Crypto exchange BitForex stops withdrawing money, stops responding to users

Hong Kong-based crypto exchange BitForex has suspended withdrawals for at least three days without explaining why. Before the halt, nearly $56 million worth of crypto had left the wallet.

In the year

Seeing some suspicious activity at crypto exchange @bitforexcom.

In the year February 23 saw their fresh wallet withdraw ~$56.5M. Shortly after this period, withdrawals stopped without any official announcement.

Users are currently asking questions on… pic.twitter.com/gFEcwExHKh

— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) February 26, 2024

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The X account of the exchange has not been updated since May 2023. BitForex users on the Telegram channel are different from not being able to enter their account into the dashboard, showing no assets. Several users have shared a pop-up screen that shows they are blocked from accessing the company's website.

Cointelegraph tried to open the BitForex website but encountered the same problem. However, some specific pages of the exchange's website are still live. For example, on January 31, BitForex CEO Jason Luo was still on the website when an announcement was made that he was leaving the company.

As of September 2023, BitForex was one of the leading global crypto exchanges in terms of capitalization. The daily trading volume in crypto stands at about $2.6 billion. Currently, CoinMarketCap does not provide live data on BitForex.

In April 2023, Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) accused BitForex of violating the country's fund settlement laws. According to the FSA, the exchange has been operating without proper registration in the country.

However, since then BitForex has not received any attention from regulators or the media.

Last week, another Hong Kong exchange, Atom Asset Exchange (AAX) moved $55.6 million worth of Ether (ETH) from its wallets. Two days after FTX filed for bankruptcy, AAA ceased all operations. Following the closing, AAX's former CEO Thor Chan and board member Hao Ming Liang resigned in 2015. They were arrested by the Hong Kong police in 2022. However, the unidentified founder of AAX is said to be still on the run with 230 million Hong Kong dollars ($29.41 million). ) value of users' money and private keys that hold exchange wallets.

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