Japanese e-commerce giant DMM.com is reportedly in the process of withdrawing its cryptocurrency mining business in the country, just months after it set up the operation in early 2018.
A news report from Nikkei on Dec. 30 said DMM made the decision on the withdrawal in September 2018 as the overall cryptocurrency market slump led to deteriorating profitability for its mining business.
The report added the withdrawal process, including the sale of its mining machines, could continue until the first half of 2019. Founded in 1999, DMM is one of the largest e-commerce sites in Japan that launched a cryptocurrency exchange business dubbed DMM Bitcoin in January 2018, which is one of the 16 licensed trading platforms in Japan.