US-based crypto exchange Kraken will stop conducting business in Japan

Due to the country's current market conditions and the overall state of the global cryptocurrency industry, the US-based cryptocurrency exchange Kraken announced on Wednesday that it would cease operations in Japan by the end of the month, according to reports. Customers will need to withdraw their fiat and cryptocurrency assets by January 31 because Kraken will no longer be registered with Japan's Financial Services Agency (JFSA) at that time. Kraken announced last month that it would reduce its workforce by 30%, or around 1,100 personnel, as a result of the sluggish demand for digital assets brought on by challenging market conditions. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Image credit- Business Recorder[/caption] According to reports, the market for all cryptocurrencies has shrunk by $1.4 trillion as a result of the failure of Sam Bankman-FTX, Fried's the crash of Terra, and other factors, while the most valuable cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, has lost nearly 60% of its value so far this year. In November, a deal was reached between the Treasury Department and Kraken to address transactions that seem to have broken US sanctions on Iran. The enormous cryptocurrency platform consequently consented to pay more than $360,000. Kraken, like other cryptocurrency exchanges, enables users to buy, sell, trade, and possess any digital assets that are made available on the platform. But according to the settlement agreement, hundreds of transactions totaling a startling $1.68 million were conducted by individuals in Iran. In reality, the cryptocurrency programme bans new users from signing up in countries that are subject to US sanctions. It appears that the platform complies in some way with the penalty scheme. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Image credit - The Hindu BusinessLine[/caption] The Department of Treasury alleges that while users were trading on the bitcoin exchange, Kraken neglected to implement IP address blocking.It follows that customers who first registered in the US might still be able to sell or acquire digital assets after transferring to Iran. Based on Kraken users' IP addresses, the Treasury Department discovered that certain users had taken part in these operations. Some people did register their businesses in the US and run them from there. The US government agency claims that due to Kraken's tardy implementation of the required geolocation tools, including an automated internet protocol (IP) address blocking system, it exported services to users who appeared to be in Iran when they conducted virtual currency transactions on Kraken's platform.