Japan’s Watchdog: Local Impact From FTX Collapse ‘Minimal’

Aiming to determine Japan’s exposure to FTX, the country’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) has reportedly asked local cryptocurrency exchanges if the collapse of FTX and its affiliated companies has affected their businesses.

The financial regulator has found “minimal impact” upon the local exchanges, Bloomberg reported Wednesday (Nov. 16), citing an unnamed official.

The report comes a day after a Japanese official said during a press conference that FTX Japan, a local subsidiary of FTX Trading, is among the 130 companies that have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States.

Related: DOJ Investigates FTX Collapse: Report

“The FSA is closely monitoring the impact of filing for Chapter 11 and the response of FTX Japan Inc.,” Shunichi Suzuki, minister of finance and minister of state for financial services, said during the Tuesday (Nov. 15) press conference. “In any case, the FSA believes that the protection of assets of users of FTX Japan Inc. is well implemented as follows.”

Suzuki added that Japanese law requires business operators to keep users’ assets separate from their own, that a local finance bureau took action to require FTX Japan to preserve customers’ assets, and that the company has said publicly that it has preserved customers’ assets.

Looking at the impact of the FTX bankruptcy on the financial markets in general, Suzuki said during the press conference that the impact on markets outside of the crypto markets has been limited and the FSA doesn’t see a need for other immediate action.

“However, we are not prejudging the impact of this incident and continue to closely monitor the situation with a sense of tension,” Suzuki said.