A well-known bitcoin exchange called Gate.io has said that it will no longer offer any services in Japan starting July 22. As part of the move, Japanese residents will no longer be able to open new accounts right away.
In a statement made on Monday, Gate.io said it would follow all financial rules in the areas where it does business. The company claimed that this decision is part of its larger effort to abide by local laws and rules.
“As one of the most significant cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, we do our best to follow the rules for financial services in every area where we do business.” Because of this promise, we’re sorry to say that we will no longer be providing services for Japan, Gate.io said in its statement.
Gate.io Implements a migration plan
Gate.io is putting in place a compliance process to help customers move their funds to other cryptocurrency platforms that are currently compliant with Japanese law. The goal of this program is to make the end of the service easier for users who will be impacted.
As part of its compliance steps, the exchange has also promised to take down all of its website pages that talk about Japanese users or the Japanese market. Users will soon be given more information about when services will end, when transactions will move, and what crypto assets will be available.
Gate.io told its users that it would do everything it could to follow Japanese law. For example, it would work closely with the Financial Services Agency (FSA). The company made it clear that the terms of the service suspension and the transition plan would be made public in line with rules set by Japanese regulatory bodies.
Japan has two main groups that sign up bitcoin businesses and make sure they can stay open. The FSA is now more careful to follow the rules than it used to be. It told four major cryptocurrency exchanges in 2023 that they were working without a license. After events like the fall of FTX, which had a significant impact on FTX Japan, a lot of changes were made to the rules to protect crypto owners. After those changes, this extra care comes.
Also connected, Gate.HK, a subsidiary of Gate.io, pulled its application for a license in Hong Kong earlier this year. Along with OKX and HTX, this makes it one of several markets that have changed how they handle regulations.
