Kraken announced it would halt its operations in Japan following global layoffs. The US-based digital currency exchange cited the current Japanese market conditions and the frail crypto market around the world as the main reasons for its decision.

The cryptocurrency company announced the closure of its Japanese operations through a blog post on Wednesday this week. Kraken said that the plan is to stop the business there next month.

Business observers said that this is another indication of how battered the crypto industry has become right now. The firm said it would stop all of its crypto trading services through Payward Asia, its Japanese subsidiary. In addition, Kraken will also withdraw its registration from the Financial Services Agency of Japan on Jan. 31, 2023.

Kraken further explained that this move is part of its efforts to better manage and direct its focus on resources and investments in business areas that correspond with its strategy. The company also believes that taking this direction will put Kraken in the best position to achieve long-term success.

All customers are given up to Jan. 31 to take out their fiat and crypto assets from the Kraken platform. They will also be given an option to either cash out and convert to Japanese yen for deposit at a local bank or withdraw their cryptocurrencies to an external wallet.

Customers must note that starting Jan. 9, they will no longer be allowed to deposit anything into their Kraken accounts even if the trading function remains working. This is only working so people can convert their balance to the asset of their choice.

Finally, CNBC reported that this is actually the second time that Kraken made an exit from the Japanese market. The first time it left was in 2018, just four years after it established its operations in 2014. The business was only relaunched in 2020 after successful registration from the country’s regulator, and now it is closing once again.