Crypto Exchange Bitfront Shuts Down

US cryptocurrency exchange Bitfront, backed by Japanese social media company Line Corp, has set March 31, 2023, as the deadline for investors to clear all withdrawals and deposits. Bitfront said it suspended new registrations and credit card payments on Nov. 28 and will shut down operations in a few months after being unable to overcome the ups and downs in the industry. In a notification on Monday, the exchange said:

“However, despite our efforts to overcome the challenges in this rapidly-evolving industry, we have regretfully determined that we need to shut down BITFRONT in order to continue growing the LINE blockchain ecosystem and LINK token economy.”

The Crypto industry is struggling with the illiquidity crisis that started with the collapse of Terra and its sister token, Luna, in May, followed by the liquidation of Three Capital Arrow. Terra’s crisis wiped out about half a trillion USD from the crypto market. Therefore many crypto exchanges were forced to suspend their services.

A recent case that has hit crypto investors is the bankruptcy of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX, which the government is currently investigating for “criminal conduct.” Therefore, the crypto market has been very volatile since May. Bitcoin (BTC) recently hit $16,400 after falling from a high of $69,000.

The exchange has been active since February 2020, allowing users to securely store and freely trade their digital assets, but it is facing collapse less than 3 years after its launch. Bitfront chose to close the service to continue the development of the LINK token economy and the LINE blockchain ecosystem.

Bitfront mentioned in the notification that:

“This decision was made for the best interest of the LINE blockchain ecosystem and is unrelated to recent issues related to certain exchanges that have been accused of misconduct.”

Bitfront said that we had made every effort to be at the forefront of the blockchain industry since the beginning. According to CoinGecko, Bitfront had 13 trading pairs, six coins, and a 24-hour volume of nearly $94 million. 

On December 12, the company will suspend additional deposits and interest payments for LN/LN interest products. Further, the exchange stated that interest on deposits from December 5 to December 11 will be paid on December 13, 2022. Meanwhile, on December 30, the exchange will suspend open API services, trading, and crypto and USD deposits.

After the withdrawal suspension of March 31, 2023, US customers would be able to claim assets in each of their states. While global clients may claim their assets in Delaware.