Crypto Trading Platform Hotbit Terminates CEX Operations

Cryptocurrency trading platform Hotbit said it ended all centralized exchange (CEX) operations, citing deteriorating operating conditions and changes in the broader crypto landscape.

Users have until 04:00 UTC on June 21 to withdraw their assets from the platform, Hotbit said Monday.

Hotbit, which says it has 5 million users, suspended trading deposits and withdrawals last August after law-enforcement authorities froze some of its funds during a criminal investigation into a former employee.

The wider crypto industry was then plunged into crisis mode after the collapse of exchange FTX in November, which resulted in “continuous outflows of funds from CEX users … and deteriorating cash flow,” Hotbit said.

The crypto industry will pivot increasingly toward more decentralized business models in response to the sterner regulatory oversight of centralized firms following FTX’s collapse, according to Hotbit. Decentralized businesses should in theory be able to avoid the risk of there being a single point of failure, as occurred with FTX.