Crypto exchange Kraken will close in Japan after global cuts

KRAKEN is closing its cryptocurrency exchange services in Japan as the company restructures to navigate the fallout from this year’s meltdown in digital assets.

Payward Asia, which operates Kraken services in Tokyo, will shutter the exchange business on Jan 31, according to an announcement on Wednesday (Dec 28) from the firm in a Japanese government publication. The company plans to ask clients to transfer their crypto token holdings into different wallets or exchange them into fiat currencies.

The implosion last month of Sam Bankman-Fried’s digital asset empire FTX has added to uncertainty in crypto after a global slump in coin prices and declining trading activity. Just weeks ago, Kraken said it will cut 30 per cent of its global workforce or about 1,100 people. That followed similar moves by rivals including Coinbase Global and Gemini. BLOOMBERG