the bankruptcy proceedings. FTX Japan reportedly received 41 expressions of buying interest. According to a blog by Liquid, an exchange FTX acquired last year, FTX Japan had cash and deposits of ~¥17.8B as of November 21, and net assets of ~¥10B as of September-end. FTX Japan, which was suspended after the FTX collapse, plans to resume withdrawals for customers next month .