GMO Coin (GMOコイン) is the crypto exchange of GMO Financial Holdings, part of the GMO Internet group. It was among the first firms registered when Japan's exchange licensing began in September 2017, and it is the country's heavyweight in leveraged crypto trading: in August 2026 its margin volume was about ¥358.8 billion, roughly 48% of the national total reported by the Japan Virtual and Crypto assets Exchange Association (JVCEA). It had 825,207 accounts at the end of September 2026.
Most readers of this site will care about something more ordinary: how cheaply you can get yen in, buy, and get yen back out. This review answers that using GMO Coin's official fee page and deposit and withdrawal page, with notes for international residents along the way.
GMO Coin key facts
- Operator
- GMO Coin, Inc. (GMO Financial Holdings group)
- Licences
- Crypto exchange: Kanto LFB No. 00006 (29 Sep 2017) · Financial instruments: Kanto LFB (Kinsho) No. 3188
- Head office
- Shibuya Fukuras, 1-2-3 Dogenzaka, Shibuya, Tokyo
- Coins
- 24, including Japan-specific tokens such as FCR (FC Ryukyu) and Zipangcoin. SAND, CHZ and FIL are being delisted in autumn 2026
- Markets
- Dealer desk, spot order book, order-book margin (2x), crypto FX
- Order-book fees
- BTC, ETH, XRP, DAI: maker −0.01%, taker 0.05% · other pairs: maker −0.03%, taker 0.09%
- Yen deposits
- Free instant deposit from Japan Post Bank, PayPay Bank, docomo SMTB Net Bank; free Pay-easy from the megabanks
- Yen withdrawals
- Free, ¥10,000 minimum, up to ¥30m a day; usually arrives within minutes
- Crypto transfers
- Free; minimum 0.02 BTC per external send unless sending your whole balance
- Eligibility
- Japan residents aged 20 or over; residence card for foreign nationals
What works
- Free instant deposits from Japan Post Bank, PayPay Bank and docomo SMTB Net Bank (¥1,000–¥10m, 24/7)
- Free same-bank transfers into your personal GMO Aozora or Rakuten Bank deposit account; Rakuten usually credits in under 30 seconds
- Free yen withdrawals that usually arrive within minutes (¥10,000 minimum)
- Negative maker fees: −0.01% on BTC, ETH, XRP and −0.03% on other pairs
- All crypto deposits and sends are free
- Staking on 6 coins with no sign-up; recurring buys on 17 coins from ¥500
Watch out for
- Yen withdrawals must be at least ¥10,000 unless you empty the account
- Minimum external send of 0.02 BTC, 0.1 ETH or 50 XRP per transfer (unless sending the full balance)
- Crypto equal to a Pay-easy deposit cannot be sent out for 7 days
- No convenience-store or credit-card deposits
- Dealer-desk spread is not published, and recurring buys execute at the dealer ask price
- Up to 28% of the staking rewards allocated to GMO Coin is kept as a fee
Who is GMO Coin best for?
If your main account is at Japan Post Bank, GMO Coin deserves a look first. Japan Post Bank is often the easiest bank for new arrivals to open, and very few exchanges take instant deposits from it at all, let alone for free. The same goes for PayPay Bank and docomo SMTB Net Bank (formerly SBI Sumishin Net Bank), both popular with people who prefer app-based banking.
It also suits people who withdraw yen in chunks. Withdrawals are free and fast, so pulling out ¥50,000 once a month costs nothing, where some exchanges would charge ¥400–¥770 each time. Over a year that is a few thousand yen saved.
Active traders who use leverage are GMO Coin's core market. It offers both an order-book margin market and a dealer-style "crypto FX" service, capped at 2x for individuals as everywhere in Japan. Margin trading can lose more than you deposit, so treat it as an advanced tool, not a starting point.
It is a poor fit if you like to move small amounts of Bitcoin to your own wallet regularly. The 0.02 BTC minimum per external send (around ¥240,000 at ¥12 million per BTC) makes that impractical unless you clear out your whole balance each time. It also won't work if you want to pay cash at a convenience store.
