Unknown Future for BitForex as Website and Trading App Go Offline

By: Eva Baxter

The Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange BitForex has gone mysteriously offline, leaving users unable to initiate withdrawals or access the platform. The abrupt suspension of its website and trading application on February 23 comes amidst reports of a significant outflow of funds from the exchange's hot wallets.

Data from CoinGecko indicates the trading volume decreased drastically from $2.5 billion to $1 billion between February 22 and 24, before completely flatlining. There are also suspicions that BitForex may have inflated its trading volumes up to 100 times. The exchange was reported to have a trading volume of just $25 million on February 22 when normalized data considering web traffic statistics was taken into account.

Around February 23, crypto investigator reported outflows of approximately $56.5 million from BitForex’s hot wallets. This sudden drop in funds was followed by an abrupt halt of withdrawals without any official communication from the exchange. What's more alarming is BitForex's substantial holding of TRB and OMI token supplies, specifically 18% of TRB and 7% of OMI.

Users are left in a state of uncertainty as the exchange's CEO stepped down a month back unexpectedly. In addition, the last update to CoinmarketCap’s data for the exchange was over two days ago, exhibiting around $280 and $175 million in Ethereum and Bitcoin trading volume respectively. As of now, the total outlook is grim for BitForex users with limited response from the platform, raising potential concerns on the security of their investments.