Share this article
E-Commerce Giant DMM to Launch Bitcoin Mining Venture
The popularity of cryptocurrencies in Japan continues to grow, with e-commerce and digital services firm DMM moving into the bitcoin mining industry.
By Stan Higgins
Updated Sep 13, 2021, 6:55 a.m. Published Sep 12, 2017, 11:05 a.m.
The rising popularity of cryptocurrencies in Japan has attracted yet another established business, with e-commerce and digital services firm DMM announcing a new mining venture.
Breaking the news last week, the company said on its website that it would begin moving toward trials of the scheme next month. Though a firm date wasn't released for full production, DMM indicated that it would do so by the end of the year if the trials were successful.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
As well as the mining farm operation, DMM is also launching its own mining pool and cloud mining service through which it will sell hashrates to outside buyers. It is not immediately apparent which cryptocurrencies will be mined, though an explainer singled out bitcoin and ethereum.
Further, while it provided no details regarding the source of the mining hardware or how much capacity it plans to create, DMM did say that it "will be one of the 10 largest mining farms in the world" in 2018, with plans to eventually reach a top three ranking.
This is the second major Japanese company to announce a cryptocurrency mining venture in the past week. GMO, another tech firm started in the 1990s, plans to open a bitcoin mine somewhere in northern Europe, with plans to operate a cloud mining service of its own.
DMM, founded in 1999, is led by billionaire Keishi Kameyama and got its start in the pornography business before expanding to a range of e-commerce and digital services. Notably, the company also has a subsidiary that is the second largest forex company in the world by trading volume, according to figures from 2014.
Bitcoin mining image via Shutterstock
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Japan’s Higher Rates Puts Bitcoin in the Crosshairs of a Yen Carry Unwind
A stronger yen typically coincides with de-risking across macro portfolios, and that dynamic could tighten liquidity conditions that recently helped bitcoin rebound from November’s lows.
What to know:
- The Bank of Japan is expected to raise interest rates to 0.75% at its December meeting, the highest since 1995, affecting global markets including cryptocurrencies.
- A stronger yen could lead to de-risking in macro portfolios, impacting liquidity conditions that have supported bitcoin's recent recovery.
- Governor Kazuo Ueda indicated a high probability of a rate hike, with officials prepared for further tightening if their economic outlook supports it.
Top Stories
