Hotbit stops operation

[YOSHIE]

We saw the pattern from the other exchanges that have shut their operations. As said on one reason, about hard dealing with regulations from the government.

Of course, every crypto exchange that crashes and ends up closing, surely they have reasons for the end goal.

As far as I know there are three reasons stated by Hotbit for this incident.

* First, Hotbit experienced a decline in operating conditions following an investigation in August 2022.

Authorities investigated Hotbit after suspecting its former employees were allegedly involved in an illegal project. As a result of this investigation, Hotbit froze trading and withdrawal activities on its platform.

* The second factor, among other things, Hotbit admitted that the stability of the company was disrupted due to the FTX collapse and the banking crisis which caused the value of USDC to fall. Since those two events, Hotbit has experienced continuous significant outflows.

* The third factor, Hotbit mentions the recent changes in the trend of the crypto industry. The Hotbit team mentions that centralized exchanges (CEXs) are becoming more and more complicated and complex.

“The successive collapses of large centralized institutions have caused the industry to phase out in two ways: embrace regulation or become more decentralized,” said the Hotbit Team in a press release.

Bottom line: to anyone here using the Hotbit exchange, try to clear assets before their announced date.

Centralized crypto exchange Hotbit announced that it will be closing its operations from May 22 at 11.00. Customers are given time to withdraw assets before June 21 at 11.00.

[1714302930]

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[milewilda]

If we want to describe of what happened in two words then competition and debt. Most of the current platforms were working to make developers and owners rich quickly because they know that this market changes every 4 to 8 years and you will not find a platform that lasts for more than that, without continuous development they will not succeed in competition and then it will be It is difficult to convince users of the importance of using this platform.

The debt is the second part, as the interest cost has increased, and there is no immediate hope that the price will regain previous values during the current year.
Does anyone know what will happen if a person does not withdraw his money within a month? a month is very short and certainly not everyone will be able to withdraw their money.

A month should really be sufficient or long enough and at least it is really that they do give out a month period for people to pull out their funds. If you are a Hotbit user then you would surely be
surely be able to see that huge bold text "Hotbit stops running at 04:00 am on 22 May 2023 UTC" and having a link for such announcement. Its true that i do agree on that debt and competition is
the actual reason. We know on how many platforms that we do have in the market today on which the platform who does have generate lesser volume then they would be having less revenue
and considering about operation cost and expenses then the ones who couldnt sustain are the ones who would really be wisely be making out decisions on closing their doors.
Somewhat there's really a point on that government pressure on what others been saying but im not really believing into this 100% for such reason.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

Yea, Hotbit got a lot of negative reviews. I have never used them. Their assets were even frozen some time last year.
Ive never heard of an exchange like "HITbit". Maybe you mean "HitBTC".

Yeah, my bad.  And oddly enough, I happened to stumble across what I think confused me in the first place:

https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/curecoin/markets  **Ah, shit.  I thought imgur still worked and was going to post a pic.  Guess I'll have to register on one of the alternatives**

I said it was some random shitcoin that traded there, but while Curecoin might be a lousy coin the way it's mined (sort of like Gridcoin) is useful for science.  Anyway, if you look at the screenshot you can see one of the major problems when a small exchange goes out of business, i.e., some coins might only be traded there and if you eliminate the entire marketplace you're stuck with a coin and no place to trade it.

OTOH, Coinmarketcap doesn't acknowledge every single exchange out there.  CURE is actually listed on Altquick.com, which is owned by BayAreaCoins (or was last I knew) but you'd never know that if you just went by CMC's info.

Anyhow, thanks for the correction; it was HitBTC I was thinking of.

[rby]

Going to play devil's advocate here and suggest that they might have been too small an exchange to pack up and leave whatever country they operated out of, or to afford lawyers, or whatever IT support they'd have needed to protect themselves from attackers.  When I think of crypto exchanges, Hotbit wouldn't even pop into my head.  I can't imagine they ever had a high volume of trades or made a profit anywhere near an exchange like Kucoin or MEXC, much less a leader like Binance.

This is exactly what I thought. They can't just leave and start business afresh in a different country. Establishing in another country can be quite expensive, especially for a small exchange like Hotbit. It's illogical to compare them to Binance. The competition in CEX is really high.

