Bitget to wind down Japan operations by year-end
Regulation & Gov ·
The exchange has stopped onboarding new Japanese users and will forcibly close remaining client positions by December 31 as Tokyo tightens crypto oversight.
Bitget, which CoinDesk notes sits fifth on CoinGecko's exchange rankings with roughly $714.7 million in 24-hour trading volume, has told users it will end crypto trading services for Japan residents. New account registrations from Japan were cut off on Sunday, and the company says it is acting to align with local rules.
The shutdown timeline is staged. Starting November 1, accounts that Bitget flags as Japan-based will be moved into close-only mode, blocking new or added positions and cutting off spot trading, futures, copy trading, bots and earn products, though deposits and withdrawals will still function under set limits. Any user who believes they were misclassified as a Japanese resident must complete Level-2 identity verification, including proof of address, by that same November 1 deadline, or the account will be treated as Japan-based by default. On December 31, Bitget will force-close all remaining positions and halt card services, while still permitting asset withdrawals afterward.
The exit lands as Japan reclassifies crypto as financial instruments under legislation its parliament passed in mid-July, with the new framework due to take effect next year. Penalties for operating without registration under the revised regime include fines around $62,800 and prison terms of up to 10 years, a sharp escalation from the country's earlier posture. Japan's Financial Services Agency has long required platforms serving domestic users to register locally, and Bitget was among firms — alongside Bybit, BitForex and MEXC — that received a 2023 warning letter over unregistered operations under the nation's fund settlement laws.
Bitget has not pointed to any specific regulatory trigger for the decision and did not immediately respond to a request for further comment, according to the reporting. The move is being tracked alongside other coverage, including from Cointelegraph and Leviathan News, with two distinct sources so far confirming the account-restriction details.
What remains unclear is whether Bitget intends to pursue formal FSA registration to eventually re-enter Japan, and whether other unregistered foreign exchanges will follow with similar exits ahead of the stricter 2026 enforcement regime. The scale of affected Japanese client positions and any impact on Bitget's broader volume have not been disclosed.