WikiBit Exchange Exit-Risk Ranking #37 — bitFlyer: Japan’s “King of Licenses,” So Why Do Users Say “Customer Service Doesn’t Exist”?
Introduction: The Two Faces of a “Compliance Ceiling” In the first 36 editions, we dug into a series of exchanges ranging from HashKey to GXT. For #37, were looking at one of the most “serious” names on the list: bitFlyer. Its résumé is arguably one of the most heavyweight in the entire crypto industry: founded in 2014; Japan FSA crypto exchange license No. 00003; the world‘s first crypto exchange to hold licenses simultaneously in the United States (48 states, including New York), Japan, and the EU; an EU MiCA license obtained in June 2026; Japan’s No. 1 Bitcoin trading volume for 10 consecutive years; total customer assets exceeding ¥1.4 trillion; no user-asset losses caused by hacking since its establishment; and EY ShinNihon LLC serving as its accounting auditor. Sounds like “the most compliant crypto exchange in the industry,” right？ But there is another side to the story: a Trustpilot rating of just 1.9/5, with users saying that “customer service simply doesnt exist”; multiple complaints alleging that accounts were frozen without explanation and funds were withheld, including one user who claimed to have lost $2,230; co-founder Yuzo Kano publicly seeking a return to the CEO position and saying he wanted to “resolve management conflicts”; and,
