Four of the leading cryptocurrency platforms – Bitget, Bybit, MEXC Global, and BitForex – have been issued a warning letter by Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) for failing to register properly. The FSA had previously alerted in 2021 that Bybit was offering services without obtaining the necessary licenses.
Latest Warning from FSA
In a recent letter, the Japanese regulator stated that these four companies violated the nation’s fund settlement laws by “conducting crypto asset exchange business without registration”. The watchdog further stated that the number of unlicensed traders “does not necessarily indicate the current state of unregistered business”. These four leading cryptocurrency platforms collectively have over 21 million users. Bybit had already received a similar warning from FSA earlier this year when it conducted a marketing campaign in Japan targeting investors in the country.
Kraken and Coinbase, two of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, have left Japan, citing the unsatisfactory condition of the domestic market. Kraken deregistered from the Financial Services Agency in January 2021 and Coinbase warned Japanese customers to withdraw their cryptocurrency holdings until February 17. Binance, on the other hand, purchased Sakura Exchange BitCoin (SEBC) in November 2020, thereby strengthening its presence in the country. The latter is a Japanese cryptocurrency organization supervised by the FSA.
