FTX’s Japan subsidiary, bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX Japan, is reportedly planning to resume withdrawals for affected users starting in February.
According to a February 17 report by Bloomberg, FTX Japan sent send notifications asking users to check their account balances as part of the process to start allowing withdrawals. Seth Melamed, the exchange’s chief operating officer, said users would be able to transfer assets to accounts on the FTX-owned Liquid Global platform, with withdrawals expected to begin “very soon.”
“We are confident that we will stick to the schedule,” Melamed said.
The schedule to restart withdrawals for all FTX Japan and Liquid Japan users is on track for February. https://t.co/3LEUggREAA @FTX_JP
— Seth Melamed (@coo_ftxjp) February 3, 2023
FTX Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States in November 2022, a move that included three of the company’s 134 subsidiaries: FTX Japan Holdings, FTX Japan, and FTX Japan Services. However, the Japan Financial Services Agency, or FSA, had requested FTX Japan to suspend trading orders ahead of the US bankruptcy filing.
Following an order from the FSA, FTX Japan submitted a plan in December 2022 in an attempt to resume user withdrawals. The plan suggested that FTX Japan client assets should not be part of the company’s bankruptcy proceedings, essentially citing regulations that trade client funds separate from their own.
Related: FTX wants permission to sell FTX Japan and FTX Europe, as well as LedgerX
News outlet NHK reported that FTX Japan had approximately 19.6 billion yen in cash, more than $138 million at the time, when it ceased operations in November. In contrast, FTX debtors reportedly recovered more than $5 billion in cash and crypto as of January.
