Bitget set to exit Japan, close all remaining positions by year-end

Bitget, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, announced its intention to cease offering trading services to Japanese residents by the end of the year. This decision stems from the country's recent classification of digital assets as financial instruments, which took effect in mid-July. The exchange, currently ranked fifth by trading volume according to Coingecko, stopped allowing new registrations from Japanese users on Sunday, as disclosed in a Monday statement.

Japan's new regulations, set to fully implement next year, mandate registration for crypto trading operations and impose significant penalties. These include fines of approximately $62,800 and potential prison sentences of up to ten years for non-compliant platforms. Existing Bitget users who are not correctly identified as Japanese residents have until November 1 to complete a Level-2 identity verification process, which involves providing proof of address.

Failure to comply will result in their accounts being placed in close-only mode starting November 1, preventing any new positions, trades, or use of related services such as spot and futures trading, copy trading, trading bots, and earn products.

However, withdrawals and deposits, albeit subject to certain limits, will remain accessible. The exchange plans to forcefully liquidate all outstanding positions by December 31 and suspend card services. Despite the regulatory changes, users can still withdraw their assets after the December deadline. The exchange remains unregistered in Japan and did not specify the exact regulatory action prompting this move, nor did it provide further clarification when contacted for additional information.

Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) enforces strict compliance rules for foreign crypto platforms providing services within the country, a stance that Bitget, alongside competitors Bybit, BitForex, and MEXC, received a warning letter about in 2023 for operating without proper registration.