By
Godfrey Benjamin
April 17th, 2024
Pulling out of the Japanese market is the latest of Kraken’s moves to cut costs and service the weak crypto market.
For a second time, Kraken has announced it will stop its operations in Japan, even as it looks to cut costs amid a weak global crypto market. Kraken announced this via a blog post on its website.
It said:
“Current market conditions in Japan in combination with a weak crypto market globally mean the resources needed to further grow our business in Japan aren’t justified at this time.”
According to the exchange, it will stop servicing its clients in Japan through Payward Asia, effectively ceasing its operations by Jan. 31, 2023. The firm also plans to deregister from the Financial Services Agency.
Repeating History
Previously, Kraken pulled out of the Japanese market in April 2018 after an initial four-year stint. At the time, the exchange noted the move would allow it to deploy resources on growing in other geographical locations. Later in 2020, the exchange relaunched through Payward Asia Inc. Headquartered in Tokyo, Kraken began offering spot trading services on five assets to expand.
While assuring all affected clients it is fully funded to cover the withdrawals surge, Kraken noted it will continue to process withdrawals until Jan 31st to allow enough time for affected clients to withdraw their assets. Asides from this, the exchange plans to remove all withdrawal limits by January. Also, Kraken will disable the deposit functions from January 9. Additionally, it will allow users to withdraw their staked Ether.
Following the announcement, affected users can transfer their crypto holdings to an external wallet or convert them to fiat and transfer them to their domestic bank account. The firm assured. It also noted that pulling out of the Japanese market will have no financial bearing on its global business.
Staying Afloat in a Weak Crypto Market
Pulling out of the Japanese market is the latest of Kraken’s moves to cut costs and service the weak crypto market.
Recently, the firm announced it was downsizing its global workforce. The exchange cut its workforce by 30%, leading to the loss of 1,100 jobs. While citing lower trading volumes and fewer client sign-ups, Kraken noted cutting down expenses was necessary for the business to survive in the long term.
Kraken is not alone. Many other cryptos and digital asset companies have announced job cuts, including Block, Lemon Cash, Playtika, Valkyrie, and Galaxy Digitals.