Kraken Will Cease Operations in Japan

Due to the country's current market conditions as well as a weak crypto market globally, U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange Kraken announced on Wednesday that it would stop operating in Japan as of next month.

Kraken said in a statement that it will cease to be registered with the Financial Services Agency (JFSA) as of January 31, at which point customers must withdraw their holdings of fiat currency and cryptocurrencies.

According to Kraken, it is fully funded so that all impacted clients can quickly withdraw their assets.

Due to the depressed demand for digital assets, Kraken announced last month that it would reduce its workforce by 30%, or roughly 1,100 employees.

The biggest cryptocurrency market, which includes Bitcoin, has dropped by $1.4 trillion as a result of the demise of Sam Bankman-FTX Fried's empire, Celsius, and the purported "stablecoins" terraUSD and Luna. Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, has lost 60% of its value this year.