Japanese Crypto Crackdown Forces Bitget’s Exit
Bitget, the crypto derivatives exchange ranked fifth globally by Coingecko with a 24-hour trading volume of roughly $714.7 million, has announced its departure from the Japanese market. The move follows a recent wave of regulatory tightening in Japan, including the reclassification of cryptocurrencies as financial instruments after legislation passed in July 2024. On Sunday, Bitget halted new registrations from Japanese residents, and by Monday, it had confirmed that all services for users in Japan would be wound down by year-end.
Japan’s revised legal framework is set to introduce finees of up to $62,800 and potential prison sentences of as much as 10 years for unregistered crypto operations. This legislative shift has put mounting pressure on offshore exchanges like Bitget to comply or exit. While Japan has long maintained strict oversight of digital asset platforms, these new penalties represent a significant escalation.
Bitget users received notice of the new requirements just after the July 2024 legislation was approved by Japan’s parliament.
Stiff Fines, Jail Time Loom for Platforms
The new Japanese regulations, scheduled to take effect in 2025, are among the most severe in the global crypto landscape. Platforms operating without proper registration could face not only hefty fines but also criminal prosecution. According to coindesk.com, the legislation approved in mid-July 2024 specifically targets foreign exchanges serving Japanese customers without a license.
On paper, these rules aim to protect consumers and ensure financial stability; in practice, they are already driving major players out of the country before enforcement even begins.
Bitget Users Face December 31 Deadline
For existing Bitget users identified as residents of Japan, a series of deadlines now loom large. All such users must complete Level-2 identity verification—including proof of address—by November 1. Accounts failing to meet this requirement will be automatically classified as Japanese and placed into “close-only” mode starting that day. From November onward, affected users will be unable to open new trading positions but can still close out existing ones.
Any open positions remaining on December 31 will be forcibly closed by the exchange.
After December 31, Bitget will also suspend its card services for Japanese accounts. However, users will retain the ability to withdraw their assets even after trading functions have been terminated. The exchange has stated that further instructions regarding asset management and withdrawal procedures will be sent via email to impacted customers.
See Also
FSA Warnings Preceded Bitget’s Withdrawal
Bitget’s exit did not come without warning signs. The Financial Services Agency (FSA), Japan's top financial regulator, issued formal warnings against Bitget in both March 2023 and November 2024 over alleged unregistered operations targeting local residents. In June 2025, the Kanto Local Finance Bureau also flagged BTG Technology Holdings Limited—the entity said to operate under the Bitget name—for soliciting online derivatives transactions without approval.
Despite these warnings spanning more than a year and a half, Bitget continued to serve Japanese clients until this month’s abrupt policy change. It’s unclear how many users may have been directly affected by these regulatory actions prior to the full exit announcement.
Confusion Over Residency Status Remains
A lingering issue is how residency is determined and whether some users could be misclassified as Japanese residents due to incomplete verification data. Bitget has instructed any user who believes they have been wrongly identified as residing in Japan to complete Level-2 verification—including address confirmation—by November 1. Failure to do so will result in those accounts being automatically treated as belonging to Japanese residents and thus subject to all restrictions.
The exchange’s ongoing communication campaign aims to clarify procedures for users caught in this transition period, but uncertainty remains for those with ambiguous residency status or incomplete documentation.
What could shape the next move
If Bitget users identified as Japanese residents fail to complete Level-2 identity verification, including proof of address, by November 1, their accounts will be placed into close-only mode, and any positions still open by December 31 will be forcibly closed, immediately restricting trading activity for those users.