Why Coinbase Has Decided to Halt Operations in Japan

Coinbase on Wednesday announced that it has halted its operations in Japan. Crypto lenders and exchanges, struggling to emerge victorious of the ongoing crypto slump, are faced with drastic decisions to ensure that their businesses remain operational amid the ongoing crypto winter. Citing the ongoing challenges with the crypto market, Coinbase has given its users in Japan up to February 16 to withdraw holdings from their respective accounts. Not too long ago, popular crypto exchange Kraken , faced with similar market pressure, also exited the Japanese market.

“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,” the multi-national crypto exchange said in its official statement.

Coinbase Japan will no longer allow fiat deposits starting from January 20.

After February 16, all of the holdings left in possession of Coinbase Japan will be converted to the Japanese Yen (JPY) and will be handed over to a Guaranty Account at the Legal Affairs Bureau as per the laws of the land.

“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. 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,” the company added to its note.

Japan, in recent times, has begun to lean towards taking a pro-crypto approach to keep up with global fintech trends.

Despite its efforts to expand in the country, Coinbase is now the second crypto major after Kraken to leave the Asian market.

As per a CoinTelegraph report, the companies recorded a weaker crypto market in Japan in comparison with other nations.

Meanwhille, Japan’s financial regulators have urged that the crypto sector should be controlled just like traditional banks.

As per the Japanese authorities, the crypto technology is not to be blamed for risking the financial stability of crypto investors. Rather, it’s the lack of rules governing the sector that has not been able to make the sector safe to engage with.

In November last year, the Bank of Japan had said that it will be collaborating with mega banks to help finetune its CBDC, named the Digital Yen.

Japan could see a wider roll out of its digital yen by 2026. Prior to that, the BoJ aims to check if the CBDC works efficiently under disaster-lie situation or no Internet connectivity.