LINE’s crypto exchange, Bitfront, has announced that it is ceasing operations. The exchange declared its closure on November 28th while stating that it will not stop developing the LINE blockchain ecosystem or the LINK token ecosystem.
The company, known initially as Bitbox, was established in February 2020. It facilitates trading in US dollar fiat markets for the major cryptocurrencies Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), as well as Link, the mainnet token for Line’s blockchain.
The business stated that, unfortunately, they have decided that they must close down Bitfront despite their attempts to overcome the difficulties in this quickly-evolving market.
The closure of Bitfront comes in response to the market turbulence and liquidity problems brought on by the consequences of the FTX meltdown in early November. Services and enterprises were brought dangerously close to insolvency due to exposure to FTX and the market liquidity crisis.
According to Bitfront statement:
Please note that this decision was made for the best interest of the LINE blockchain ecosystem and is unrelated to recent issues related to certain exchanges that have been accused of misconduct.
However, by March 31st, 2023, the platform will also stop allowing withdrawals of any kind. Its US customers can claim their assets after that date in each state, while its international customers can do so in Delaware, US. Further details are mentioned in the notice.
Along Bitfront, Crypto Firms Hit Hard By “Crypto Winter”
Fears of interest rate increases and “Crypto Winter” have had a significant negative impact on cryptocurrencies. The biggest digital asset in the world, bitcoin, is down more than 56% from its high, and many cryptocurrency companies have had to file for bankruptcy.
Additionally, in the first six months of 2022, following the implosion of TerraUSD and LUNA, the prices for all digital currencies plummeted. Multiple crypto-focused companies are now struggling financially; some have already gone under because they couldn’t keep up.
Similar to how Celsius Network began in 2017 and filed for bankruptcy in July 2022, the corporation claimed in a court document that between March 30th and July 14th, 2022, the value of its assets had fallen by 80%.
Following that, on November 11th, 2022, two significant cryptocurrency exchanges—FTX and FTX.US—filed for bankruptcy. The action was taken following a sell-off of FTT, FTX’s native token, and a significant number of withdrawals. Soon after declaring bankruptcy.
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