Japan’s LINE Shuts Down Crypto Exchange Bitfront, Cites Industry Challenges

Japanese messaging giant LINE has decided to shut down its Bitfront cryptocurrency exchange and will halt all withdrawals from the platform in March 2023.

Bitfront announced the development on Monday in a statement published on its website, noting the decision “is unrelated to recent issues related to certain exchanges that have been accused of misconduct.”

The collapse of FTX, a once-beloved Bahamas-headquartered cryptocurrency exchange, has been widely attributed to its misuse of customer funds and poor management practices.

In the Monday statement, Bitfront noted that it had done its best “to be a leader in the blockchain industry.” “However, despite our efforts to overcome the challenges in this rapidly-evolving industry, we have regretfully determined that we need to shut down Bitfront in order to continue growing the LINE blockchain ecosystem and LINK (LN) token economy,” the cryptocurrency exchanges explained.

The Phase Out

According to details shared by Bitfront, the closure will happen in phases and culminate in the suspension of withdrawals on March 31 next year. As of 5:00 UTC, the exchange said it has suspended new signups and credit card payments.

On December 12, the exchange will cease the addition of deposits and interest payments in LN and LN interest products “due to the end of LN/LN interest product operations.” Bitfront added that it will pay all interest for deposits made between December 5 and 11 on December 13.

Furthermore, the exchange plans to force withdrawals on all deposits and interests on LN and LN interest products on December 13. In addition, Bitfront plans to stop all crypto and USD deposits as well as trading on December 30. The exchange's open application programming interface (API) service and open order are scheduled to be cancelled on the same day.

“We will notify corporate customers through a separate channel,” Bitfront said.

Ripple Effect of FTX’s Collapse?

Meanwhile, there have been reports that crypto lender BlockFi is preparing to go bankrupt. This came after the lender halted withdrawals on its platform, citing the uncertainty surrounding the beleaguered exchange FTX.

BlockFi has filed for bankruptcy in a New Jersey court, meaning that now arguably the top 3 crypto lenders in the US as of earlier this year have all gone bankrupt.

Moreover, the cryptocurrency exchange, AAX recently halted customer fund withdrawals and later explained that it was trying to raise new capital but will resume “normal operations over the coming weeks based on best estimation.”