Bitforex, a cryptocurrency exchange based in Hong Kong, has stopped accepting withdrawals for at least three days without stating why. Approximately $56 million in cryptocurrency had been taken out of the exchange’s wallets before the halt.
BitForex Under Fire for Alleged $55.6M Exit Scam
Blockchain expert ZachXBT raised concerns about activities on the BitForex cryptocurrency exchange on February 26 in an X post, suggesting that the platform may have been exit scammed. The investigation claims that on February 23, the exchange removed cryptocurrency valued at about $56.5 million from its hot wallets. ZachXBT continued, “The exchange stopped accepting withdrawals after that unusual withdrawal without providing an official explanation.
Since May 2023, there have been no updates to the exchange’s X account. Users of Bitforex are experiencing issues with their accounts on its official Telegram channel. These issues range from the dashboard not displaying any assets to the inability to access their accounts. A number of consumers say that they are unable to visit the company’s website and share the pop-up screen.
BitForex had a change of leadership in January following the resignation of CEO Jason Luo. Although Luo wrote in a blog post that he was confident in the ability of the new leadership team, the circumstances surrounding his leaving have sparked rumors in light of current developments. ZachXBT pointed out that the situation is made even more dire by the fact that the exchange still possesses a sizable amount of OMI and TRB tokens. ZachXBT has pinpointed particular wallets associated with this activity and advises keeping an eye out for any updates.
Based on market capitalization, Bitforex was one of the top cryptocurrency exchanges in the world in September 2023. It was exchanging almost $2.6 billion worth of cryptocurrency per day. CoinMarketCap does not currently offer real-time Bitforex data. Bitforex was charged by Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) in April 2023 with breaking the country’s fund settlement regulations. The FSA and a few other platforms claim that the exchange has been operating in the nation without the required registration.
Since its founding in 2018, BitForex has received a lot of complaints from users, most relating to account bans that were purportedly caused by KYC requirements. The exchange has not made any public statements about the current events as of the time of publication.