Coincheck Launches 2x Crypto CFDs in Japan, Six Years After Closing Margin Product

Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck has launched a leveraged trading service under a contracts for difference (CFD) model, more than six years after closing its previous margin product. The new service, called Coincheck Leverage, began rolling out to eligible individual customers on September 24.

The CFDs are available on BTC/JPY, ETH/JPY, and XRP/JPY pairs, allowing users to take both long and short positions. Retail clients must provide margin equal to 50% of their position, limiting leverage to twice the deposited amount. The service supports market, limit and stop orders and trades around the clock outside maintenance periods. Gains and losses are settled in cash without transferring or lending the underlying cryptocurrency.

Coincheck offers the service under its Type I Financial Instruments Business registration, number 3540, with the Kanto Local Finance Bureau. Japan requires this registration for businesses conducting over-the-counter crypto derivatives transactions. The company disclosed plans for the product in Coincheck Group's annual report.

The CFDs are integrated into Coincheck's existing application, allowing customers to switch between spot and leveraged trading without downloading a separate app and transfer Japanese yen between the two services. However, the accounts remain separate. Customers must already have a Coincheck spot account and open an additional Coincheck Leverage account, which requires a suitability assessment.

The service is initially available through version 5.0.0 or later of the iOS app, with access expanding gradually among eligible users. According to the launch announcement, Android and web versions are planned before the end of 2026, while corporate accounts are scheduled to receive access from 2027.

Coincheck's former margin product used a different structure. Customers borrowed yen or crypto assets for trading within the platform, with Coincheck connecting participants seeking to lend and borrow yen or Bitcoin. The exchange stopped accepting new borrowing in May 2017 and closed the remaining service on March 13, 2020. Existing customers were instructed to repay their outstanding positions before the closure. Coincheck did not disclose a reason for ending the product, saying at the time that it was considering an alternative service.

The new CFD offering provides leveraged price exposure through a regulated derivatives account rather than reviving the previous borrowing model.