Crypto Exchange Gate.io Exits Japan

Cryptocurrency exchange Gate.io has terminated its services in Japan.

The exchange has suspended new account openings for customers residing in Japan as of July 22.

Cryptocurrency exchange Gate.io announced on Monday that it is ending its services in Japan, citing incompatibility in the country.

It said it will “comply with the laws and regulations in Japan” and support customers who want to switch to compliant cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan. The company’s website does not indicate that it has regulatory approval in Japan. The company is headquartered in George Town, Cayman Islands.

“As one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, we strive to comply with financial regulations in all regions in which we operate,” Gate.io wrote in a blog post. “Based on this commitment, we regret to announce that we will be discontinuing our services in Japan.”

It’s unclear whether “regulatory pressures and compliance demands” from the Japan Financial Services Agency (FSA) led to the decision, but a report suggests it did. Gate.io is not listed as a registered entity on the FSA website. The FSA and Gate.io did not immediately respond to CoinDesk’s requests for comment.

The exchange will suspend opening new accounts for customers residing in Japan starting Monday.

The company said in a statement that further details of the timetable for the suspension of services will be announced later, in line with compliance requests from authorities such as the Japan Financial Services Agency.

Japan’s Financial Services Agency had previously warned that four crypto exchanges were operating in the country without proper registration. The Mt. Gox hack in 2014 led Japan to become one of the earliest countries in the world to regulate cryptocurrency exchanges and has some of the strictest consumer protection regulations in place worldwide.

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