Coinbase Reportedly Said It Will Cease Operations In Japan

Coinbase announced in a blog post that it would halt its operations in Japan due to market conditions and conduct a complete review of its business in the country. They are dedicated to making the transition as effortless as possible for their valued customers.

Moreover, Coinbase’s move comes only a few weeks after rival exchange Kraken announced that it, too, will halt operations in Japan this month. While Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has recently bought a local player to re-enter the country.

Furthermore, Kraken and Coinbase have both significantly reduced their workforces. However,  Kraken laid off 30% of its employees shortly after the FTX exchange crashed in November. Coinbase, which had already slashed its employment by 18% last year, announced another 20% drop in January.

Coinbase Japan’s Operations Have Been Halted

However, Coinbase Japan customers will have until Feb 16 to withdraw their crypto and fiat assets from the platform. On Feb 17, any remaining crypto assets held by customers will be converted to JPY, and fiat deposits will no longer be accepted from Jan 20.

Clients could transfer their assets to any other virtual asset service provider, a self-custodial wallet, or Coinbase Wallet. Customers can also liquidate their holdings and transfer the proceeds to a local bank account, according to the company.

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As stated in the blog post, the company is committed to making the service termination as seamless as possible. In addition, it guarantees consumers that all users can withdraw their money as soon as feasible.

Therefore, as per legal regulations, Coinbase will transfer any leftover JPY to a Guaranty Account at the Legal Affairs Bureau. Customers who do not withdraw their assets by Feb 16 will have to work with the Legal Affairs Bureau to retrieve their JPY balance.