Crypto Exchange Gate.io Exits Japan

• Crypto exchange Gate.io has terminated its services in Japan.

• The exchange has suspended the opening of new accounts for customers residing in Japan as of July 22.

Crypto exchange Gate.io has terminated its services in Japan, it announced on Monday, suggesting a lack of compliance in the nation.

It said that it would “comply with laws and regulations in Japan” and support customers who wish to transition to compliant cryptocurrency exchanges within Japan. The company’s website does not show it has regulatory approval in Japan. The company is headquartered in George Town, Cayman Islands.

“As one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, we strive to comply with financial regulations in all regions in which we operate,” a blog on Gate.io said. “Based on this commitment, we regret to inform you that we will be terminating our services for Japan.”

It isn’t clear whether “regulatory pressures and compliance requests” from Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) resulted in the decision but one report suggested it. Gate.io is not listed as a registered entity on the FSA website. The FSA and Gate.io did not immediately respond to CoinDesk requests for comment

As of Monday itself, the exchange will suspend the opening of new accounts for customers residing in Japan.

Other details of the schedule for the suspension of services in accordance with compliance requests from authorities such as Japan’s Financial Services Agency will be announced later, the company said.

Japan’s Financial Services Agency previously warned that four other crypto exchanges were operating in the country without proper registration. The Mt. Gox hack in 2014 resulted in Japan becoming one of the earliest countries worldwide to regulate cryptocurrency exchanges, with some of the strictest consumer protection legislation worldwide.