Bitget to Exit Japan Market, Force-Close All Resident Accounts by Year-End
Key Takeaways
- •Bitget will cease services to Japanese residents and progressively restrict existing accounts beginning November 1, with all remaining open positions forcibly closed on December 31.
- •The Financial Services Agency issued warnings to Bitget in March 2023 and November 2024 for allegedly providing cryptocurrency services to Japan residents without the registration required under the Payment Services Act.
- •Users who believe they were incorrectly identified as Japan residents must complete Level 2 identity verification, including address verification, by November 1 to avoid being subjected to the restrictions.
- •In June 2025, the Kanto Local Finance Bureau separately warned BTG Technology Holdings Limited, which operated under the Bitget name, for soliciting online over-the-counter derivatives transactions without proper registration.
- •Japan recently passed legislation that will reclassify cryptocurrencies under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, shifting them into the same legal framework governing securities and imposing stricter investor-protection rules.
Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget will cease providing services to residents of Japan and progressively restrict existing accounts beginning November 1, according to an announcement issued Monday.
The exchange has already stopped accepting new registrations from Japan-based users. Any positions that remain open on December 31 will be forcibly closed, Bitget confirmed in a support notice.
Users who believe they have been incorrectly identified as Japan residents must complete Level 2 identity verification — which includes address verification — by November 1. Those who fail to do so will have their accounts classified as belonging to Japan residents and subject to the upcoming restrictions. Bitget said it will send further instructions via email regarding required procedures and how customers can manage their assets.
The decision to withdraw from Japan follows a series of regulatory warnings from Japanese authorities. Under Japan's Payment Services Act, cryptocurrency exchanges are required to register with the Financial Services Agency (FSA) before offering services to domestic residents. The FSA issued a warning to Bitget in March 2023 and again in November 2024, citing the alleged provision of cryptocurrency services to Japan residents without the required registration.
In June 2025, the Kanto Local Finance Bureau — a regional arm of Japan's Ministry of Finance — issued a separate warning to BTG Technology Holdings Limited, which it said operated under the Bitget name. The bureau alleged that the entity solicited online over-the-counter derivatives transactions without proper registration.
Japan has previously taken similar enforcement action against other unregistered overseas platforms, including warnings against exchanges such as Bybit and Binance, the latter of which ultimately entered the market through a domestically registered entity after ceasing direct services.
Bitget's exit comes as Japan continues to tighten its regulatory framework for digital assets. The country recently passed a legislative overhaul that will reclassify cryptocurrencies under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act — the same legal framework governing securities — shifting oversight from the Payment Services Act and subjecting crypto intermediaries to stricter investor-protection obligations.