Bitforex Limited — Unregistered Foreign Crypto Exchange Targeting Japan (Two FSA Warnings)
ConfidenceLikelyUpdated2026-07-29Review by2027-01-29Sources6Machine-translatedOriginal (JA)
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This entry sits under exchanges index. Read it with FSA crypto-asset exchange registration system — number system / Local Finance Bureau jurisdiction / registration requirements for adjacent context and Japan Financial Regulation — Legal Framework for Tokens, Crypto Assets, and Payments for the broader system boundary.
Not registered with Japan FSA (unregistered foreign operator) · FSA warning letters issued twice (2020-06-26 / 2023-03-31)
1. Corporate entity and shareholders
- Company name: Bitforex Limited (English brand: BitForex)
- Founded: around 2017 年 (established by co-founder Xinyao (Jason) Luo)
- Registered jurisdiction: Republic of Seychelles. Earlier public records also referenced “Hong Kong base”; the actual operating team was reportedly based in Hong Kong and Singapore
- Listed / parent company: unlisted overseas entity
2. Licences and registration status
- Japan FSA crypto-asset exchange registration: none (unregistered foreign operator)
- JVCEA membership: non-member
- Seychelles Financial Services Authority (FSA): registered as a Seychelles IBC (International Business Company); no authorisation for Japan-facing services
- The FSA confirmed services were being provided to Japan residents and issued 2 warning letters
3. Supported assets
- The FSA warning material is not a source for Bitforex Limited’s supported assets or product composition. This entry does not infer an asset count or current availability.
4. Business scope
- The FSA warning material does not enumerate products or deposit and withdrawal functions. This entry is limited to the regulatory fact of unregistered operation on the warning dates.
5. Market share and trading volume
- The FSA warning material contains no comparable figures for Bitforex Limited’s Japan trading volume, account count, or market share. This entry does not infer global rank or scale in the Japanese market.
6. History and key events
The table below is limited to FSA warning publications concerning Japanese regulation. Incorporation, trading volume, and the 2024 fund movements and service status are excluded because they were not consistently established by the same primary-source set. ^[Source: https://www.fsa.go.jp/policy/virtual_currency02/index.html.]
| Date | Key event |
|---|---|
| 2020-06-26 | Japan FSA issues first warning letter (June 26, Reiwa 2). Published alongside AMANPURI Co.,Ltd for operating a virtual currency exchange business to Japan residents without registration. Representative: Jason Luo; location: Republic of Seychelles |
| 2023-03-31 | Japan FSA issues 2 rd warning letter (March 31, Reiwa 5). Warned on the same day as Bitget Limited, MEXC Global, and Bybit Fintech Limited — one of 4 社 entities, the 1 社 on the list |
7. Strategic developments
- The FSA published warnings to Bitforex Limited on 2020-06-26 and 2023-03-31. This entry does not use that material alone to infer subsequent operating status, customer balances, or asset recovery. See FSA foreign-exchange warning system for the overall framework.
8. Associated individuals
- Jason Luo: Named as the representative of Bitforex Limited in the FSA warning dated 2020-06-26.
Related
- japan-financial-regulation — Japan financial regulation overall
- jp-foreign-exchange-bybit — Bybit, which received an FSA warning in the same period (2023-03-31)
- jp-foreign-exchange-mexc — MEXC Global, which received an FSA warning in the same period (2023-03-31)
- jp-foreign-exchange-bitget — Bitget, which received an FSA warning in the same period (2023-03-31)
- fsa-foreign-exchange-warning-system — FSA foreign exchange warning regime
- global-crypto-exchange-bankruptcy-comparison — Global crypto exchange collapse comparison
- forensic-identity-anchor-chain — forensic identity anchor chain (exit scam tracking)
Sources
- FSA Crypto-Asset and Electronic Payment Instrument page (Bitforex warning letter listing) (retrieved 2026-05-19)
- FSA Warning Letter 1 th (June 26, Reiwa 2) BitforexLimited_keikokushiryo.pdf (retrieved 2026-05-19)
- FSA Warning Letter 2 th (March 31, Reiwa 5) BitforexLimited2_keikokushiryo.pdf (retrieved 2026-05-19)
- FSA Unregistered Operator List PDF (retrieved 2026-05-19)
- Nikkei “FSA issues warning to foreign virtual currency exchanges 4社” 2023-04-03 (retrieved 2026-05-19)
- Atarashii Keizai “FSA issues warning to Bybit, MEXC, Bitget, BitForex et al. for operating without registration” 2023-04-03 (retrieved 2026-05-19)
- CoinPost “Japan FSA warns unregistered foreign crypto exchanges 2社” 2020-06-26 (retrieved 2026-05-19)
#fintech#jp-foreign-exchange#fsa-warned#unlicensed#bitforex
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