Bitget has announced its exit from Japan, halting new registrations and moving to close all remaining customer positions by 31 December 2026.
According to CoinDesk, Bitget will stop offering crypto trading services to residents of Japan, citing efforts to comply with the country's regulatory framework. The Seychelles-based exchange stopped accepting new registrations from Japanese residents on Sunday, 2 August 2026.
Regulatory background
The exit follows legislation approved by Japan's parliament in mid-2026 that reclassified cryptocurrencies as financial instruments. The new rules, expected to take effect in 2027, introduce penalties for operating without registration, including fines of around USD 62,800 and prison sentences of up to ten years. Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) oversees compliance requirements for crypto trading platforms serving residents, and the country has maintained a strict stance towards foreign platforms operating without local registration. In 2023, Bitget was among four exchanges, alongside Bybit, BitForex, and MEXC, that received a warning letter from Japanese regulators for operating without proper registration in violation of the country's fund settlement laws.
Existing Bitget users who believe they have been incorrectly identified as Japanese residents must complete a Level-2 identity verification process, including proof of address, by 1 November 2026. Accounts that do not complete this verification will be treated as belonging to Japanese residents, the company said.
From 1 November 2026, affected accounts will be placed into close-only mode. Users will be unable to open or add to positions or access services, including spot and futures trading, copy trading, trading bots, and earn products. Deposits, subject to limits, and withdrawals will continue to be available during this period.
Final closure and market context
Bitget said it will forcibly close all remaining open positions on 31 December 2026 and suspend card services from that date. Withdrawals will remain accessible after the closure. The company did not identify a specific regulatory action or trigger behind the decision and had not responded to media requests for further comment at the time of the announcement.
The move reflects a broader pattern of regulatory tightening in Japan's crypto sector, as authorities move to bring digital asset trading under a framework more closely aligned with traditional financial instrument oversight. For international exchanges operating across multiple jurisdictions, the development illustrates the compliance costs associated with serving retail markets subject to evolving local classification regimes.
