FTX Japan Confirms Customer Withdrawals Will Start Soon
- FTX Japan is set to restart withdrawals for its customers based in the region after it had paused them on Nov. 8.
- The exchange added that it has put together “a basic plan for resuming withdrawal and delivery services” for its customers.
- The work on this “master plan” has already been initiated by the engineering team which is “doing the necessary work.”
- The funds are expected to be transferred to the Liquid platform, which was acquired by FTX Japan earlier this year.
- Legal currency will be placed in a trust account of SBI Clearing Trust Co., Ltd.
FTX Japan, the Japanese arm of the exchange founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, popularly known as SBF in the crypto space, has confirmed that it will restart withdrawals for its customers based in the region in the near future. The customers of the East Asian nation might be the first to receive their money back across the world due to regulatory pressure.
The customers of FTX Japan will be able to receive their money as the team is working on unfreezing withdrawals. The funds that have been deposited by the customers were frozen in early November and since then, the users have been waiting for a confirmation regarding the unfreezing process. The now-bankrupt crypto exchange has faced wide criticisms for its lack of transparency and communication in the past few weeks.
FTX Japan revealed in a blog post that the exchange has put together “a basic plan for resuming withdrawal and delivery services, and the new management team at our head office has basically approved the plan and implementation policy.” The exchange further added that the work on this “master plan” has already been initiated by the engineering team which is “doing the necessary work.”
“As part of this plan, we will also implement robust and secure processes by incorporating controls, security audits, reconciliations and reviews. Going forward, we plan to announce additional information such as specific schedules and roadmaps in line with this plan as soon as possible,” said FTX Japan.
According to the statement from FTX Japan, the funds are expected to be transferred to the Liquid platform, which was acquired by the Japanese arm of the crypto exchange earlier this year, so that withdrawals can be carried out.
It is also crucial to note that the funds deposited by the customers of FTX Japan are not subject to the Chapter 11 bankruptcy that has been filed in the United States. Additionally, the funds will be transferred to the cold storage so that they are safe from hack attempts. The customer assets comprising of legal currency will be placed in a trust account of SBI Clearing Trust Co., Ltd. revealed the exchange.
“We have been regularly reporting and discussing with the relevant authorities about the plan to resume withdrawal and withdrawal services, the application of Chapter 11 and potential impacts. We will continue to maintain close communication with the authorities and proceed with the reopening plan appropriately and promptly,” stated FTX Japan.
In an interview, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the founder and former CEO of FTX, confirmed that while he was worth more than $26 billion last year, his bank account had $100K the last time he checked it. SBF believes that if the regulators had placed more oversight and implemented strict policies in the crypto industry, the implosion of his exchange could’ve been prevented.
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
