Hotbit Shuts Down: Time to Panic Or Stay Calm?

Crypto trading platform Hotbit announced it will cease operations starting May 22, urging its users to withdraw their funds before June 21, 4 a.m. UTC.

Hotbit shared in a public statement that its business environment worsened following an investigation into a former team member back in August 2022.

This inquiry reportedly led to a temporary halt in its operations, affecting its overall business performance.

Hotbit attributed several disruptive incidents within the cryptocurrency sector as factors contributing to its downfall.

The exchange pointed out the fall of FTX (CRYPTO: FTT) and the banking crises leading to the USD Coin (CRYPTO: USDC) de-pegging event as key causes of its declining cash flow.

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According to Hotbit, these events triggered a persistent outflow of funds from centralized exchanges.

The Hotbit team expressed the view that centralized exchanges are becoming "increasingly burdensome" and are "not in line with long-term trends."

The team suggested the path forward is to move towards decentralization or to comply fully with regulatory requirements.

Hotbit held the recurring cybersecurity breaches and the abuse of "project vulnerabilities by ill-intentioned users" responsible for its eventual demise.

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