FTX Japan Reveals When it Will Resume Withdrawals

FTX Japan, the Japanese division of the bankrupt crypto exchange, plans to re-enable customers’ withdrawals in mid-February next year after suspending the service last month due to the bankruptcy filing of its parent company.

FTX Japan earlier pledged to build a new system different from the one used by its parent company to enable customers to access their funds on the platform.

FTX Japan Collaborates With Liquid to Repay Customers 

According to a recent update, the exchange is working with Liquid, a Japanese platform acquired by FTX this year to aid its Asian expansion, to facilitate the refund process to users.

“For the assets entrusted to us by our customers at FTX Japan and Liquid Japan, we are proceeding with system development so that withdrawals and withdrawals will be possible from the Liquid Japan web version,” the announcement reads.

Under the collaboration, FTX Japan users can check their account balances and withdraw their assets directly from Liquid’s webpage. On the other hand, Liquid users can take out their funds on the Liquid app.

The two firms structured a comprehensive roadmap to aid the withdrawal process, making it a rare example of investors getting their assets back after a company fails.

FTX Japan to Exit the Market Next Year

FTX Japan is also set to exit the market next year after making its customers whole, according to a new order for the country’s regulator, the Kanto Local Finance Bureau.

The Financial Services Agency (FSA) previously mandated the exchange to halt some of its services relating to OTC derivatives transactions and related margins, including withdrawals. The FSA also demanded that FTX Japan holds its assets domestically and update total liabilities on its balance sheet periodically.

The requests came after FTX Limited suspended operations without providing investors and creditors clear information regarding the action. The FSA said the move was to protect customers’ interests and to prevent the FTX situation from spreading across its 130 affiliates worldwide.

Despite the FSA’s demands last month, the Kanto Local Finance Bureau has ordered FTX Japan to exit the market on March 9, 2023. The federal regulator initially asked the company to suspend all operations on December 9 but extended the deadline after the exchange failed to return users’ assets within the timeframe.