Bitfinex, the world’s fourth-largest cryptocurrency exchange by means of trading volume, has purportedly halted fiat deposits temporarily.
EUR, USD, JPY, GBP Wire Deposits Temporarily Halted
Screenshots of customer accounts started circulating on social media moments ago, suggesting that the British Virgin Islands-based and Hong-Kong-operated cryptocurrency exchange has temporarily paused wire deposits with EUR, USD, JPY, and GBP. However, the screenshot also indicates that the situation is expected to “normalize within a week.”
“Bitfinex’s EUR, USD, JPT, GBP wire deposits are temporarily paused. Things are expected to resume in a week,” notes Twitter account Squeeze.
Bitfinex's EUR, USD, JPY, GBP wire deposits are temporarily paused.
Things are expected to resume in a week.$BTC #Bitcoin #Bitfinex pic.twitter.com/ZezjJ4jiib— Squeeze (@cryptoSqueeze) October 11, 2018
Questionable Timing
As Bitcoinist reported last week, citing anonymous sources speaking to Bloomberg, Noble Bank is supposedly facing financial difficulties. The sources also revealed that two of the bank’s clients – Tether and Bitfinex — are seeking a buyout.
The exchange was quick to answer, stating that:
Stories and allegations currently circulating mentioning an entity called Noble Bank have no impact on our operations, survivability, or solvency.
Shortly after, an online report started circulating, raising concerns that the cryptocurrency exchange was bankrupt. Interestingly enough, the report has since been removed. Regardless, Bitfinex released an official rebuttal, claiming:
Bitfinex is not insolvent, and a constant stream of Medium articles, claiming otherwise is not going to change this. As one of only a very few exchanges operating since 2013 with a small team and low operating costs, we do not entirely understand the arguments that purport to show us to be insolvent without providing any explanation about why.
Furthermore, Bitcoin (BTC) [coin_price] lost around 5 percent in hours on October 11, dragging the entire cryptocurrency market down with more than $16 billion. The decline followed a transfer of more than 15,000 BTC from one unknown wallet to another in a single transaction, quickly firing up suspicions about market manipulation.
What do you think of Bitfinex’s move to halt some fiat deposits? Let us know in the comments below!
Images courtesy of Shutterstock.