You got my attention here and I can say there is a coincidence of thought here.
It's unfair if we decide to keep blind eyes at the hash treatment that exchanges are getting from governments these days. Hotbit having being in the industry of cryptocurrency for about 5yrs and deciding to wind up at this time, shouldn't depict incompetence. I read that they had a userbase of over 5 million.
Genuinely bowing out amids harsh conditions should be a point of accolade to the exchange and not a thing of mockery. They are trying to be sincere, what would have happened if they tried to stretch it to the point that the failure becomes catastrophic and users lose money.

I have read more than 3 places where exchanges gave official notice of winding up, I mean it should at this point become a thing of scary, the exchange business is speedily on the lane of monopoly. What's the way out?

[The Sceptical Chymist]

I mean it should at this point become a thing of scary, the exchange business is speedily on the lane of monopoly. What's the way out?

You are 100% correct--but I would suggest that that's the natural order of things.  Back in the early days of the internet, every business was trying to build their own website to sell their wares and it was a big deal.  Lots of people had their own websites where they'd blog and whatnot.  Compare that to today, where if you want to buy something online you're usually heading to one of the big names, e.g., Amazon, eBay, and the like.  Plus there are so many more examples in real life of consolidation through buyouts and mergers that I've been expecting these little exchanges to get bought out or put out of business by the large exchanges.

As far as Hotbit is concerned, I don't know why exactly they're closing up shop (I haven't read this thread in its entirety, btw) but it's hard to believe they had a userbase of 5 million customers.  That seems extremely high.  And as I said, I confused them with the other exchange which IMO is incompetent.

[rby]

As far as Hotbit is concerned, I don't know why exactly they're closing up shop (I haven't read this thread in its entirety, btw) but it's hard to believe they had a userbase of 5 million customers.  That seems extremely high.

Very thoughtful of you. 5 million is extremely high and no sane manager would want to give up on a project with upto 5 million userbase. Project owners are fond of hyperbolizing information, especially when there's no easy way to verify such information.

[examplens]

So, these scum have decided to keep the user's funds as long as they can.
I have some shit tokens there, it's not worth anything, but I wanted to try to withdraw them from there. So how is the whole process going...

At first, I was surprised because I noticed that the token was not enabled for withdrawal. After I sent an email asking why this is so, I got a reply from them very quickly to send them a screenshot with the problem. To my surprise, when I went to do SS, a "miracle" happened and I saw that withdrawal was enabled???
OK, that's fine. However, they tried their best to drag things out. Withdrawal of that token cannot be sent via the Polygon network (disabled), but only via ERC20, where the fee is of course only 48.2205 USDT.

I get a uniform answer to all further questions, even though it has nothing to do with reality.

Hello,
If withdrawal is enabled, you can only withdraw through the chain displayed on the page. Hotbit has decided to stop operations, please withdraw as soon as possible
The fee is dynamic and updated in real-time according to the on-chain data. To save costs, users can wait to withdraw when the gas fee is low.（But we do not recommend withdrawing after the gas fee decreased, as the withdrawal function will be unavailable after June 21st, 2023.） Please refer to the data on the withdrawal page for real-time fees.

It is an almost miserable amount, but their transparency and "goodwill" are obviously just a story. Well, the good thing is that they are going down in history.

[Saint-loup]

☝ It's the same for Bitcoin, you can only withdraw them through one blockchain(btc legacy), the fee is pretty high : 0.001BTC or 99.99 USDT and the minimum amount for withdrawing is 0.002BTC.
But the withdrawal worked quickly and smoothly for me, I've even made a small deposit in order to reach the minimum threshold, and it has been alright too.  

https://www.hotbit.io/dw/withdraw?symbol=BTC

[stompix]

OK, that's fine. However, they tried their best to drag things out. Withdrawal of that token cannot be sent via the Polygon network (disabled), but only via ERC20, where the fee is of course only 48.2205 USDT.

I'm unfamiliar with altcoins fees, but ....$48? Isn't this like 10 times the average now?

☝ It's the same for Bitcoin, you can only withdraw them through one blockchain(btc legacy), the fee is pretty high : 0.001BTC or 99.99 USDT and the minimum amount for withdrawing is 0.002BTC.
But the withdrawal worked quickly and smoothly for me, I've even made a small deposit in order to reach the minimum threshold, and it has been alright too. 

