In the face of extreme market situations, Coinbase crypto exchange has officially halted its operations in Japan. The exchange urges customers to withdraw their crypto and cash assets by February 16.
On January 18, Coinbase took the tough choice to thoroughly assess its operations in Japan and to stop all transactions with current clients, according to an official blog post.
Extreme market circumstances and ambitions to cut operational costs in 2023 were mentioned by Coinbase as the driving forces for the decision.
“We have taken the painful choice to thoroughly assess our present business in Japan and discontinue relationships with existing clients due to changes in the market climate.
However, as Coinbase VP Nana Murugesan and Coinbase Japan CEO Nao Kitazawa said, “We are dedicated to making this transition as seamless as possible for our loyal consumers.”
Up to February 16 Japanese time, Coinbase has put up a robust procedure to let users withdraw their money. Customers may also withdraw their cryptocurrency holdings to Coinbase Wallet, other self-hosted wallets, or other cryptocurrency exchanges.
Customers of Coinbase Japan may also liquidate their holdings and transfer funds to a local bank account. Coinbase customers’ cryptocurrency assets will be converted to Japanese Yen starting on February 17 and transferred to a Guaranty Account at the Legal Affairs Bureau. After February 16, customers must communicate with the Legal Affairs Bureau to retrieve their JPY balance.
In order to control operational costs, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong revealed intentions to lay off an additional 20% of the company’s employees worldwide last week.
He also admitted to terminating a number of initiatives with poor success rates. The decision to lay off workers had a significant impact on Japan’s operations.
On Tuesday, the share price of Coinbase (COIN) rises 8% to $54.14. In the last five days, the price of COIN has increased by about 45%.
