Japan, which has recently emerged as one of the most crypto-supportive markets in the world, is losing a competitive crypto exchange as 2022 draws to a close. Kraken crypto exchange has decided to exit the Japanese market to prioritize its resources at this time as the global crypto industry is currently experiencing a slump. On Wednesday, December 28, the valuation of the crypto market saw its low for the year, standing at $801 billion (approximately Rs.66.42.614 billion).
The authorities of octopus intends to complete its deregistration from the Japan Financial Services Authority by January 31, 2023.
“Current market conditions in Japan combined with a weak crypto market global means that the resources needed to continue growing our business in Japan are not currently justified. As a result, Kraken will no longer serve customers in Japan through Payward Asia,” the exchange said in an official blog.
Kraken was founded in 2011 and is based in San Francisco, USA. The exchange acc BitDegree used by over four million people around the world.
Now that the company is stripping their services from theirs Japanese user baseKraken has asked its customers in the country to withdraw their fiat and crypto holdings before February.
“On January 9th, the deposit feature will be removed from your account. The trading function remains, so you can convert your balance into the asset of your choice. Additionally, the withdrawal limits for the month of January have been removed to ensure you can remove your assets from Kraken. Funds currently staked with Kraken can be unstaked and transferred or converted as desired,” added Kraken.
Whatever the Japanese yen remains with Kraken in early February will be deposited into a guaranteed account with the Legal Affairs Bureau.
After operating in Japan between 2014 and 2018, Kraken suspended its services in Japan to focus its resources on expanding into other regions.
The company restarted its offerings in the Asian nation in 2020, and shortly thereafter, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kashida commented positively on crypto adoption, citing virtual digital assets as potential tools that could usher in an era of “new capitalism.”
In the first half of 2022, the valuation of the crypto market hovered around the trillion-dollar mark, but over the past six months, over $200 billion (around Rs. 16,57,902) has been wiped from the market after promising crypto projects like LUNA and the FTX crypto exchange collapsed due to liquidity shortages.
The distrust of crypto investors from this risky asset category has pushed Bitcoin’s value from $68,000 (about Rs. 56,000) recorded in November last year to its current price of $16,800 (about Rs. 13.9,000).
octopus, that 30 percent laid off of employees this month is not the only company that has had to take stringent measures to keep its business afloat during these difficult market times.
Earlier this week, NEAR Protocol’s Octopus network cut 40 percent of its workforce as a cost-cutting measure.
