FTX Japan Resumes Withdrawals in Fiat and Crypto

FTX Japan, the Japanese subsidiary of the fallen crypto exchange FTX, resumed withdrawals of customer holdings on Tuesday at noon (Japan Standard Time). The withdrawal of fiat currency and crypto assets of FTX Japan will be facilitated through the Liquid Japan web platform.

FTX Japan Resumes Withdrawals

“In order to proceed with withdrawals, customers who have assets in their FTX Japan account would need to confirm the balance of their assets and transfer them to their Liquid Japan account,” the exchange’s official press release on Monday stated.

“We have sent an email to all eligible customers regarding the details of the procedures. If you have not completed the procedure, please follow the instructions in the email and complete the process.”

The details elaborated that the FTX Japan customers without a Liquid Japan account need to open one to withdraw their assets. Liquid Japan is a locally licensed cryptocurrency exchange acquired by FTX last April.

FTX Japan opened the withdrawals that aligned with its promise in December. Then, the collapsed exchange said it would open withdrawals for the customers of Liquid Japan and FTX Japan in early 2023.

In the latest announcement, the exchange highlighted the possibility of some delays in processing withdrawal requests.

“Due to the large number of requests from customers, it may take some time for the withdrawal process to be completed. We will announce the resumption of other FTX Japan services as soon as possible,” the announcement added.

JUST IN: #FTX Japan announces in a press statement that they would be resuming withdrawals for fiat and crypto assets on Feb. 21, after being halted for over 4 months. pic.twitter.com/ae4Ow4nvVh

The Collapse of FTX

The collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX empire in November forced FTX Japan and Liquid.com to halt withdrawals. On top of that, FTX and its 134 affiliates filed for bankruptcy in the United States, resulting in the locking up of digital assets worth billions of dollars belonging to an estimated 9 million customers in legal proceedings.

Moreover, FTX’s administrators are fighting for the control of about $3.5 billion worth of cryptocurrencies that the financial markets regulator in The Bahamas currently holds. These cryptocurrencies belong to FTX customers.

The Future of FTX Japan

Liquid halted all withdrawals on 15 November following the liquidity crunch faced by its parent company. However, the Japanese entities of FTX operated independently of its tainted parent.

The management of FTX, under bankruptcy proceedings, received permission to sell four independently-run entities, including FTX Japan. The other three platforms are CFTC-regulated derivatives exchange LedgerX LLC, the equities-trading platform Embed Technologies, and FTX Europe.

FTX Japan, which launched operations in June 2022, held roughly 19.6 billion yen in cash and digital assets worth more than $138 million when it ceased operations in November. Furthermore, it faced regulatory action for the misdeeds of its parent, as Japan’s Kanto Local Finance Bureau suspended the local license until 9 March 2023.