Kraken pulls out of Japan blaming weak crypto market

Kraken has decided to close its operations in Japan and deregister from the Financial Services Agency, blaming a weak market.

Kraken announced in a blog post earlier today that it has decided to close its operations in Japan and deregister from the Financial Services Agency (JFSA) effective January 31, 2023. 

It said that its decision was part of its efforts to focus on areas that align with its strategy and that would best position the crypto exchange for long-term success. 

The blog post explained that the current market conditions in Japan, combined with a weak global cryptocurrency market, made it difficult for Kraken to justify further investment in Japan at this time, and as a result, Kraken would no longer be able to provide services to clients in Japan through Payward Asia. The blog post said:

“We value the trust our clients put in us and we will do what we can to minimize the impact of our decision for you. That’s why we are committed to ensure a seamless transition and we hope the information in this email will help you decide what is the best option for you. Kraken is fully funded to ensure all affected clients can withdraw their assets in a timely manner.”

In explaining exactly what this means for customers, the blog post laid out that clients have until January 31, 2023 to withdraw all their fiat and crypto holdings from the platform.

It was stated that deposit functionality would be removed from accounts on January 9, but that trading functionality would remain so that balances could be converted to the asset of the client’s choice ready for withdrawal.

It seems that Kraken, like many other crypto exchanges, is doing what it can to survive this long crypto winter. At the end of November, the exchange cut its workforce by around 1100, effectively reducing it by 30%.

The downsize was the last act for the then CEO Jesse Powell, who stepped down, allowing Dave Ripley to take over the role. Kraken said that the measures were necessary in order to sustain its business over the longer term.

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