BitForex, a Hong Kong-based bitcoin exchange, halted withdrawals for three days without explanation. According to on-chain investigation, about $56 million in cryptocurrencycurrency was transferred from BitForex wallets.
On February 23rd, ZachXBT, an on-chain investigator, stated that three BitForex hot wallets saw a cumulative outflow of around $56.5 million in digital currency before the exchange ceased processing transactions. The BitForex X account has not been active since May 2023.
On BitForex’s official Telegram channel, users have reported a variety of account difficulties, ranging from difficulty to log in to dashboards with zero balances. Several people posted screenshots of being barred from the exchange’s website.
Although certain BitForex webpages remained available, the main site failed not load. On January 31st, the announcement that BitForex CEO Jason Luo had departed remained live. BitForex rated among the top global exchanges in September 2023, with trading volume of around $2.6 billion per day. CoinMarketCap currently displays no active BitForex statistics.
In April 2023, Japan’s Financial Services Agency accused BitForex of operating illegally in the country and breaking settlement regulations. However, since then, regulators and the media have given BitForex little to no attention.
The recent cluster of Hong Kong-based exchanges banning withdrawals has raised questions about centralized exchange solvency, potentially hastening the cryptocurrency industry’s slow shift toward decentralized alternatives. However, the actual causes of BitForex’s current problems remain unknown, pending additional disclosures.
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