On Thursday, cryptocurrency Hotbit exchange said it had “suspended trading, deposit, and withdrawal functions” and that it was unclear when it would reopen.
The reason given by Hotbit is because a former manager of the exchange, who left the company in April 2022, was involved in a project that is being investigated for criminal charges. Many senior leaders of the exchange were then summoned by the authorities in July and are assisting in the investigation process. Authorities have frozen part of the exchange’s assets, disrupting operations.
Hotbit denied knowing in advance the illegal activities of the former manager, nor did he disclose the specific identity or agency that was investigating the exchange.
The exchange commits to resume trading when the assets are frozen, and asserts that during this time, users’ funds will be kept safe.
All users’ assets are safe on Hotbit. Hotbit will resume normal operations as soon as the assets are not frozen. All user assets and data on Hotbit are safe and accurate. However, we are actively cooperating with law enforcement agencies in their investigations and are in constant communication with them through our attorneys.
Hotbit is currently headquartered in Hong Kong. Due to the trading freeze, all unfilled orders will be canceled and all Futures positions will be liquidated. Meanwhile, Hotbit stated that income from users’ investment products will be distributed normally, and a “compensation plan” for users will be announced when the site is back up and running. In the past 24 hours, Hotbit processed $25.6 million worth of digital asset transactions.
