Coinbase, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has announced that it will halt its operations in Japan.
The company has asked its Japanese customers to withdraw any crypto and fiat holdings by February 16th, as it conducts a “complete review” of its business in the country.
According to a blog post by Coinbase, after February 16th, any remaining crypto holdings will be converted to Japanese yen and sent to a Guaranty Account at the Legal Affairs Bureau in accordance with legal requirements.
Customers will then need to coordinate with the Legal Affairs Bureau to retrieve their balance. Additionally, fiat deposit functionality will be removed on January 20th.
Coinbase has been reducing its headcount since last year, cutting around 18% of its global workforce in June and another 950 employees, roughly 20% of its current workforce, as part of a “further restructuring plan” earlier this month.
The company’s decision to halt operations in Japan follows similar moves by other crypto exchanges, which have reduced staff and operational costs after the sudden collapse of FTX in November.
Coinbase’s share price on the Nasdaq closed 8.32% higher at $54.14 on Tuesday, but lost around 1.48% during Wednesday’s pre-market trading.
