Bitfront crypto exchange shuts down

(Reuters) – Bitfront, a U.S. crypto exchange backed by Japanese social media firm Line Corp, said it had suspended new signups and credit card payments and would cease operations in a few months despite the efforts to overcome the challenges of the rapidly changing industry.

“However, despite our efforts … we have unfortunately determined that we must shut down BITFRONT in order to continue to grow the LINE blockchain ecosystem and the LINK token economy,” the California-based company said in a statement posted on its site on Sunday. website.

Bitfront said the move was unrelated to recent issues with some crypto exchanges accused of “misconduct”.

FTX, which was one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, is now under investigation by authorities for “criminal misconduct”.

The company had filed for bankruptcy earlier this month, while cryptocurrency lender BlockFi filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday, hurt by exposure to FTX’s collapse.

Bitfront said it suspended new sign-ups and credit card payments effective Nov. 28 and suspended withdrawals on March 31, 2023. The company clarified that interest for deposits made between Dec. 5 and Dec. 11 will be paid on December 13, 2022.

(Reporting by Rahat Sandhu and Maria Ponnezhath in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)