Bitget to Withdraw from Japan, Ending All Operations by Year-End

Bitget, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, will withdraw from the Japanese market, ending all services by December 31.

Bitget, currently ranked fifth on CoinGecko, has announced it will cease operations for its users in Japan, following new regulatory requirements. The platform has already halted new registrations for Japanese residents as of August 1.

This decision comes in response to recent changes in Japan's regulatory landscape, where cryptocurrencies have been reclassified as financial instruments. The new regulations, which will take effect next year, impose strict penalties for non-compliance, including fines of approximately $62,800 and potential prison sentences of up to ten years for operating without proper registration.

Users who believe they have been misclassified must complete a Level-2 identity verification by November 1 to avoid their accounts being treated as Japanese. Starting that date, affected accounts will enter a close-only mode, restricting users from initiating new trades while still allowing limited deposits and withdrawals.

All remaining positions will be forcibly closed on December 31, with card services also suspended. However, users will still have the ability to withdraw their assets post-closure.

Bitget's exit from Japan aligns with the government's crackdown on foreign crypto platforms operating without local registration, an issue that has affected multiple exchanges, including Bybit and BitForex, which received warnings for similar violations earlier this year.