A surprise announcement from crypto exchange Hotbit as it closes its doors for good, ceasing trading activities as of today Monday May 22, 2023 after 5 years in crypto trading.
The crypto trading platform claimed 5 million users worldwide who are invited to withdraw their funds before June 21, 2023. This Monday morning, crypto exchange Hotbit announced its definitive closure.
It is with great regret that we have taken the decision to stop all CEX operations as of May 22. We ask all users to withdraw their remaining assets before June 21,” Hotbit wrote on its Telegram chanel.
In a statement, the Hotbit team detailed the reasons for the sudden closure, which came as a surprise to the crypto trading platform’s many customers.
In particular, Hotbit cites a deterioration in operating conditions after Hotbit’s management team was forced to suspend operations for several weeks due to an investigation by the authorities.
The company also regrets a deterioration in cash flow as a result of the FTX collapse, as well as the banking crises that led to disengagement incidents involving the stablecoin USDC.
In addition to operating conditions, Hotbit believes that CEXs will become “increasingly unwieldy, with highly complex and interconnected businesses”, making compliance with regulatory standards very complicated.
The company believes that “the business model of supporting a diverse range of assets is not sustainable from a risk management perspective”.
So if you have funds in Bitcoin and crypto on Hotbit, you have until June 21, 2023 to withdraw them.