0.001 BTC is $27 , what is with the 99 USDT?
Also, let me get this right, you deposited a few satoshis to reach the 0.002 BTC limit as you had less than that and then you paid 0.001 BTC in fees? Was it even worth it considering you had to pay also the blockchain fees for the deposit?

[examplens]

I'm unfamiliar with altcoins fees, but ....$48? Isn't this like 10 times the average now?

They lie that that fee is related to the current state of the network. If so, the value of the fee would vary up or down, but with them, that amount (48.2205 USDT) is fixed for days. Certainly, at the time when they worked and were operational, the most common fee was 1-3 USDT.
So it's just a lame ploy to discourage anyone with less than ~48 from withdrawing their money. From Hotbit's point of view, it is a completely legitimate way of embezzling other people's money.

0.001 BTC is $27 , what is with the 99 USDT?

It is probably the option of choice, you can withdraw and pay a fee either in BTC or in USDT.

[Saint-loup]

0.001 BTC is $27 , what is with the 99 USDT?
Also, let me get this right, you deposited a few satoshis to reach the 0.002 BTC limit as you had less than that and then you paid 0.001 BTC in fees? Was it even worth it considering you had to pay also the blockchain fees for the deposit?

99USDT is the price you have to pay if you decide to pay the withrawal fees in USDT instead of BTC. As examplens told above you have the choice to pay the fee in BTC or in USDT.


Yes it was worth it for me because if you don't withdraw your funds before June 30 (they have extended the deadline) they will be definitively lost. And fortunately network fees for sending a transaction are not that high.

[logfiles]

After reading about what @examplens posted, I am glad I never ever used the scam exchange
I believe I remember seeing a number of scam accusations about hotbit out there and even here in the forum. Even when there was a shitcoin that was only traded in hotbit, I wouldn't bother getting onto that platform

Charging exorbitant fees for people trying to withdraw their funds kind of reminds me of HitBTC and Yobit.

[Saint-loup]

After reading about what @examplens posted, I am glad I never ever used the scam exchange
I believe I remember seeing a number of scam accusations about hotbit out there and even here in the forum. Even when there was a shitcoin that was only traded in hotbit, I wouldn't bother getting onto that platform

Charging exorbitant fees for people trying to withdraw their funds kind of reminds me of HitBTC and Yobit.

I don't think we can call that a scam, sadly some exchanges don't let people to recover any of their funds when they decide to shut down their business. Here you can still get back your funds even if withdrawal fees are high. And they even let you deposit more funds to top up your balance in order to reach the minimum withdrawal thresholds. It was quite a surprise for me to be honest. In addition, they have extended the original deadline by 9 days, now customers can withdraw their funds till June 30.

Dear Respected Users,
Recently, we have found that a large number of users are still withdrawing funds one after another. In order to ensure that users complete withdrawals in an orderly manner, Hotbit will extend the original withdrawal deadline from 04:00 AM UTC on June 21st to 04:00 AM UTC on June 30th.
Please withdraw the remaining assets in the account as soon as possible before June 30th, 2023, otherwise the losses caused will be irreparable.
Thank you for your understanding and support!
Hotbit Team
June 17th, 2023

https://help.hotbit.io/hc/en-us/articles/15377625198743-Hotbit-s-Announcement-on-Extending-the-Withdrawal-Deadline-to-June-30th-2023

[examplens]

I don't think we can call that a scam, sadly some exchanges don't let people to recover any of their funds when they decide to shut down their business. Here you can still get back your funds even if withdrawal fees are high. And they even let you deposit more funds to top up your balance in order to reach the minimum withdrawal thresholds. It was quite a surprise for me to be honest. In addition, they have extended the original deadline by 9 days, now customers can withdraw their funds till June 30.

This is exactly what they want to achieve, they create the appearance that they are doing everything in accordance with the law, and at the same time they have made the possibility of withdrawing money significantly more difficult. At the same time, they increased their fee margin by 50x or more. Of course, their reputation is no longer important because they are going out of business.
All users should be grateful for the 9-day bonus. Why can't it be a longer period, I'm sure that many still haven't seen the closing notice.

