Key Highlights
- Bitget stopped accepting new account registrations from Japan residents on August 3, 2026.
- Accounts classified as belonging to Japan residents will enter close-only mode from November 1 at 11 a.m. Japan time.
- Remaining open positions will be forcibly closed from December 31, while crypto withdrawals will remain available.
- Japanese regulators previously warned Bitget over allegedly providing crypto and derivatives services without the required registration.
Crypto exchange Bitget will stop serving residents of Japan, closing new registrations immediately and introducing restrictions that will culminate in the forced closure of remaining trading positions at the end of 2026.
Bitget said in an official service-termination notice published on August 3 that it had decided to discontinue services for Japan residents as part of its efforts to comply with local regulations. New registrations from people residing in Japan are no longer being accepted.
Existing accounts identified as belonging to Japan residents will enter a close-only period beginning November 1, 2026, at 11 a.m. Japan Standard Time, or GMT+9, according to a separate FAQ published by the exchange.
Under the restrictions, customers will be unable to open new positions or add to existing ones. Access to spot and futures trading, peer-to-peer trading, copy trading, Bitget Earn, Convert, trading bots and card services will also be restricted. Limited deposits and cryptocurrency and fiat withdrawals will remain available during the transition. Bitget advised affected customers to close their positions and begin withdrawing their assets before the restrictions take effect.
Remaining Positions to Be Closed in December
From December 31 at 11 a.m. Japan time, Bitget said remaining open positions across its products will be forcibly closed and card services will be suspended. Cryptocurrency withdrawals will continue to be available after the deadline. Bitget said assets left on the platform could be transferred to a self-custody wallet or an account held with another exchange.
The company did not disclose how many customers would be affected or the value of assets held in accounts linked to Japan residents.
Bitget said it would provide affected customers with further instructions by email covering account procedures and the management or withdrawal of their assets as the transition progresses.
According to Bitget’s FAQ, users receiving a residency-related notification from September 17 onward will be provisionally classified as Japan residents. Customers who believe that classification is incorrect can submit additional address verification.
Users Can Challenge Incorrect Residency Classification
Customers who no longer live in Japan or believe they have been incorrectly categorized can complete Bitget’s Level 2 identity-verification process, also known as KYC2.
The exchange recommends completing the review before November 1, although it said users would still be able to submit documents after that date. Accepted proof-of-address documents include bank statements, utility bills and tax certificates. The name on the document must match the customer’s existing identity-verification record.
Accounts that do not complete the verification process will continue to be treated as belonging to Japan residents and may lose access to most platform services.
Exit Follows Repeated Regulatory Warnings
Bitget’s withdrawal follows several warnings from Japanese financial regulators concerning the company’s activities in the country.
Japan’s Financial Services Agency first warned Bitget Limited in March 2023 for allegedly operating a crypto-asset exchange business without registration. The regulator said the activity violated Japan’s Payment Services Act, which requires companies providing crypto-exchange services in the country to register with the FSA.
The FSA issued another warning against Bitget Limited on November 28, 2024. Bybit, MEXC Global, KuCoin and Bitcastle were also named in warnings announced on the same date. Following those warnings, Japanese authorities asked Apple and Google to block the exchanges’ apps, and Bitget’s app was removed from Japan’s App Store in early 2025, although existing users retained access through the web and Android.
A separate regulatory action followed in June 2025, when the Kanto Local Finance Bureau, a regional arm of Japan’s Ministry of Finance, identified BTG Technology Holdings Limited, which it said operated services under the Bitget name, as soliciting online over-the-counter derivatives transactions without registration. That warning concerned financial-instruments activity rather than Bitget’s registration as a crypto-asset exchange.
Bitget’s latest announcement did not say whether the exchange had considered applying for registration in Japan. Instead, it presented the withdrawal as part of its broader commitment to meeting regulatory requirements.
The phased shutdown gives customers several months to close positions, resolve any incorrect residency designation, and move their assets before the year-end deadline. Users who take no action could have their remaining positions closed automatically after December 31, although cryptocurrency withdrawals are expected to remain open.
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