Monex Group is a Tokyo-based publicly listed financial services company founded in 1999 by Oki Matsumoto, a former Goldman Sachs executive, in partnership with Sony. Originally an online brokerage targeting retail investors in Japan, Monex has steadily expanded into crypto and global trading infrastructure over more than two decades. The company trades on the Tokyo Stock Exchange under ticker 8698 and operates three main regional segments: Japan, the United States, and Asia-Pacific.
Monex manages client assets exceeding ¥9 trillion across its platforms. Its business model spans retail brokerage, crypto exchange operations, and strategic minority stakes in fintech ventures. The group is best known internationally for its 2018 acquisition of Coincheck, one of Japan's largest crypto exchanges by registered users, purchased for approximately ¥3.6 billion (roughly $33 million) in the aftermath of Coincheck's January 2018 hack, in which attackers stole around $530 million in NEM tokens. Monex stepped in as a rescue acquirer, rebuilt Coincheck's compliance and security infrastructure, and re-registered it with Japan's Financial Services Agency.
Notable investments
- Coincheck – Japan's leading crypto exchange. Acquired by Monex in April 2018. Listed on Nasdaq in December 2023 (ticker: CNCK) via a SPAC merger with Thunder Bridge Capital Partners IV, making it one of the first Japanese crypto exchanges to list on a US exchange.
- TradeStation – US-based online brokerage and trading platform, acquired by Monex Group in 2011 for approximately $506 million. TradeStation later added crypto trading capabilities, extending Monex's footprint into US retail markets.
- Monex Ventures – the group's internal corporate venture arm, focused on early-stage fintech and crypto infrastructure investments in Japan and Asia. Specific portfolio companies are not comprehensively disclosed in public filings.
Public information about the remaining portfolio companies in Monex Group's venture holdings is limited. The group does not publish a consolidated venture portfolio page in English.
Team
- Oki Matsumoto – Founder and Group CEO. Former Goldman Sachs fixed income trader. Has been the public face of Monex since founding and has been a vocal advocate for crypto regulation and institutional adoption in Japan.
- Yusuke Otsuka – Co-founder and former COO of Coincheck, who remained in a leadership role after the Monex acquisition through the Nasdaq listing process.
Details on current managing partners within Monex Ventures, beyond publicly available board disclosures, are not consistently reported in English-language sources.
Recent activity
The most significant recent milestone was Coincheck's Nasdaq debut in December 2023, positioning Monex Group as an indirect public company in the US crypto market. The listing gave Coincheck access to US capital markets and raised the group's profile among international institutional investors tracking crypto equities.
In Japan, Coincheck has continued expanding its IEO (initial exchange offering) business, launching token sales for domestic crypto projects under FSA oversight – a regulated model that sets it apart from most global exchanges. Monex Group has also engaged with Japan's push to integrate blockchain into financial infrastructure, consistent with the government's broader Web3 strategy announced in 2022 and extended through 2024 and 2025.
Monex Group occupies an unusual position: it is simultaneously a regulated broker-dealer in Japan and the US, a crypto exchange operator, and an early-stage fintech investor. Its geographic focus remains Japan-first, with the US as a secondary market through TradeStation. The Coincheck Nasdaq listing is the clearest signal that Monex intends to grow its crypto division as a standalone business rather than keep it a quiet subsidiary. Whether Coincheck can gain meaningful market share outside Japan – where Binance, Coinbase, and Bybit dominate – is the key open question for the group's crypto ambitions.