[armanda90]

Despite many people disappointed with Hotbit stop operation and get bad reputation from some trader, actually I love Hotbit very much because most profitable exchange for arbitrage. Consistent last two years earn above $200 from arbitrage with Hotbit exchange and priority with new coins listing and has BSC scan network, but finally this exchange should stop operation and many people loss their money because faced difficult for withdrawing assets actually have to withdraw with shit coins and get higher fees transaction.

But its better side with Hotbit stop operation because they give chance for user withdrawing their assets, last exchange scam like Cryptopia, FTX and HOO are exchange never give chance for user withdrawing their fund.

[onecall123]

I don't think we can call that a scam, sadly some exchanges don't let people to recover any of their funds when they decide to shut down their business. Here you can still get back your funds even if withdrawal fees are high. And they even let you deposit more funds to top up your balance in order to reach the minimum withdrawal thresholds. It was quite a surprise for me to be honest. In addition, they have extended the original deadline by 9 days, now customers can withdraw their funds till June 30.

This is exactly what they want to achieve, they create the appearance that they are doing everything in accordance with the law, and at the same time they have made the possibility of withdrawing money significantly more difficult. At the same time, they increased their fee margin by 50x or more. Of course, their reputation is no longer important because they are going out of business.
All users should be grateful for the 9-day bonus. Why can't it be a longer period, I'm sure that many still haven't seen the closing notice.

It can certainly feel like a scam when you're trying to withdraw your crypto and engage with unexpected fees. I need more eth in order to cover the transaction fees for withdrawing, but the fees half of the value of my coins. That's definitely not an ideal situation and we might have to take the loss.

It's unfortunate that so many cex's seem to be struggling lately. This might feel hesitant about continuing to use them, and stay away.

[Marykeller]

1 month is too short, not everyone will be able to withdraw... but perhaps that's what they wanted. It's possible they don't have enough funds to cover everything mainly due to the frozen assets from last year which they haven't gotten back.

Not only is 1 month too short. How will Hotbit find the only medium to pass out the information about stopping their operation through Twitter like all their 5 million users are on  Twitter and also following them there(Twitter)?

Imagine that I have my assets on Hotbit exchange and am getting to know about their new development of stopping operations now. Does that imply my whole assets with them are gone since I failed to remove my assets before June 21?

Despite this, no exchange should be trusted to hold assets because they could act in the future the same manner that FXT and Hotbit exchange did (pull assets or stop operations).   

[Potato Chips]

Not only is 1 month too short. How will Hotbit find the only medium to pass out the information about stopping their operation through Twitter like all their 5 million users are on  Twitter and also following them there(Twitter)?

I'm not a hotbit user hence I'm not sure if they never sent an email during the whole period which is like the bare minimum but if that's actually the case then that's another sign which tells their intentions 

Imagine that I have my assets on Hotbit exchange and am getting to know about their new development of stopping operations now. Does that imply my whole assets with them are gone since I failed to remove my assets before June 21?

By the way, they have extended the deadline to June 30th but it's still too late because we're on 2nd of July now.

Please withdraw the remaining assets in the account as soon as possible before June 30th, 2023, otherwise the losses caused will be irreparable.

Emphasis on "irreparable" which means impossible to repair hence yes, if you're passed the deadline, it is most likely gone. However, I would still suggest shooting an email to Hotbit cause who knows - a tiny bit of hope that they might take mercy on you.

[examplens]

So the deadline for withdrawing funds from Hotbit has passed. I was right when I accused them of deliberately raising the withdrawal fee because they themselves admitted that the value left in their hot wallet was 6 million USD. They plan to convert this into USDC and thereby partially reduce the losses of investors in their shit tokens DF and HTB.
So they stole from one user to cover a debt (caused by their fault) with another user.


https://www.hotbit.io/maintenance

backup full-text image: https://talkimg.com/image/ZXPL9

[sunsilk]

It is making noise on Twitter that Hotbit is dumping all of those probable unclaimed assets and put them up on sale. I haven't read the entire details of it but just saw some quick headlines and summary of this news.

While some of these people think that Hotbit didn't go into notice with their shutdown but, as I've made this thread, they've made a closure and announcement.

Emphasis on "irreparable" which means impossible to repair hence yes, if you're passed the deadline, it is most likely gone. However, I would still suggest shooting an email to Hotbit cause who knows - a tiny bit of hope that they might take mercy on you.

It's possible they'll make some exemption but those that have funds there should just accept that it's good and gone forever.