Key Takeaways
- The deadline has been extended by three months, and March 9, 2023, is the new deadline.
- FTX’s Japan subsidiary was originally supposed to be suspended on December 9
Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) has now extended FTX Japan’s suspension deadline for returning customer funds. The country’s local finance bureau has extended the deadline by three months and has assigned March 9, 2023, as the new deadline, citing the pending return of user assets.
FTX’s Japan subsidiary was originally supposed to be suspended on December 9. The regulatory body-the Kanto Local Finance Bureau has reinstated that FTX Japan’s trading system continues to be out of function. Trading services, deposits, and account opening will remain suspended.
On November 10, the finance bureau issued a business suspension order to the company, stating that it stopped withdrawal operations without giving customers adequate explanations. The FSA’s suspension order was accompanied by a “business improvement order,” which requires FTX Japan to accurately identify users as well as strive to protect customer assets, and also “appropriately disseminate information to users regarding the protection of their assets.”
The latest development comes nearly a week after FTX Japan provided a roadmap to Japan’s Financial Services Agency to return customer funds. Reportedly, according to the proposal, users would be able to withdraw their money as early as January 2023. However, the company is yet to release specifics on when users can expect to receive their funds back.
While FTX Japan is attempting to return customer assets systematically, its parent company is currently working on restructuring the organization. FTX’s new CEO, John Ray, recently noted that things would relax a bit regarding the bankruptcy proceedings. FTX and 130 other affiliated companies filed for bankruptcy last month. Court papers reveal that FTX-linked entities owed their 50 biggest unsecured creditors a total of $3.1 billion.
When FTX imploded in early November, FTX Japan had come up with a clarification stating that it exists as a separate entity that strictly follows the Japanese rules on asset segregation.
