The self-governing body Blockchain Australia removed ACX.IO from its list of partners, following trader complaints that the market operator has gone unresponsive.
Blockchain Australia Removed ACX.IO, Global Blockchain from List of Constituents
Blockchain Australia finally removed the ACX.IO exchange from its site after reports of missing funds. The exchange, which announced an audit in January, raised doubts of its solvency after evidence of an empty hot wallet. The exchange’s Melbourne offices are also closed, reported local traders in a Reddit thread. User Jonte_Z reiterated the concerns of the disappearing office:
https://t.co/haiixQqkaz claims to be going through an audit, however this is false. Based on what I and many others have experienced there is not doubt in my mind they have performed an exit scam. There is less than 1 BTC in their hot wallet right now.
(1/2)— Jonte (@Jonte_Z) February 18, 2020
Suspicions of an exit scam appeared back in January, as most similar cases involve a form of prophylactic closing of the exchange. But a month later, traders that suffered thousands in losses are giving more evidence of the possibility that ACX.IO will not compensate anyone.
https://t.co/haiixQqkaz claims to be going through an audit, however this is false. Based on what I and many others have experienced there is not doubt in my mind they have performed an exit scam. There is less than 1 BTC in their hot wallet right now.
(1/2)— Jonte (@Jonte_Z) February 18, 2020
Blockchain Australia also listened to the complaints, and extended its sanctions to Global Blockchain, a company reportedly related to the activity of ACX.IO. The logo of Blockchain Global has been removed from the site in the past days. According to user reports, it was Global Blockchain which attracted Australian investors, and presented the case for trading on the ACX.IO exchange.
ACX.IO is one of the latest casualties among small-scale exchanges. For now, the market operator has not shared any details of a hack or other forms of theft, and its hot wallets contained some BTC and LTC as of January. The exchange has had a bad reputation for a while, and even critic David Gerard warned about taking funds off the exchange’s wallets as soon as possible.
Traders Attempt to Mount Complaint with Australian Authorities
The exchange still reports activity through CoinMarketCap, for some reason still showing activity of about $1 million per day in 17 trading pairs. Still, a group of traders led by Michael Whitehorn has formed on Facebook with collective losses totalling over $1 million.
The claims of traders center on the notion that ACX.IO and Sam Lee, its co-founder and CEO, are in the process of pulling an exit scam. Traders are currently mounting a complaint with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission to investigate the case. However, it may be a long time until traders see any form of compensation.
There is no standard on how exchanges should store and secure assets, and market operators often lose, or even embezzle funds.
Recovering assets is a slow process, as demonstrated in the case of the New Zealand-based Cryptopia exchange. The market, which closed about a year ago, has been undergoing a rigorous process to reach out to traders, and was put under the control of liquidators. However, traders are still waiting for some compensation after the lengthy investigation.
What do you think about the case of ACX.IO? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
Images via Shutterstock, Twitter @Jonte_Z