Japan Regulator Flags 4 Crypto Exchanges Including Bybit for Operating Without Registration

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Japan's Financial Services Agency in a warning letter published on Friday said foreign crypto exchanges Bybit, BitForex, MEXC Global and Bitget are operating in the country without proper registration.

The regulator said at the time of the notice the exchanges were violating the country's fund settlement laws by "conducting crypto asset exchange business without registration" and also said the list of unregistered traders "does not necessarily indicate the current state of unregistered business."

Although Japan is working on new regulations for the crypto and Web3 sectors, the country hasn't cracked down on the industry as hard as some other larger economies such as the U.S. following what was a turbulent year for the markets in 2022.

When reached for comment, a representative for Bitget said the exchange will be getting in touch with the FSA "for more information."

"Bitget operates through BG Limited, a Seychelles-registered company. As a global crypto exchange, we are following the rules and regulations in Seychelles. All our operations and services remain normal at the moment and we will update our customers when there is an update," the representative said in an emailed statement to CoinDesk.

The FSA issued a formal warning letter to Bybit for operating without necessary permissions back in 2021.

Read more: Japan Embraces Web3 As Global Regulators Grow Wary of Crypto

Update (April 3, 2023 15:53 UTC): Adds comment from Bitget in penultimate paragraph.