Hotbit Exchange Halts Trading as Authorities Probe Ex-Employee
“The exact time of resumption cannot be determined at the moment,” Hotbit wrote.
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Hotbit said that several Hotbit executives had been served with subpoenas and were assisting with the investigation.
Hotbit Stops Services Amid Criminal Case
Hotbit has halted trading while a former employee is under criminal investigation.
The Asian cryptocurrency exchange announced the update in a Wednesday blog post. “We regret to inform you that Hotbit will have to suspend trading, deposit, withdrawal and funding functions,” the note read. It added that “the exact time of resumption cannot be determined at the moment.”
According to the blog post, the firm has suspended its services due to a criminal investigation involving a former member of the management team. The post said that the individual “is suspected of violating criminal laws” without elaborating on the allegations, but added that several Hotbit executives had been served with subpoenas and were assisting with the investigation. The post also confirmed that authorities have frozen some funds on the exchange, suggesting that the alleged crime relates to the firm itself.
The note clarified that the rest of the team “are not involved” and are not privy to the case, but that the firm was continuing to cooperate with law enforcement. It said that its lawyers had been in touch to apply for the frozen assets to be released. “Hotbit will resume normal service as soon as the assets are unfrozen,” adding that it would share information on the outcome of the investigation once it’s available.
Hotbit is one of Asia’s top cryptocurrency exchanges. According to CoinGecko data, it handled about $320 million in trading volume over the past 24 hours. It also has a native token, HTB, which has a market capitalization of roughly $16.3 million. It hadn’t reacted to the news at press time.
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