Zaif is a Japanese centralized cryptocurrency exchange (CEX). Founded in 2014, the Zaif crypto exchange offers a spot market, automatic and margin trading, and an NFT Marketplace. The company is licensed by the Financial Services Agency in Japan.
While account verification is recommended, KYC compliance is not mandatory. The service is available on desktop and mobile devices. Some or all services may be unavailable in some countries due to regulations and restrictions.
Markets
Zaif supports crypto-crypto and crypto-JPY trading. JPY is the main fiat currency listed on the platform. Due to regulations, the number of Zaif trading pairs is significantly lower compared to global exchanges.
The Zaif spot market is the main service provided by the platform. It supports two types of trading – order book trading and easy trading. Order book follows the conventional trading model using a matchmaking system. Easy trading supports peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto sales. Margin trading with up to x7.77 leverage is available.
Zaif hosts a native token, ZAIF. It can be traded on the platform or used for staking. You can learn more about the Zaif crypto price by clicking here. Additionally, the platform also treats the Fisco Coin (FSCC) as a native asset.
Customers that wish to maintain their accounts without completing ID verification are subject to additional Zaif crypto fees based on their account balance. For accounts with less than 10,000 yen, the fee rate is fixed at 100 yen. If an account exceeds 1 million yen, a 10% account maintenance charge applies.
The Zaif exchange fees for spot traders are fixed at 0.1% for takers and 0% for makers. Margin trading comes with a daily lending fee of 0.039% and a 0.7% commission. The average Zaif volume is not accounted for when calculating rates.
Customers that wish to deposit via bank transfers and other third-party methods may be subject to charges. Crypto asset deposits are free. Withdrawal fees depend on the selected asset. There is a minimum required Zaif crypto price per withdrawal.
Other Services
The Zaif NFT Marketplace is a digital service that allows users to create, sell, and trade non-fungible tokens. At the time of writing, the NFT platform only supports payments in JPY.
Zaif Coin Reserve is a staking program for exchange users. Users can deposit their preferred token amount and start earning passive income. Some additional fees may apply.
About the Company
The Zaif crypto exchange was founded in 2014 by Takao Asayama. The company behind the platform was Tech Bureau. It was initially founded as a bitcoin (BTC) exchange. Zaif headquarters are in Osaka, Japan. Currently, the company is under FISCO Ltd., headed by CEO Hitoshi Kano.
Zaif was one of the 16 Japanese cryptocurrency exchanges to be approved by the Financial Services Agency. Following the collapse of Mt. Gox, regulations for crypto exchanges in Japan became stricter.
In February 2018, Zaif experienced a system glitch that caused bitcoin to be temporarily listed for free. The glitch lasted roughly 18 minutes, during which one user attempted to sell the asset, which would normally have been valued at a Zaif crypto price of $20 trillion.
In September 2018, the Zaif cryptocurrency exchange was compromised. During the incident, hackers gained access to the hot wallets that stored customers’ funds. The stolen Zaif crypto price was valued at $60 million.
In October of the same year, Zaif was taken over by the Japanese non-profit organization FISCO. The acquisition deal was finalized in April 2019. It was also announced that following the FISCO takeover, Tech Bureau would dissolve.
Following the hack, all services on the platform were suspended. Trading for existing users reopened in April 2019, after the Fisco acquisition became effective. Customer registration resumed in March 2020. Within a year, the average daily Zaif trade volume increased, peaking at $80 million in late February 2021.
In February 2022, FISCO announced the launch of the Zaif NFT Marketplace. It was stated that this department of the Zaif cryptocurrency exchange would accept JPY as the main payment method, with other payments to be implemented in the future.
Takao Asayama is the founder and former CEO of Zaif. He also created the blockchain delivery service Mijin which enables token issuance and distribution. Asayama stepped away following FISCO’s acquisition of Zaif.
Hitoshi Kano is the Chairman, President, and CEO of FISCO. He has been overseeing Zaif as the head of the company since its acquisition.
