Bitget Announces Japan Service Shutdown, Forcing All Remaining Positions to Close by Dec. 31

TL;DR

• Bitget will stop operating in Japan: it closed new user registration and will restrict existing accounts starting November 1.
• Open positions as of December 31 will be forcibly closed; card services will also be suspended on that date.
• The FSA warned the exchange in March 2023 and November 2024 for operating without registration, in line with Japan’s strict regulatory stance.

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Bitget, the crypto exchange ranked fifth on CoinGecko by trading volume, announced it will stop offering its services to residents of Japan. The platform has already suspended new user registration from the country and is advancing a progressive restriction process on existing accounts.

According to the official announcement, restrictions on active accounts will begin on November 1. From that date, users classified as Japanese residents will not be able to open or expand positions, nor access features such as futures trading, copy trading, automated bots, or yield products. Deposits, within certain limits, and withdrawals will remain available. Positions still open as of December 31 will be forcibly closed by the platform, and card services will be suspended on that same date.

Users who believe they have been incorrectly classified as Japanese residents have until November 1 to complete a Level 2 identity verification, which includes proof of address. Those who fail to meet this requirement will automatically be treated as Japan residents and will be subject to the corresponding restrictions.

Bitget Under the Scrutiny of Japanese Regulators

The exit from the Japanese market is not a sudden decision. The Financial Services Agency of Japan (FSA) warned the exchange in March 2023 and again in November 2024 for operating without the mandatory registration required by local fund settlement laws. In June 2025, the Kanto Local Finance Bureau, a regional arm of the Ministry of Finance, also warned BTG Technology Holdings Limited, identified as the entity operating under the Bitget brand, for offering over-the-counter derivatives without authorization.

Japan’s regulatory framework tightened further in July 2025, when parliament approved legislation that reclassifies cryptocurrencies as financial instruments. The new rules provide for fines of up to $62,800 and prison sentences of up to ten years for those operating without registration, and are expected to come into force next year.

In this context, Bitget did not mention a specific regulatory action as the trigger for the decision in its announcement, although the accumulation of formal warnings clearly marks the path that led to this outcome.