FTX Japan to Resume Withdrawals on 21 February

The Japanese subsidiary of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, FTX Japan, will allow users to withdraw their fiat and crypto assets starting 21 February, the company said in a press release on 20 February.

According to the announcement, customer withdrawals will be processed through Liquid Japan, a licensed Japanese crypto asset exchange acquired by FTX in April 2022. FTX Japan users will first need to confirm their crypto asset balance in their accounts, and then transfer them all to their Liquid Japan account. The company also warned users to be patient as withdrawals could take time to process:

“Please note that due to the large number of requests from customers, it may take some time for the withdrawal process to be completed. We will announce the resumption of other FTX Japan services as soon as possible.”

Customers who do not have a Liquid Japan account will be required to open one before their able to move their assets over from FTX Japan. The company noted that it had contacted all eligible customers of FTX Japan and informed them of the withdrawal procedures, which will be made available at 12:00 PM local time on 21 February.

FTX Japan was launched in June 2022, but was forced to pause all customer fiat and crypto withdrawals in November the same year, only two days before its parent company FTX filed for bankruptcy along with over 130 of its subsidiaries. It is estimated that the crypto platform had around 19.6 billion yen in cash (more than $138 million) at the time it ceased operations. FTX Japan is also one of the four subsidiaries FTX is looking to sell, as they were recently acquired, operated relatively independent of the FTX exchange, and were still solvent.