Crypto Exchange Kraken to Cease its Operations in Japan

In an attempt to cut operational costs, Kraken decides to shut down operations in Japan

The year 2022 has been extremely stressful for the crypto market. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum are down by more than 70% from their all-time highs in 2021. Even though there have been small surges, the growth of the crypto market as a whole has been stagnant. Crypto businesses are shutting down or filing for bankruptcy, some are even laying off employees to cut off costs and prepare for the possible economic turmoil in 2023. Now Kraken has yet again become the victim of this chaos. The crypto exchange is currently preparing to cease its operations in Japan next month, stating that the current condition of Japan's economy and that of the crypto market is extremely weak.

Kraken will deregister from the Financial Services Agency as of January 31, by which time clients are requested to withdraw their fiat and crypto holdings. The company also mentioned that it is fully reserved to ensure that all the clients could withdraw their assets in a timely manner. Just last month, the exchange decided to lay off almost 30% of its employees, which boils down to almost 1,100 employees as tougher market conditions were crippling the company.

Besides the economic conditions, the various scams and frauds taking place in the market are also massively affecting crypto businesses. The implosion of the FTX crypto exchange has also added uncertainty in the crypto market. Currently, predicting when the market will recover is quite impossible. However, in this situation, investors have to stay careful and take advice from investment professionals before diving into the crypto market.