BitMarket, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Poland, shut down citing liquidity loss. More information about “further steps” the exchange will take will be available ‘soon,’ according to the company’s official blog post.
Second-largest exchange in Poland closes down
In an unexpected move that surprised most of its users, Polish cryptocurrency exchange BitMarket shut down on July 8. The company cited a loss of liquidity as the reason why it was closing down but failed to provide any additional information.
“Dear Users, We regret to inform you that due to the loss of liquidity, since 08/07/2019, Bitmarket.pl/net was forced to cease its operations. We will inform you about further steps,” the notification on the exchange’s website said.
With an average daily trading volume of around $850,000, BitMarket was the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange in Poland. The exchange-traded pairs denoted in Polish zloty (PLN)—BTC/PLN, ETH/PLN, XRP/PLN, and BTG/PLN, and BTC/EUR.
It is still unclear how trading on the exchange will continue. Some users were reportedly able to trade on the platform with their API keys.
Sources reveal exchange holders knew a shutdown could happen
Additional research revealed that IQ Partners S.A., one of the stakeholders involved with BitMarket, were informed about the possibility of a shutdown at least a day before the exchange made the announcement.
A translation of the report from IQ Partners showed that the company received information from the managing board of its subsidiary, the Estonia-based Gyptrade, that BitMarket would have to shut down soon. The documents showed that BitMarket was unable to settle liabilities by its operator, Kvadratco Services Limited.
Gyptrade, which was set to takeover BitMarket, said it won’t be able to complete the process. The company also reportedly filed a complaint with the district prosecutors in the Polish town of Olsztyn, accusing BitMarket of committing fraud.
And while the shutdown came as a surprise, several Reddit users said that, in hindsight, there were several red flags leading to the closing. According to user OdoBanks, the exchange forced users to change both their passwords and their API keys without giving any explanation as to why these changes were necessary.
BitMarket also disabled some withdrawals, requiring certain users to comply with “additional” KYC measures and state that they were using the exchange to purchase cryptocurrencies “as an investment.”
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