BitForex exchange down; website no longer accessible

Hong Kong-based BitForex’s website has crashed and is no longer accessible. Meanwhile, the crypto exchange went offline after $56.5 million was withdrawn from its hot wallets last Friday (Feb 23).

🚨BREAKING🚨

THE BITFOREX CRYPTO EXCHANGE WEBSITE IS NOT WORKING.

WHEN USERS TRY TO GO TO THE SITE, THEY SEE A MESSAGE SAYING: 'SORRY, YOU HAVE BEEN BLOCKED.' JAPANESE REGULATORS RECENTLY RAISED CONCERNS ABOUT BITFOREX OPERATING WITHOUT A LICENSE.

— Litest (@LitestApp) February 26, 2024

BitForex stopped processing withdrawals and went offline without any official statement to its users.

Users attempting to access the exchange’s official website are me with ‘you have been blocked’ prompts.

The reason behind BitForex’s disappearance remains unknown, and the team remains unresponsive on X and Telegram. Interestingly, the exchange’s recent official statement shows Jason Luo stepped down as the platform’s CEO on Jan 31, 2024.

BitForex started raising eyebrows after Japanese regulators named it among the cryptocurrency exchanges offering unlicensed services.

JUST IN:🚨 Japan's Regulators have issued a warning letter to four #crypto exchanges for operating without registration #bitcoin
1. -Bybit
2.-Bitget
3.-Mexc
4.-Bitforex pic.twitter.com/nG1BVNZf0e

— Crypto Macro (@cryptomacro14) April 3, 2023

Centralized exchanges unreliable

BitForex’s incident showcases the risks of storing digital assets on centralized platforms. Recently, Cointiger disappeared with user funds, joining the likes of AAX, BiteBTC, and INDA Coin.

Even renowned centralized platforms participate in illicit deals. For instance, Bithumb Korea launched BitGlobal for its global users. As seen here, the new platform blocked withdrawals long ago and suspended their trading engine recently.

Such incidents have seen players migrating to decentralized exchanges such as Uniswap and PancakeSwap.

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