Crypto exchange Gate.io has begun shuttering services for Japanese customers, citing “compliance requests” from the country’s financial regulator. 

Gate.io announced the termination of services for all Japanese customers in a July 22 announcement, adding that it would assist affected customers in migrating their assets.

Starting July 22, the Cayman Islands-headquartered exchange will suspend the opening of new accounts for all customers based in Japan.

The exchange said it was shutting down due to “compliance requests from authorities such as the Financial Services Agency,” adding that it would provide further details concerning the shutdown soon.

According to the notice, Gate.io will launch a program to comply with laws and regulations in Japan and support customers by migrating them to exchanges that comply with Japanese regulations.

It also said it would remove any Japanese language information from its website but provide updates to support the account migration.

The schedule for the service termination plan and transaction migration will be carried out in accordance with compliance requests of Japan’s financial regulator, the Financial Services Agency.

However, it did not provide a date indicating when the exchange itself would be shutting down in the country.

Japan is widely viewed as an international crypto hub and was one of the first countries to legalize crypto trading despite the country having very stringent regulations for crypto assets.

Japan’s Payment Services Act (PSA) governs crypto assets, requiring exchanges to register with the FSA and exchanges must comply with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations and conduct customer identity checks.

Gate.io lists 3,557 pairs and has a 24-hour trading volume of $19.5 billion globally, according to CoinGecko.

Cointelegraph contacted Gate.io for further details but did not receive an immediate response.

Related: Japanese exchange BitFlyer to acquire FTX Japan

Despite the regulatory hurdles, some Japanese companies are still betting big on Bitcoin investments.

On July 22, Japanese investment and consulting firm Metaplanet announced that it purchased an additional 20.4 BTC worth around $1.2 million to complete its purchase plans revealed in June.

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