FTX Japan reports $50M in withdrawals since Feb. 21

Bankrupt crypto firm FTX’s subsidiary in Japan has reported thousands moved from the exchange since resuming withdrawals on Feb. 21.

In a Feb. 22 announcement, FTX Japan said users of the exchange and those at Liquid Global had withdrawn roughly 6.6 billion yen — $50 million at the time of publication — in cryptocurrency and fiat. According to the crypto firm, 7,026 account holders had moved funds from FTX Japan to Liquid and there were 5,697 transactions involving cryptocurrencies and 1,947 instances of users withdrawing fiat.

The crypto firm said on Feb. 20 in order to process withdrawals, FTX Japan users would need to confirm their account balances and transfer them to a Liquid account. Withdrawals resumed at 12:00 PM JST on Feb. 21 for the first time in more than three months.

FTX Japan had been part of its parent company’s proceeding in filing for bankruptcy in November 2022, when the firm froze assets for roughly 9 million users, removing access to millions of dollars. An NHK report at the time said that FTX Japan had roughly 19.6 billion yen in cash — more than $138 million — when it ceased operations, suggesting that there may be roughly $90 million left for users as of Feb. 22.

「出金・出庫サービスの進捗状況について」を掲載致しました。こちらをご確認ください。https://t.co/dtGj9C0PLV

— FTX Japan (@FTX_JP) February 22, 2023

Related: Unsealed superseding indictment against Sam Bankman-Fried includes 12 criminal charges

Due to bankruptcy proceedings in the United States, most FTX users, including those at FTX US, have been unable to withdraw their assets since November. The case is moving forward in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, in which the judge denied a motion to appoint an independent examiner, citing the expense involved.