Fees in practice: a ¥100,000 round trip
For spot buying you choose between two venues. On the order book (取引所, torihikijo)The exchange or order book (取引所, torihikijo): users trade with each other at prices they set. Lower fees, slightly more complex orders., fees depend on the coin and on whether you are a maker or takerMaker: your limit order waits on the book and adds liquidity. Taker: your order fills against one already there.. On the dealer desk (販売所, hanbaijo)The dealer desk (販売所, hanbaijo): the exchange sells to you directly at a quoted price. Easy, but the buy-sell gap is your real cost. there is no fee, but the spreadThe gap between the buy price and the sell price at the same moment. On dealer desks it can be several percent. between buy and sell prices is your cost, and GMO Coin doesn't publish it.
| ¥100,000 in, buy, sell, withdraw | BTC on order book (taker) | SOL etc. on order book (taker) | Dealer desk (2% spread assumed) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deposit from Japan Post Bank | ¥0 | ¥0 | ¥0 |
| Buy | ≈¥50 | ≈¥90 | ≈¥2,000 |
| Sell | ≈¥50 | ≈¥90 | ≈¥2,000 |
| Withdraw yen | ¥0 | ¥0 | ¥0 |
| Total | ≈¥100 | ≈¥180 | ≈¥4,000 |
The difference between the two venues is the headline. Trading Bitcoin on the order book costs about ¥100 for the full trip, and a patient maker gets paid instead. The same trade through the dealer desk could cost forty times as much, depending on the spread on the day.
Leverage adds a daily cost: 0.04% of the position value for each day you hold past the 6:00 cut-off. A ¥100,000 position held for 30 days costs about ¥1,200 in leverage fees alone. On the order-book margin market, trading fees on the five main yen pairs are zero, but a forced liquidation (loss cut) costs 0.5% of the position. To compare these numbers with other exchanges, use the fee calculator.
Deposits and withdrawals: which bank to use
There are three ways in. The simplest is the free instant deposit from Japan Post Bank, PayPay Bank or docomo SMTB Net Bank: ¥1,000 to ¥10 million, any time of day. Second, every customer gets personal deposit accounts at GMO Aozora Net Bank and Rakuten Bank; transfers from an account at the same bank are free and have no upper limit. Third, Pay-easyA Japanese bill-payment network that lets you pay instantly from supported net banking accounts. deposits from MUFG, SMBC, Mizuho, Resona and Saitama Resona net banking are free for ¥1,000 to ¥999,999, but the crypto equivalent of that deposit can't be sent out for seven days.
Name matching is strict. The sending bank account must be in exactly the same name as your GMO Coin account, or the deposit won't be credited and a reversal fee may apply. International residents should check that the romanised or katakana name on their bank account matches what they entered at sign-up; our guide to paying for crypto in Japan covers the common bank pitfalls.
Withdrawals are free, usually arrive within minutes and must be at least ¥10,000 unless you withdraw everything. Our guide to cashing out to yen explains the tax side of selling.
Sending crypto out: three rules
External sends are free but have per-transfer minimums: 0.02 BTC, 0.1 ETH, 50 XRP (waived when you send your full balance). According to news reports, addresses registered from 29 August 2026 can't be used until 24 hours after they pass review. And GMO Coin uses the Sygna network for the Travel RuleRules that make exchanges pass sender and recipient details along with crypto transfers. In force in Japan since June 2023., so direct transfers to exchanges on a different network may fail. Check our wallet guide before moving coins to self-custody.
Coins, staking and recurring buys
The 24 coins cover the majors (BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, DOGE, ADA, DOT, AVAX, SUI) and some only-in-Japan names: FCR, the fan token of Okinawa's FC Ryukyu football club, NAC, and Zipangcoin tokens linked to gold, silver and platinum. FCR and NAC were sold through initial exchange offerings on GMO Coin. On 9 September 2026 GMO Coin announced it would delist SAND, CHZ and FIL: dealer trading ends after the 24 October maintenance, external sends close on 7 November, and leftover balances will be sold for yen in mid-November.
StakingRewards for letting your coins help secure a proof-of-stake blockchain. In Japan they count as income when received. covers ETH, DOT, ATOM, ADA, SOL and ASTR. You don't sign up; holding the coin is enough, and rewards are paid between the 10th and 17th of each month. GMO Coin keeps up to 28% of the rewards it receives (the rate varies monthly), and coins lent out through its lending service are excluded.
