Episode 165: Interview with Andy Bryant COO bitFlyer Europe

In this episode, we get a chance to sit down and have a chat with Andy Bryant, who is the COO of bitFlyer Europe. bitFlyer is a licensed cryptocurrency exchange in Japan and holds additional licenses in Europe and the United States. We talk with Andy where we stand today with respect to crypto exchanges and what might we see in the coming months/years as cryptocurrency trading evolves more into the mainstream.

About Andy Bryant:

Andy’s role as bitFlyer’s COO is the natural result of a career and education that has spanned many aspects of finance and technology, including roles as the global COO for M&A advisory firm BDA Partners and as the CEO of his own tech start-up. Andy is a Japanese speaker and has a passion for all things crypto and blockchain-related. He studied robotics in Japan and wrote a prize-winning thesis relating to decentralization. For more info, see: https://www.andybryant.me/

About bitFlyer:

bitFlyer is (by some measures) the largest bitcoin exchange in the world. Founded in Japan in 2014 and having become a household name in that market, the company set up in the US in 2017 and Europe in 2018. In Europe bitFlyer was granted a Payment Institution (PI) license and in the US it has a license from New York Department of Financial Services. It believes that regulation is fundamental to the future of the virtual currency industry and aims to set a high standard in that regard.

In Japan, bitFlyer consumer or ‘pro’ users can trade bitcoin, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Monacoin and Lisk. In Europe and the US, for now the exchange focuses on bitcoin only.

bitFlyer also has its own private, proprietary blockchain, which is called miyabi.

Sponsors:
Otter Labs -> Otter helps startups hire talented inexpensive developers faster through staff augmentation, focusing on Argentina.

Redeeem -> Redeeem is a decentralized peer-to-peer exchange that lets you save 15% or more on gift cards using Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.