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Line Messaging Application Firm has confirmed that it will launch a cryptocurrency swap called BitBox next month.
The company said in January that it was planning to enter the crypto space with an exchange, but today it said that the BitBox service will not be available for them. users in the United States and Japan – it's probably due to regulatory uncertainty.
What it will include, however, is the support for 30 tokens – Line only reveals big names like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin up to now – and a trading fee of 0.1 percent. Line said they chose the chips following "a thorough selection process" that saw an internal commitment badess what on the market represents "the most reliable and secure trade for users."
Bitbox will be available worldwide languages. It is not yet clear whether it will include an option to buy or sell chips using fiat – a key ramp to get new funds in crypto – or if it will be just token trade token.
Line has about 200 million monthly active users and it has expanded to adjacent services such as on-demand taxis, streaming music, mobile payment and more, so this incursion could represent a step towards the Acceptance of crypto for its other services in the future. But the exclusion of users based in the United States and Japan is a major warning.
Japan is Line's largest income and user market, which significantly limits the potential impact that Bitbox may have in excluding the country. 
Nevertheless, the company needs something new to boost its business following the growing competition of Facebook which operates WhatsApp and Messenger, the most popular email applications in the world with more than one billion monthly users each.
Prior to its $ 1.1 billion US-Japan IPO in 2016, Line had targeted a global audience through its messaging service – pioneering the concept of stickers – and a connected gaming activity. However, its international expansion has not proceeded as planned and the company has refocused its efforts on its four main markets, namely Japan, Thailand, Taiwan and Indonesia, which represent 168 million of its active users. .
In these markets, offers a range of localized services that include video streaming, manga cartoons, shopping, ride-hailing and other on-demand services. Last year, he started selling hardware and artificial intelligence to offer his own cartoony alternative to Amazon's Echo line and Google Home devices. In some markets, it also offers a Line brand mobile phone service.
But there is a lot of pressure. The worldwide popularity of Facebook makes Messenger an option for most Internet users on the planet while the company is busy in other areas. WhatsApp has recently switched to business solutions that allow businesses to correspond with users via its service, and it is expected to add payments soon. CEO Mark Zuckerberg is committed to considering whether Facebook could use blockchain technology and, early in the year, he set up a dedicated division headed by David Marcus, former Messenger and former manager. CEO of PayPal.
Note: The author has a small amount of cryptocurrency. Enough to gain an understanding, not enough to change a life.
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