• FTX customers in Japan will soon be able to withdraw their funds that are currently frozen due to the bankruptcy process.
• Two FTX-owned crypto exchanges, FTX Japan and Liquid, are developing a system to allow withdrawals by mid-February.
• FTX Japan said on Dec. 1 that it had confirmed with lawyers for the FTX group that „Japanese customer cash and cryptocurrency should not be part of FTX Japan’s estate given how these assets are held and property interests under Japanese law.“
FTX customers in Japan will soon have access to their funds after the crypto exchange filed for bankruptcy on November 11. Two of FTX’s Japanese subsidiaries, FTX Japan and Liquid, have announced that they are developing a system to allow their customers to withdraw their funds by mid-February.
The news comes after the Financial Services Agency (FSA) issued three orders against FTX Japan on November 11, including a business suspension order, an administrative improvement order and a provisional suspension order. After FTX filed for bankruptcy, there were fears that Japanese customers would not be able to withdraw their funds. However, FTX Japan announced on December 1 that it had confirmed with lawyers for the FTX group that „Japanese customer cash and cryptocurrency should not be part of FTX Japan’s estate given how these assets are held and property interests under Japanese law.“
To enable withdrawals, FTX Japan’s customers will need to open an account with Liquid, one of FTX’s Japanese subsidiaries, and transfer their assets to the Liquid platform. FTX acquired Liquid earlier this year, which included Quoine Corp., one of the first crypto exchanges to successfully register in 2017 with Japan’s top financial regulator, the Financial Services Agency. The acquisition followed a major hack where about $90 million worth of cryptocurrencies were stolen from the Liquid platform. As part of the acquisition, FTX provided Liquid with $120 million of debt financing.
With FTX’s Japanese customers now able to withdraw their funds, the exchange is taking steps to ensure that the process is as smooth and secure as possible. FTX and Liquid have stated that they are currently developing a system to allow withdrawals by mid-February, and have urged customers to open an account with Liquid in order to withdraw their funds.
The news is a welcome relief to FTX’s Japanese customers, many of whom had feared that their funds would be lost in the bankruptcy process. With the exchanges now developing a system to allow withdrawals, FTX’s Japanese customers will soon be able to access their funds.