BitOcean, a Chinese bitcoin startup, joined with New York-based exchange platform Atlas ATS Inc. to bid for the assets of Mt. Gox, the exchange platform that filed for bankruptcy in Japan earlier this year.
BitOcean and Atlas will invest $1 million worth of bitcoins to start an exchange platform in Japan by August, Nan Xiaoning, the Beijing-based founder and chief executive officer of BitOcean, said in an interview Tuesday.
Virtual currencies have come under increased scrutiny from regulators and prosecutors around the globe. The European Commission signaled on July 4 it would try to impose rules on virtual currencies such as bitcoin after the bloc's banking regulator ordered lenders to shun them.