Overview
- Bitbank published an official notice on Monday warning that Japanese accounts that deposit to or withdraw from prediction-market services could be suspended and lose logins, crypto and yen withdrawals, and trading access.
- The exchange named Polymarket as an example of the type of platform it is targeting and said it will not reimburse losses caused by suspension, while offering a support review for disputed restrictions.
- Bitbank did not cite a government order for the policy, which shows domestic exchanges are taking unilateral compliance steps before formal rules or enforcement actions arrive.
- Regulators and police in other countries are already probing prediction markets for possible gambling, insider trading, and fraud, and a Manhattan court has set a Dec. 7 trial date in a U.S. case tied to wagers on Polymarket.
- Prediction markets let users trade on real-world events and operate from overseas, creating legal ambiguity that can fragment access, drain liquidity, and leave ordinary traders exposed to locked accounts and sudden market moves.