Recurring buys (つみたて, tsumitate) cover 17 coins from ¥500 to ¥50,000 per purchase, daily, weekly (Wednesdays) or monthly (the 10th). They execute at the 17:00 dealer ask price, so the spread is built in even though there is no separate fee. Money comes from your GMO Coin balance, not a bank debit, and three missed purchases in a row delete the plan. Staking and lending rewards are taxable when received; see our Japan crypto tax guide.
Safety and track record
GMO Coin has been registered since the licensing regime began, holds a financial instruments licence too, and its parent publishes monthly account and volume figures. Like every registered exchange in Japan, it must keep customer yen and crypto separate from company funds and store most crypto offline in cold wallets. Our overview of crypto regulation in Japan explains these rules and the July 2026 law that moves crypto under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.
The bigger day-to-day risks are on your side of the screen. Leverage can wipe out a deposit in a sharp move, and smaller coins can be delisted and force-converted to yen, as the SAND, CHZ and FIL holders are finding out. If someone on social media offers to "manage" your GMO Coin account or asks you to send coins to a personal address, read our guide to crypto scams in Japan first.
Opening an account as a foreign resident
The official page sets the bar at residents of Japan aged 20 or over who are not foreign politically exposed persons. That is stricter than some rivals that accept 18-year-olds. Nationality doesn't matter, but foreign nationals must verify with a residence card or special permanent resident certificate.
Register an email and password
Your email and phone number must not already be used by another GMO Coin customer.
Enter your details and verify your ID
The quickest route reads your residence card's IC chip with an NFC-enabled phone in the app; trading can start in as little as 10 minutes. Uploading images instead needs two documents (the residence card first) and a postcard to your registered address.
Enter the account-opening code
The code arrives by email, or by post if you used image upload. Once it is entered, you can deposit and trade.
Since January 2026, Japanese exchanges also ask new customers for a tax-residence self-certification under the OECD's CARF rules, including a foreign tax ID if you are tax resident abroad. For a step-by-step first purchase, see how to buy Bitcoin in Japan, and for residency questions by visa type, crypto for foreigners in Japan.
Alternatives to GMO Coin
SBI VC Trade is the closest rival on cost, with free withdrawals from just ¥1,000 and no minimum on crypto sends, at the price of one withdrawal per day and slower arrival; see the SBI VC Trade review. If you want every coin on an order book, read the bitbank review; for convenience-store deposits, the Coincheck review; and for the widest coin list plus PayPay, the Binance Japan review.
GMO Coin: common questions
Can I deposit to GMO Coin from Japan Post Bank?
Yes. Instant deposits from Japan Post Bank (ゆうちょ銀行), PayPay Bank and docomo SMTB Net Bank are free, credit immediately and work 24/7 for ¥1,000 to ¥10 million per deposit. The account must be in the same name as your GMO Coin account.
Can foreigners open a GMO Coin account?
Yes, if you live in Japan and are at least 20 years old, per the official account-opening page. Foreign nationals must use a residence card or special permanent resident certificate. The fastest route reads the card's IC chip with an NFC-enabled smartphone; image uploads also work but require a postcard to your address.
Why can't I send a small amount of Bitcoin out of GMO Coin?
Sending is free, but the minimum per transfer to an address outside GMO Coin is 0.02 BTC (0.1 ETH, 50 XRP). The minimum does not apply if you send your entire balance of that coin, or send to another GMO Coin address.
Is there a fee to withdraw yen from GMO Coin?
No. Standard yen withdrawals are free, from ¥10,000 per withdrawal up to ¥30 million a day; withdrawing your full balance has no minimum. Withdrawals above ¥30 million go through a review and cost ¥400 each.
Does GMO Coin offer leverage?
Yes, through an order-book margin market and a dealer-style crypto FX service. Leverage for individuals is capped at 2x in Japan, and holding a position past the daily 6:00 cut-off costs 0.04% of its value per day.
Is GMO Coin available in English?
The account-opening, fee and deposit pages we used for this review are in Japanese, and we could not confirm an English version of the service. Expect to sign up and trade in Japanese, with browser translation as a fallback.
Sources
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