Crypto Exchange Hotbit Closes All CEX Operations

Hotbit, a cryptocurrency exchange, made a statement stating that it would cease services after May 22. 

Circumstances Getting Worse for Hotbit

Hotbit stated in a statement that since a former employee of its team was the target of an inquiry in August 2022, operational circumstances had gotten worse. 

The exchange claims that the investigation compelled it to halt operations for many weeks. In addition, Hotbit blamed a number of instances for its breakdown. 

FTX Collapse Also Blamed

The exchange attributed its declining cash flow to the FTX collapse and the financial issues that led to the USD Coin depegging incident. According to Hotbit, the incidents caused a steady outflow of money from centralized exchanges.

Hotbit Asks Users to Withdraw Money by June 21

In addition, users were urged to withdraw money by June 21 at 4:00 am UTC, according to the exchange. The platform states: 

“It is with great regret that we have made the decision to stop all CEX operations from May 22, UTC 04:00. We kindly ask all users to withdraw their remaining assets before June 21, UTC 04:00.” 

However, Several community members complained that they were unable to withdraw their money from the exchange as soon as the notification was made.

The Collapse of Another Titan

Hotbit was founded in 2018 and had over 1 million members from 170 countries. Hotbit has always been known for offering a wide range of resources and approaches that bring value in the cryptocurrency industry. 

It was the first exchange to list a variety of developing assets, such as SHIB, KSM, GRIN, and others. It was also the first to provide staking services starting with ATOM and the first to use Compound to execute Defi mining operations.

Recall when Hotbit unexpectedly stopped offering all of its services after having part of its assets seized in August of last year. It was required to take this step after many of its senior managers were called to testify as part of an inquiry into a former employee.