Crypto exchange Coinbase to halt operations in Japan

livemint.com:

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc on Wednesday said it will halt operations in Japan due to volatile market conditions. All Coinbase Japan customers will have until February 16, 2023 to withdraw their fiat and crypto holdings, the company said in a blog post.

“Due to market conditions, our company has made the difficult decision to halt operations in Japan and to conduct a complete review of our business in the country.. 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," the crypto exchange said.

All Coinbase Japan customers will have until February 16th, 2023 JST to withdraw their fiat and crypto holdings from Coinbase. Customers can choose to withdraw their crypto holdings to any other Virtual Assets Service Provider, Coinbase Wallet or any other self hosted wallet of their choice. Alternatively, customers can choose to liquidate their portfolio and withdraw their JPY to a domestic bank account, the company added.

“Any remaining crypto holdings held on Coinbase on or after February 17th will be converted to JPY. In the month following February 17th, Coinbase will send any remaining JPY to a Guaranty Account at the Legal Affairs Bureau in accordance with legal requirements. If customers do not take any action before February 16th, they will have to coordinate with the Legal Affairs Bureau to retrieve their JPY balance," said Coinbase.

The business closure follows the firm’s decision to cut 20% of its workforce globally, the latest