According to Kraken’s announcement, “Current market conditions in Japan in combination with a weak crypto market globally mean the resources needed to further grow our business in Japan aren’t justified at this time.”
Crypto exchange Kraken announced it will exit the Japanese market by January 31, 2023.
In its blog post, Kraken claimed that pulling out of Japan will help prioritize resources to endure the bearish crypto market. Kraken is slated to deregister from the Financial Services Agency (FSA), Japan’s financial regulatory body, by the end of January.
Consequent to the decision, Kraken will disable deposits by January 9. The exchange asked its Japanese user base to withdraw their assets from its platform by January 31. The trading facility on its platform will remain unaffected to allow clients to liquidate their holdings. Kraken will also provide an update about the Ethereum (ETH) unstaking procedure in the coming days.
Kraken cautioned its users that it will transfer the JPY assets held in its accounts to a “Guaranty Account” at the Legal Affairs Bureau after January 31.
Starting February 1, users with existing JPY balances will have to coordinate with the Legal Affairs Bureau to retrieve their holdings. Meanwhile, Kraken will convert users' non-JPY fiat holdings into JPY following after February 1.
Suspending operations in Japan is yet another step taken by Kraken to reduce operational costs. A few weeks ago, the exchange slashed 30% of its workforce to survive the crypto winter.
