Kraken, the popular US-based cryptocurrency exchange, is withdrawing its operations from Japan later next month.
This is due to the ongoing market conditions in the country, added to a weak cryptocurrency market globally – said Kraken. Customers are given time until January 31st, 2023, to withdraw all their funds, while deposits will be disabled on January 9th.
Kraken Closed Doors in Japan
This year’s crypto-winter is going worse than we expected, with major cryptocurrency platforms shutting down, new projects getting funds fried up, and some going insolvent! The latest one in this pursuit is Kraken – a popular US-based cryptocurrency platform that’s now shutting down its Japanese division.
In a blog post shared today, Kraken’s Japanese wing said they’d deregister from Japan’s Financial Services Agency (JFSA) on January 31st, 2023, citing
“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.”
As the platform moves to “prioritize resources” and investments in other areas, Kraken Japan customers are requested to withdraw their fiat and cryptocurrency funds by January 31st. Saying that it’s fully funded to meet all the affected client’s assets, deposits of any new funds will be suspended on January 9th while the trading functions continue.
Kraken is one of the many companies that’s struggling to keep up with the ongoing market turmoil. Late last month, Kraken announced cutting 30% of its workforce – about 1,100 employees – citing tough market conditions.
Since the beginning of this year, Bitcoin has tanked 60% of its value, while the whole crypto market has shrunk by $1.4 trillion! These, added to the strict regulations and bans from several countries, have further quashed investors’ hopes.
