Bitget, a Seychelles-registered crypto exchange, said it would stop providing crypto trading services to Japanese residents and had stopped accepting new registrations from them on August 2 to comply with local regulations.

The company said users it may have incorrectly identified as Japanese residents must complete Level-2 identity verification and submit proof of address by Nov. 1. Otherwise, Bitget will treat those accounts as Japanese and place them in close-only mode.

From Nov. 1, those users will no longer be able to open or add to positions or use services including spot and futures trading, copy trading, trading bots, and earn products.

Bitget said it will forcibly close remaining positions and suspend card services on Dec. 31.

Deposits, subject to limits, and withdrawals will remain available, and users will still be able to withdraw assets after Dec. 31.

The move follows Japan’s decision in mid-July to reclassify cryptocurrencies as financial instruments.

The new rules, expected to take effect next year, include fines of about US$62,800 and prison terms of up to 10 years for operating without registration.

🔗 Source: CoinDesk