Ethereum Watch

The cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has sent an email to customers saying it will no longer support Japanese yen funding accounts of Japan-based financial provider Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC). Additionally, the exchange will also close SWIFT accounts that hold US dollars, British pounds, and euros. SWIFT is an international banking payments network.

The change won’t take effect until March 21, 2018, at which time the aforementioned bank accounts will no longer be able to make deposits with the exchange.

Funds deposited to Kraken after this deadline will be returned to whence they came. In addition, Kraken will continue to support withdrawal requests that are made by March 27, 2018, but “withdrawals requested after this time will not be processed, and the funds will be returned to your Kraken account,” according to the email.

The notice went on to explain that it will still support transactions with the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), an electronic payments system integrated within the euro-zone.

Additionally, after some confusion among its customers, the San Francisco-based exchange clarified that the new policy won’t apply to all US dollar transactions.

Kraken cited “a variety of circumstances” for the account closure without going into details, but also said, “While this is a disappointing development, we are dedicating further resources to our banking relationships and the implementation of new funding methods. We will reach out to you again when we have further details to share.”

Kraken did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the account closures.

Jeremy Nation is a writer living in Los Angeles with interests in technology, human rights, and cuisine. He is a full time staff writer for ETHNews and holds value in Ether.

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