Based on an official press release published on February 20, FTX Japan, the Japanese subsidiary of the distressed crypto exchange FTX, said it would resume withdrawal of users’ fiat currency and cryptocurrency assets through the Liquid Japan web platform at 12:00 pm on Feb. 21.
In November last year, FTX Japan stopped operations after its parent company, FTX, filed for bankruptcy together with its 134 subsidiaries, freezing the assets of up to 9 million users and billions of dollars locked in legal proceedings.
Based on FTX Japan, users who have assets in their accounts would have to confirm their balance and transfer them to their Liquid Japan account. Liquid Japan is a licensed Japanese crypto asset exchange that was purchased by FTX in April 2022. FTX JP clients who do not have a Liquid Japan account are needed to open one before they receive their assets.
The exchange wrote:
“We are very sorry for the concern and inconvenience caused to our customers due to the suspension of our services.”
“Please note that due to a 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.”
Based on reliable reports, FTX JP had nearly 19.6 billion yen in cash worth over $138 million when it stopped operations in November 2022. FTX JP was unveiled in June 2022 and, by Japanese law, was needed to segregate client funds from its assets.
Buy Crypto NowOn November 10, 2022, the Financial Services Agency of Japan said that it had ordered FTX to suspend business operations, including accepting new deposits and to comply fully with a business improvement order.
Because of the bankruptcy proceedings, most FTX users, including users of FTX US, cannot withdraw their assets.