FTX Japan moves to refund its customers

The Japanese branch of the failed crypto empire, FTX, has taken steps toward becoming the first business to refund money to its consumers. On Friday, FTX Japan K.K. informed its clients that they could confirm their account balances. Then they would migrate assets to a website called Liquid, a cryptocurrency-fiat exchange platform, licensed under Japan’s Payment Services Act (JPS).

According to Chief Operating Officer Seth Melamed, the move is part of a plan to allow withdrawals as promised in December 2022 and withdrawals for clients will start up again “very soon”.

He added that the business began beta testing in early February, collecting input and improving the procedure for its remaining 35,000 consumers. He further explained how the team has been working tirelessly to restore withdrawals at FTX Japan in a clear, “fair, and accurate way.”

In December 2022, the Japanese branch of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange said that it would return its assets starting in February 2023. This decision was made after confirming that its customers’ assets are not part of FTX’s bankruptcy.

The crypto company stated that it has been able to confirm that its customers’ assets should not be part of the FTX Japan estate due to regulations that have mandated that crypto assets be separated from customers’ funds.

The exchange was developing a system with which customers could withdraw assets via a website called Liquid Japan.

In November 2022, FTX filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection, and its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, resigned as CEO. According to a court filing, FTX Japan is for sale as part of the US bankruptcy procedure for group businesses, attracting interest from at least 41 parties. The bankrupt crypto exchange owes $3.1 billion to its 50 largest unsecured creditors.

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