{"id":104308,"date":"2019-05-09T07:35:41","date_gmt":"2019-05-09T14:35:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/?p=104308"},"modified":"2020-03-24T06:58:33","modified_gmt":"2020-03-24T06:58:33","slug":"bitfinex-users-unable-withdraw-funds-430-million-drained-exchange","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptoslate.com\/bitfinex-users-unable-withdraw-funds-430-million-drained-exchange\/","title":{"rendered":"Bitfinex users unable to withdraw funds, $430 million drained from exchange cold wallets"},"content":{"rendered":"

An ongoing investigation<\/a>\u00a0into iFinex Inc. seems to have caused an exodus of traders out of Bitfinex<\/a>. An increasing number of users report issues with withdrawing funds from the platform. Moreover, approximately $430 million worth of Bitcoin<\/a> and Ethereum<\/a> have exited the exchange\u2019s cold wallets<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Funds stuck on Bitfinex<\/h2>\n

On Apr. 25, 2019, the attorney general of the State of New York, Letitia James, disclosed<\/a> that it had obtained a court order<\/a> against iFinex Inc.\u2014the parent company that operates Bitfinex<\/a> and owns Tether Ltd.<\/a>\u2014 for engaging in a cover-up<\/a> to hide the apparent loss of $850 million. While the firm is being investigated for bank fraud, it was ordered to cease further dissipation of the US dollar assets which back the USDT<\/a> stablecoin.<\/p>\n

\"CoinMarketCap<\/a>
Related: CoinMarketCap removes Bitfinex from exchange calculations<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since then, Tether<\/a> holders seem to be cashing out into other cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, ether, and other stablecoins<\/a>\u00a0as they try to leave the exchange. While this has not been confirmed, it can be observed through premium prices on the platform against other exchanges (which has led CoinMarketCap<\/a> to exclude the exchange\u2019s price data<\/a> from its site).<\/p>\n

The effects that the recent news surrounding the platform can also be seen by analyzing Bitfinex's\u00a0cold wallets<\/a>. A sum of approximately 1,094,172 ether valued at $183 million, and 42,645 bitcoin worth $247 million, were withdrawn from the platform following the investigation.<\/p>\n

The total amount of money that has been cleared out of the exchange\u2019s wallets corresponds to a sum of more than $430 million when factoring in stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies where data is not readily available.<\/p>\n

\"Balance
Source: GlassNode<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Based on the recent activity, it seems like withdrawals are being processed. However, it's not clear whether funds are largely being transferred to Bitfinex-owned or customer owned accounts.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, a growing number of users have\u00a0reported<\/a> that they have not been able to take fiat currencies out of the exchange, and some, inclusively, have been allegedly banned<\/a> for asking about fiat withdrawals.<\/p>\n