Just days after announcing nearly 1,000 layoffs and saying it would shut down some services and products “less likely to succeed,” cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase said it was shutting down its operations in Japan.
The company said in a statement that this was an “extremely difficult decision.” But it had to happen due to “market conditions”. According to the exchange, clients of its platform in Japan should withdraw their assets as soon as possible.
“Due to market conditions, our company has made the difficult decision to cease operations in Japan. In addition, we will conduct a full review of our business in the country. However, we are committed to making this transition as smooth as possible for our valued customers.
Coinbase Japan customers must withdraw assets by 2/16
Coinbase said it has segregated the Japanese yen and cryptocurrencies from its customers in Japan in compliance with local regulations. As reported, the company will close its fiat deposit functionality on January 20th. That is, in just two days. However, Coinbase Japan customers will have until February 16 to withdraw their cryptocurrency and assets.
“Customers can choose to withdraw their crypto holdings to any other virtual asset service provider, Coinbase Wallet or any other self-hosted wallet of their choice,” said Coinbase.
In addition, the company highlighted that cryptocurrencies remaining on Coinbase on or after February 17 will be converted into Japanese yen. The next month, in March, Coinbase will send the remaining yen to an escrow account in the Legal Department, in line with legal requirements. Thus, if the customer does not take any action before the 16th of February, he will have to coordinate with a legal entity to recover his fiat currency balance.
Coinbase has laid off 2,110 people since June 2022
Coinbase started operating in Japan in 2021. At that time, Coinbase partnered with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), one of the largest banks in Japan. The idea was to serve the growing Japanese user base.
That being said, the announcement of the end of operations in the country comes just a week after the company announced a new round of mass layoffs. On January 10, the company fired 950 people.
According to Coinbase CEO and co-founder Brian Armstrong, the “difficult decision” was made with the goal of “achieving sufficient operational efficiency to weather downturns in the cryptocurrency market.” So far, the exchange has laid off 2,110 people since June 2022, when the cryptocurrency winter began after the FTX crisis.