FTX is back in Japan, where users can withdraw fiat and crypto • The Register

FTX’s Japanese outpost announced on Monday that it would once again allow withdrawals of both fiat and crypto assets, starting at 12pm local time on Tuesday.

Customers must have or open a Liquid Japan account to transfer assets. Liquid Japan is a crypto trading platform acquired by FTX in February 2022.

The announcement fulfills a promise in January to allow asset withdrawals this month.

Japanese clients of failed crypto exchange FTX are the first to have the chance to access their assets following the company’s spectacular crash.

Japan’s heavily regulated cryptocurrency sector is why they are able to do so: the country’s laws require crypto exchange companies to register with the Financial Services Agency, demonstrate anti-money laundering laws, set aside capital reserves and separate client and exchange funds.

But the sudden collapse of FTX meant that the Japanese operation’s staff lost access to the systems required to distribute the funds.

FTX Japan has been posting weekly updates informing about its assets, apologizing for systems being offline and promising to restore service.

That promise has now been fulfilled, although tweets such as this suggests that although withdrawals are possible, transaction history may be incomplete.

Before filing for bankruptcy in November, FTX promoted itself as a safe and secure crypto investment service. At one point, the company was valued at $32 billion.

The company’s downfall came after it secretly transferred — or lent — about $10 billion in client funds to related unit Alameda Research, which blew the dough while trying to defend some difficult trading positions.

The two companies, Alameda Research and FTX, should have been run separately.

Founder Sam Bankman-Fried, by this time living in the Bahamas, was eventually arrested. He has since pleaded not guilty to eight criminal charges related to wire fraud, money laundering, campaign finance law violations and more. He is scheduled to go on trial in October.

Bankman-Fried’s spokesman reportedly said the founder was “pleased to see the Japanese exchange moving forward, and continues to maintain that the US unit can and should do the same as soon as possible.”

Japan’s ability to protect its consumers from heavy losses can serve as a template for other nations looking to protect their citizens and economies.

India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in October 2022 that the nation would use its role in the G20 group of nations to push for multilateral cryptocurrency regulations, while the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has vowed to be “brutal and relentlessly tough” on shady industry. players.

This week, Hong Kong proposed rules to hold virtual asset platform operators to the same legal standards as securities brokers and automated trading venues. ®