Background on Kraken’s history in Japan
Kraken first entered the Japanese market in 2014, becoming one of the first foreign exchanges to do so. Payward Asia Inc., a subsidiary of Kraken, runs the exchange aimed at the Japanese market.
In order to better concentrate its resources on growth in “other geographical areas,” the same subsidiary firm that had been operating in Japan from 2014 until 2018 withdrew in April 2018.
The subsidiary made the decision to relaunch in October 2020, with a Tokyo-based headquarters and aims to grow. It will initially offer spot trading on five key assets.
Kraken’s japanese exit: The Inside Story
According to Kraken, it will still provide support for Japanese users on its other platforms, but it will no longer be present there. It has promised to allow all impacted clients to withdraw their money from the exchange by January 31 at the latest following the conclusion of the second round. Users can transfer their cryptocurrency assets to an external wallet or convert them to Japanese yen before transferring them to a local bank account. In addition to removing withdrawal restrictions in January, a mechanism will soon be provided that will let customers get their staked Ether back.
Deposits will be disabled on Jan. 9, though trading functions will remain.
Kraken appears to have prioritized expense savings in recent months. On November 30, Kraken said that reducing its global personnel by around 1,100 people, or 30% of its headcount, was one of its “hardest decisions.”
The exchange asserted that Kraken’s decision to cut costs was influenced by decreased trading activity and a fall in new client registrations, and that these modifications were necessary to sustain the long-term viability of the business.
With the sluggish cryptocurrency market cited as the primary factor in its decision, Kraken has announced that it is leaving the Japanese market for a second time. According to Kraken, its latest announcement in Japanese will not materially affect the company’s overall business as a result of its pullout from the Japanese market.