Another Crypto Exchange halts withdrawals following FTX collapse, the start of a contagion?

As reported by Wu Blockchain, a disturbing drama is playing out on the Hong Kong-based crypto-currency exchange BitCoke. The problem began when its users reported having trouble making withdrawals.

The BitCoke exchange experienced difficulty in withdrawing coins, many users were unable to withdraw coins for more than 24 hours. At the beginning of 2022, BitCoke issued its own platform coin and received 20 million investment from more than ten capitals including Huobi and LD.

– Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) November 13, 2022

BitCoke issued an announcement that the person in charge of the finances was cooperating with public safety in an investigation and could not provide authorization for the private key.

The BitCoke exchange experienced difficulty in withdrawing coins, many users were unable to withdraw coins for more than 24 hours. At the beginning of 2022, BitCoke issued its own platform coin and received 20 million investment from more than ten capitals including Huobi and LD.

– Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) November 13, 2022

As a result, BitCoke suspended withdrawals on November 13 Hong Kong time.

The case of the BitCoke exchange is surprising, as it revealed in May this year that it had raised $20 million in a strategic private round. The funding deal was with a group of investors led by the Huobi exchange, which also includes other notable institutions such as Redline DAO, Krypital, LD Capital, Hotbit and several others.

A month later, the exchange announced the launch of BitCoke Ventures, its affiliated investment arm, and a $300 million investment fund to further the exchange’s development.

Last week was a chaotic one that saw the collapse of the FTX empire and the ouster of founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

FTX halted withdrawals earlier this week, although some customers in countries like Turkey, Japan and the Bahamas were still able to make withdrawals on Friday. On Thursday, FTX’s U.S. subsidiary informed users that it might soon suspend transactions, but said withdrawals would not be affected.

Binance delists TTF pairs

Binance has announced that it will remove and withdraw the FTT from some of its products – Simple Earn, its Isolated and Cross Margining, and its Perpetual Contracts – to protect users.

In an effort to protect users, #Binance will remove and delist $FTT from the following products:

🔸 Simple Earn Flexible Products
🔸 USDⓈ-M Perpetual contracts
🔸 Cross Margin
🔸 Isolated Margin

View settlement and delisting times here ⤵️https://t.co/bShwKCWwhM

– Binance (@binance) November 13, 2022

Binance says it will stop trading FTT pairs with BUSD, USDT and BTC on cross and isolated margin platforms on November 13. Binance Simple Earn will remove FTT from the flexible product list on November 14 at 4:30 a.m. UTC.

Similarly, Binance Liquid Swap will remove FTT/USDT, FTT/BUSD, FTT/BTC and FTT/BNB pairs on November 14; the same is true for Binance Auto-Invest, which will remove FTT on the same date.