Crypto exchange BitForex shuts down withdrawals and disappears

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—by Protos Staff

Crypto exchange BitForex has started blocking access to its website through Cloudflare. Cryptocurrency investigator ZachXBT took to X (formerly Twitter) to highlight suspicious behavior, including shutting down withdrawals and outflows of over $56 million on Friday. 

ZachXBT also highlighted that BitForex chief exec Jason Luo stepped down from his role last month. 

The exchange’s X account has been silent about these issues, with its last post asking simply, “What are the top encryption projects in 2024?” The BitForex team also looks to have gone silent across its other channels, not responding to questions via Telegram or on its Discord server. 

Screenshot of the BitForex website.

Read more: Hackers switching to centralized exchanges to fund crypto attacks

Last year, BitForex was one of the exchanges named by Japan’s Financial Services Agency in a letter that accused it of operating without the appropriate registration. It has previously been accused of inappropriate behavior, including in a 2019 Chainalysis report that suggested it was using wash trading to increase its apparent volume.

The combination of outflows, its website shutting down, and a lack of communication from its team suggests another exchange could be on its way to joining the long list of cryptocurrency platforms losing or misappropriating customer funds before shutting down.

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