“...Hotbit has to suspend trading, deposit, withdrawal, and funding functions. All assets and user data on Hotbit are safe. Please wait for our further announcement of a specific time of our service recovery”.
Since the authorities froze most of Hotbit’s assets, the exchange has decided to suspend operations for an indefinite period. According to an exchange spokesperson, the reason for the account freeze was a former Hotbit employee who was suspected of making illegal money transactions.
The employee, whose name is unknown, was fired in April 2022. Law enforcement officials say he was part of a project in 2021 that contradicted the company’s internal status and violated the criminal code. Hotbit Exchange says they were unaware of such actions by a former employee. Also, the names of those leading the investigation are not known.
At the moment, the management is closely cooperating with the investigation. Some top executives have been summoned to court in the case. At the same time, the company is fighting for its rights. The exchange has applied for a release of its assets.
The cost of the affected funds is unknown. Although the exchange does not serve countries such as China, Singapore, Japan, and the United States, shortly before the incident, the daily trading amount reached $350 million. Hotbit is confident that the conflict will be resolved soon and says it will resume operations as soon as its assets are unfrozen.
This is not the first time the company has suspended its operations. Last year, the exchange was offline for an entire week due to cybersecurity issues.
