US-Based Crypto Company Coinbase Announces Exit From Japan

Crypto company Coinbase Global has announced its exit from Japan following Kraken, a digital asset exchange, which also halted its operations in the country last month, as reported first by Bloomberg.

According to a blog post published by Coinbase on Wednesday, customers will have until Feb. 16 to remove their holdings in currency and cryptocurrencies.

After Feb. 17, any crypto still held by Coinbase will be converted to yen, and in the month that follows, the company will transfer any currency that is left over to a guaranty account at the Legal Affairs Bureau.

"We want to assure you that we have segregated the Japanese Yen and crypto assets of our customers in custody in compliance with the regulations, and we are committed to ensuring that all our customers can withdraw their assets at their earliest convenience. Fiat deposit functionality will be removed on January 20th, 2023 JST," Coinbase said in a statement.

Customers have the option to transfer their crypto assets to any other Virtual Assets Service Provider, the Coinbase Wallet, or another independently hosted wallet of their choice. They also have the choice to liquidate their holdings and withdraw their JPY to a local bank account.

Any remaining JPY will be transferred by Coinbase after Feb. 17, in compliance with legal procedures, to a Guaranty Account at the Legal Affairs Bureau.

Customers will need to work with the Legal Affairs Bureau to get their JPY balance back if they do not take action before Feb. 16, according to Coinbase.

Kraken Halts Japanese Operations

The Japanese market's current conditions and the overall state of the global cryptocurrency industry prompted the US-based cryptocurrency exchange Kraken to announce on December 28, 2022, that it halted operations in the country.

According to a statement from the business, Kraken will no longer be registered with Japan's Financial Services Agency (JFSA). At that point, consumers will have to remove their fiat and crypto holdings by Jan. 31.

According to a statement from the business, Kraken will no longer be registered with Japan's Financial Services Agency (JFSA). At that point, consumers will have to remove their fiat and crypto holdings by Jan. 31.

The crypto exchange claimed that it is adequately funded to guarantee that all impacted customers could withdraw their money on schedule.

Kraken announced in November 2022 that it would reduce employment by 30%, or about 1,100 employees of its current workforce, as a result of the sluggish demand for digital assets brought on by challenging market conditions.

2022 has been particularly tough for the crypto market. The market as a whole has shrunk by $1.4 trillion due to the bankruptcy of Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX, the crash of Terra, and other factors. The most valuable cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, also lost around 60% of its value last year.