Following significant layoffs, Coinbase announces suspension of operations in Japan.

The long-established U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced today that, due to market conditions, the company has decided to halt its operations in Japan and conduct a comprehensive review of its business. Coinbase stated that it has separated users' custodied Japanese yen and cryptocurrency assets in accordance with regulatory requirements to ensure that users can retrieve their assets as soon as possible, with deposit functionality being removed on January 20th in Japan time.

The long-standing U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced today that, due to market conditions, the company has decided to halt its operations in Japan and conduct a comprehensive review of its business. Coinbase stated that it has separated users' custodial Japanese yen and cryptocurrency assets in compliance with regulatory requirements to ensure users can retrieve their assets promptly, and the deposit function will be removed on January 20th, Japan time.

In addition, assets of Coinbase Japan users will be converted to Japanese yen in full after February 17th and transferred to a trust account at the Legal Affairs Bureau as required by law. Therefore, users are required to withdraw their legal tender and cryptocurrency from Coinbase by February 16th.

According to previous reports, Coinbase CEO and co-founder Brian Armstrong stated in a letter to employees in early January that the company expects to reduce operating expenses by 25%, including marketing expenses, technical and development, general administrative expenses, and stock compensation, and to cut approximately 950 employees, with a total loss of about $500 million in 2022.